The TUCO Ltd group certification initiative was launched at TUCO’s recent sustainability-themed annual conference, where it was well received by members and particularly the University of Reading and Harper Adams University, who have already achieved MSC certification through the TUCO group.
The latter joined the TUCO Group in its pilot phase and both were impressed by the new system that quickly earned them MSC certification and the ability to put the MSC ecolabel on menus.
Group members will receive ready-made documents and materials needed for the MSC’s chain of custody traceability certification, which is essential for those wanting to display the ecolabel.
TUCO managing director Julie Barker explained: “TUCO has always been about using the size of our joint membership to provide benefits to caterers and, when we discovered that we could make MSC certification more accessible for universities by forming a large group, we knew it would be something that would be of real value to them.
“As sustainable sourcing of all ingredients, particularly fish, is such a key issue for the foodservice industry, we felt this was a strategically important move for our members, and set up a working party led and co-ordinated by our contracts officer Jane Eve.
“The group is a great way for us to be able to support the work of the MSC by getting more sustainable fish on more menus – we’re really excited about the amount of interest we’ve had already.”
Ruth Westcott, foodservice outreach manager for the MSC welcomed the move: “This is a real world-first from TUCO. By creating a group for certification, they are opening up the programme to hundreds of thousands of students who eat in member universities every day.
“With students forming the next generation of informed consumers, they have enormous power to support sustainable fishing practices and help transform the way the world’s oceans are fished for the better.”