☛ Want the latest procurement and supply chain news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Supply Management Daily
12 October 2011 |
Angeline Albert
Seafood company John West has launched a ‘can tracker’ tool to give greater
transparency of its sourcing policy and supply chain.
From this week, the
canned seafood manufacturer began inviting customers to type in the barcode on
any purchased John West product to find out where their fish was caught,
including which ocean and the boat that made the catch.
The company said: “We know the origins of every product in our range and
we are committed to sharing this detail with all our customers, starting with
tuna and rolling out across our other seafood ranges over the next 18 months.”
It added: “We work with suppliers to ensure that
the principles that underpin our sourcing policy are applied to improve the
traceability of fisheries products back to their origin, strengthening buying
procedures within the industry. For example, all our mackerel suppliers commit
by contract to deliver mackerel that has been caught from sustainable sources.”
A plan to source 25 per cent of its UK sales of tuna by pole
and line by the end of 2012 began last month. The company said this will
increase to 50 per cent by the end of 2014. It is committed to sourcing 100 per
cent of its UK sales of tuna from a mixture of pole and line and/or ‘FAD-free’ (fish
aggregation devices) sustainable catch methods by the end of 2016.
John West products
include canned tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardines, clams, prawns, anchovies,
crab, lobster and black lumpfish caviar.
Visit the
company’s website to test out the tracker.