THE Sainsbury supermarket group has been voted fish retailer of the year - by a meat magazine!
The London based Meat Trades Journal which organises the Supermeat and Fish Retailer awards each year said Sainsbury's, which, with annual seafood sales of £400-million describes itself as Britain's largest fish retailer, said the store chain was also voted Super Meat retailer of the Year in the same category.
The SuperMeat & Fish awards have been going for 11 years now and aim to reward excellence in supermarket retailing of meat and fish – at both store level and in the manufacturing of fantastic meat products. There were also wins for Sainsbury's shops in Braehead and Camden as Best Retail Stores in Scotland and South East of England respectively.
Earlier this year, Sainsbury's announced several new action plans to ensure that all fish it sells is sourced from sustainable stocks.The giant supermarket group said that move was in response to the sustainability challenges facing the industry.
Just over a year ago, the company introduced a traffic light system for fish similar to the one giving nutritional guidance (fat, salt content etc). Green meant the fish has been scientifically verified as in plentiful supply and is fully sustainable, amber signifying some concerns about sustainability, but steps were being taken to resolve them and red meant there were serious problems and the fish would not be sold in Sainsbury stores.
A spokesperson said: "Our response to the sustainability challenges facing the fish sector is a commitment to improving the sustainability of the top five species that we sell. Looking at a whole host of factors, including individual fisheries, catch-area, by-catch,-method and environmental impact, our aspiration now is to move all our top five species to green rated status. The impact of this commitment will be felt on a huge scale. We are one of the UK's largest retailers of fish and sell over £400 million of fish every year."
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