Bento Celebrates 15th anniversary of Supermarket Sushi & Becomes Canada's
First Sustainable Sushi Company

TORONTO, Nov. 8 /CNW/ - In celebration of its 15^th anniversary, Bento is delivering on its promise to become the first sustainable sushi company in the country. As Canada's largest sushi company, leader in the sushi category and industry champion in the food sector, Bento officially rolled out its national seafood sustainability plan today. Working in partnership with the SeaChoice program, Bento plans to supply only sustainable seafood by 2012.

"We want our customers to have an authentic, nutritious, and safe sushi experience that supports healthy oceans," says Carl Sparkes, President and CEO of Bento. "Our mission is to deliver great sustainable sushi to Canadians anywhere, anytime."

Partnering with SeaChoice (www.seachoice.org), a joint initiative of the the David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans Society and Sierra Club British Columbia, Bento has already switched 65 per cent of its product offering to sustainable fish and seafood. It has also replaced its unsustainable red-listed tuna^* with sustainable troll-caught Albacore tuna from the Pacific Northwest.

"It's critical for us to consider the impact humans are having on our oceans and the species that live in them. People should carefully consider the seafood they consume and ensure that it's from a sustainable source," said David Suzuki. "We are excited to be working with Bento to help consumers across the country easily identify the most sustainable sushi options, and ensure they are making choices that support healthy oceans."

Bento's sustainable sushi plan also focuses on informing Canadians about the importance of sustainable seafood, with the ultimate goal of changing their overall purchasing habits. Rolling out in November, Bento will be identifying sustainable seafood items in its product lines. SeaChoice labels will appear on Bento products that meet sustainability criteria and have been ranked by SeaChoice through science-based assessments.

Bento's highly-trained chefs create thousands of pieces of handmade sushi for Canadians visiting supermarkets across the country every day, ensuring nutritious, competitively-priced options for those on the go. Bento works closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure the highest quality product is available daily.

Sushi Statistics
In celebration of its 15^th anniversary in supermarkets, Bento surveyed Canadians to find out more about their sushi consumption patterns. Working together with Angus-Reid Public Opinion, Bento discovered the following about Canadians and sushi:

Does sushi make you smart or are you smart because you eat sushi? 63 per cent of university educated Canadians vs. 48 per cent of the general population consider sushi healthy. 61 per cent of them eat sushi at least a few times a year, in comparison with 48 per cent of the general population. You want me to eat what?!? Although most Canadians agree that sushi is a healthy food option, only 19 per cent eat it on a monthly basis and 52 per cent never eat it. What do Canadians care about when it comes to sushi? 48 per cent of Canadians who eat sushi on a regular basis have concerns about freshness (73 per cent), taste (49 per cent) and food safety (48 per cent).

I'll take that to go please! 33 per cent of Canadians prefer to purchase their sushi at a supermarket, with boomers (aged 55+) being the most likely to do so (46 per cent). How do men and women differ when it comes to sushi? Women (35 per cent) are more likely to purchase supermarket sushi than men (31 per cent). Women (82 per cent) are much more concerned than men (64 per cent) about freshness, while men are more interested in value than women (34 per cent v. 28 per cent). Does the level of sushi appreciation vary by province? Yes! British Columbia has the largest number of sushi eaters, with 67 per cent of the population eating it at least a few times a year. This number drops drastically across the country, as 82 per cent of the Atlantic population never eat sushi.

About Bento Sushi

As the largest sushi company in Canada, Bento serves more than 10 million handmade servings of sushi per year through a network of 22 quick service 'grab and go' sushi bars in premier shopping malls and office towers; more than 350 on-site sushi bars in quality supermarkets and food service facilities and more than 2,000 supermarket and institutional food service locations serviced by one of four HACCP production kitchens. The brands which the company's products are known by include: Bento, Bento Express and Bento Sushi.

^* Red ranked tuna is commonly sold in supermarkets around the world and has a red/avoid ranking because of sustainability problems such as overfishing, poor management and catch of endangered turtles and birds.- should this be "by-catch"

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