Overfishing and declining fish stocks are a significant threat to ecosystem health and food security. We remain committed to ensuring we do not source any threatened, endangered or red-listed seafood species in line with the guidelines of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) South Africa’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi). To ensure we source sustainably we conduct a sustainability review of all fresh, frozen and canned seafood products sold across our business. To ensure accuracy and promote seafood supply chain transparency, we also submit our seafood products for third party genetic identity testing.
We submitted 22 canned, fresh and frozen seafood samples to the University of Witwatersrand for analysis in 2020. These samples included all of our Private Label and a number of national brand products. The analysis revealed one instance of the inadvertent procurement of Sassi red-listed species by one of our suppliers. We have engaged with WWF:SASSI and the supplier to review their sourcing procedures and strengthen their chain of custody controls.
