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Young's have added Scottish-sourced mackerel to their Chip Shop range following the recent Fish Fight TV programmes.Two major UK supermarkets, Tesco and Morrison's, are stocking the product across 650 stores nationwide.
Britain's largest seafood producer said Chip Shop Mackerel was inspired by the series of Channel 4 'Fish Fight' programmes in January. The programmes highlighted Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'Mackerel Mission' to encourage more people to try sustainable mackerel at fish and chip shops.
Young's said it had used mackerel many times before and had been seeking ways to increase its profile for some time. Now it has given mackerel even more exposure by adding it to Chip Shop, Britain's favourite battered fish brand.
Mackerel brings even more diversity to Chip Shop, which already uses a lot of alternative white fish such as Alaska pollock and basa, as well as traditional cod and haddock. Young's said that as with all its fish, Chip Shop Mackerel is sourced according to the rigorous criteria of Fish for Life, Findus Group's programme for responsible fish procurement. Sourced in Scotland, this mackerel is also certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard.
Young's has long supported the use of a wider variety of fish because it feels diversification can help to reduce the supply pressure on more popular species - as well as helping people find out just what a fantastic and flexible food fish really is.
As part of its Fish for Life approach, Young's has often been first to introduce alternative fish species to the UK. It was the first brand to make a product with MSC certified hoki (in 2000) and also pioneered the first products made with responsibly farmed basa in 2007. Alternative white fish species now make up as much as 60% of all the fish used in the Young's brand.
Leendert den Hollander, chief executive of Young's Seafood Limited, said: "We're delighted to be working with Tesco and Morrison's to give consumers an easy and delicious way to try different species of sustainable fish. We take our responsibilities very seriously and that's why one of the actions we take is to encourage consumers to try a wide variety of fish species. We hope consumers who've backed the Fish Fight will help make this product a success."
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