MSC To Become The Main US Canned Tuna Standard? What Did You Think? ff
9 October 2013
United States
Last week on our homepage poll we asked you: “How likely do you think it is that MSC will become the main sustainability standard for canned tuna in the USA?†A majority of 57 percent of readers voted “very likelyâ€.
Recent reports have questioned the future for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability certification in the US, the world’s leading canned tuna importing nation. In 2012, the US imported over 23 million cartons (48x5oz) of canned tuna into its borders.
The US General Services Administration updated its guidelines and removed the need of a third-party certification for purchasing food under government contracts. The previous recommendation was the seafood purchased by the US should always have the MSC certification.
Strong implications were predicted to appear for MSC if the US’ largest retailer, Wal-mart, would decide to drop its commitment to the certification regarding US wild caught fish. The company was recently reported to be reviewing its policy.
Despite this, just less than 60 percent of our voters still see optimism in the future of the MSC certification on canned tuna in the US.
The vote also revealed that 24 percent of respondents thought that MSC was “not likely†to become the main sustainability standard for canned tuna in the US, while 19 percent voted “fifty-fiftyâ€.
In this week’s poll, we are asking “Will skipjack prices again drop during the month of October this year?†You can have your say via our homepage at atuna.com.
