McDonald's® Canada now serving Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable fish in its Filet-O-Fish® sandwich

Company is the first major Canadian quick-service restaurant chain to achieve certification

• McDonald's Canada's nearly ten-year commitment to sustainable fishing practices culminates with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification
• All McDonald's Canada's Filet-O-Fish packaging will bear the blue MSC ecolabel
• The MSC runs the only certification and ecolabelling program for wild-capture fisheries consistent with all major international labelling guidelines

TORONTO, June 17, 2014 /CNW/ - McDonald's Canada today announced that 100 per cent of the fish it serves in its Filet-O-Fish is now certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). McDonald's Canada has purchased fish from MSC certified fisheries for nearly a decade and recently completed MSC's third-party Chain of Custody process to further solidify the company's commitment to maintaining the health of the world's oceans by supporting sustainable fishing practices.

MSC is the world's leading certification and ecolabelling program for sustainable wild caught seafood and the logo can only be used after rigorous, independent third-party verification. The MSC's Chain of Custody process traces the fish, used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, from the restaurant where it's served, back through the supply chain. The fisheries that McDonald's Canada's supplier sources from are MSC certified and have been assessed by independent scientists against three core principles: the health of the fish stock, the impact of the fishery on the ecosystem and the management system that oversees the fishery.

"Partnering with the Marine Stewardship Council is a critical part of our sustainability and environmental stewardship journey and its ecolabel is a way for us to engage and involve our customers in this important issue," said Sherry MacLauchlan, Director of Government Relations and Sustainability for McDonald's Canada. "We're committed to offering our customers quality, sustainably-sourced menu choices and to looking at ways to incorporate positive environmental practices throughout our supply chain."

"We applaud McDonald's Canada and their nearly decade-long efforts to support sustainable fishing practices and help maintain the health of the world's oceans," said Geoff Bolan, Americas Region Commercial Director for the Marine Stewardship Council. "Having the MSC ecolabel on Filet-O-Fish packaging in every Canadian McDonald's restaurant will significantly contribute to the MSC mission of using its certification and ecolabel program to recognize and reward sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with our partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis."

McDonald's Canada uses MSC certified wild-caught Alaska pollock for its Filet-O-Fish and is one of the largest purchasers of the fish in the Canadian foodservice industry. McDonald's Canada joins McDonald's Europe and McDonald's U.S.A in receiving MSC certification. For more information about McDonald's Canada's sustainable sourcing practices visit: http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/communities/environment/sourcing.html

About McDonald's Canada
McDonald's is the leading foodservice company in the world. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited and its franchisees own and operate more than 1,400 restaurants and employ more than 85,000 employees from coast-to-coast.  Approximately 80 per cent of McDonald's Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. For more information about McDonald's Canada, visit www.mcdonalds.ca or follow us on Twitter (@McD_Canada and Facebook Facebook.com/McDonaldscanada) for updates on our business, promotions and menu items.

About The Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. In total, more than 300 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 237 certified, 98 under full assessment and 40 to 50 in pre-assessment. This represents over 10 per cent of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries. Worldwide, more than 22,000 seafood products, which can be traced back to the certified sustainable fisheries, bear the MSC ecolabel. For more information on the work of the MSC, please visit www.msc.org or follow us on Twitter @MSCecolabel) and Facebook (Facebook.com/MSCecolabel).

SOURCE: McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:                  

McDonald's Media Relations 
1-877-786-3342

Mike DeCesare, MSC Americas Region, Seattle, Washington
1-206-631-2496
[email protected]