Restaurant chain McDonald’s has announced that it will only serve certified-sustainable seafood at all of its 14,000 U.S. franchises, making it the first U.S. restaurant chain to do so. The franchise currently serves the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and will soon be launching Fish McBites.
Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of U.S. supply chain and sustainability, stated in a company press release:
“We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard.”
McDonald’s has already started serving sustainable fish in all its European chains, as of October 2011, when all 7,000 European franchises began serving MSC-certified fish.
“When a company like McDonald’s does this, suppliers around the world are watching, and they will take note,” says Kerry Coughlin, MSC regional director of the Americas, to Fast Coexist, about the significance of this announcement. “We do expect this to have an impact.”
