School clubs together for sustainable fish

Oct. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- Fishy in the positive sense as AiP boosted its eco-credentials with a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, demonstrating the MSC certification and traceability of the MSC labelled fish in their 26 Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea contracts.

Alongside Ruth Westcott, UK Commercial Officer for the MSC, Amy Teichman, Quality and Nutrition Manager for AiP, held a special assembly for the pupils (years 1-6), staff and governing members of the school to highlight the process of getting fresh, sustainable fish from ocean to plate.

“We wanted to promote our new menus, highlighting the different sustainable fish that will be arriving on the new menu such as Salmon Nibbles and Fish Fingers,” explained Amy Teichman.

“It was a great exercise because, when asked about their fish preferences, two thirds of the children responded that they liked salmon and 99% responded that they liked fish fingers.”

Ruth Westcott presented an illustrative discussion with the children about the different ways they can make a positive difference to the world’s oceans. Around 70% of the world is covered by the ocean and around 90% of our world’s trade is carried over water, highlighting the importance of protecting our oceans.

Amy commented: “The children were very responsive, when Ruth introduced them to the concept of over fishing.”

The school learned about how the MSC makes sure fish sources carrying their label come from responsible fisherman.

Following the Assembly, 5 children from year 6 took part in the official MSC certificate handover.

Kat Collinson, auditor from MacAlister and Elliott, officially handed over the certificate to Amy Teichman of AiP, Susanne Kent of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Funke Basiru Kitchen Manager of the school.

“The children carried out an activity questionnaire and happily smiled for photos, substituting fish fingers for the typical cheese shout out,” laughed Amy.

Along with serving only MSC certified fish, AiP will highlight these sustainable fish choices on the new menu, commencing on the November 4th, with the use of the MSC logo, ingredients and nutritional advice.

Image from left to right:

Susanne Kent from Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council

Amy Teichman, Quality and Nutrition Manager, Alliance in Partnership

Kat Collinson from independent certifier MacAlister Elliot and Partners