Orkla Foods Sweden Now Carrying MSC Certified Pacifical Tuna Fully Traceable From Sea to Shelf

MALMO, Sweden, December 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Orkla Foods Sweden and Pacifical are proud to announce their cooperation to supply sustainable MSC certified skipjack tuna from the PNA waters through the Swedish brand Abba; 100 percent wild tuna, certified as sustainably caught and fully traceable to all consumers from sea to shelf.

Orkla Foods Sweden's bold step is a reflection of the company's leadership towards seafood sustainability, marine ecosystem conservation and economic development in regions mostly dependent on tuna. This announcement is in line with a solid commitment made by Orkla Foods Sweden to have all their fish products MSC-certified and/or ASC-certified by the end of 2020.

"We are proud that we now can offer consumers full knowledge and traceability for all of our canned tuna, from store shelves back to the actual captain on the fishing boat. For us it is important to work for increased transparency in the value chain and help consumers to make sustainable choices easy in everyday life", says Cecilia Sajland, Marketing Director at Orkla Foods Sweden.

The MSC certified tuna by Abba is caught in the pristine waters of the 8 PNA island nations in the Western Central Pacific Ocean by a method called "purse seining". Pacifical sets nets on free swimming schools of adult tuna since schools of fish predominantly consist of tunas from the same species and same size because they have the same hunting skills, behavior and velocity. Through the Pacifical method, very few baby tunas are caught in the net and almost no juvenile bigeye and yellowfin.

The Pacifical logo on Abba's MSC certified tuna products represents Orkla Food Sweden's direct commitment to the PNA Island people. By choosing Pacifical Tuna, Orkla Foods Sweden reaffirms its support to sustainability of this vast ecosystem, as well as the people who depend on it on a daily basis.

"We are excited to announce our partnership with Orkla Foods Sweden, this is a company that truly cares about sustainability, social accountability and traceability, fully dedicated to present to their customers only an independently verified and sustainable certified choice - nothing less than that. We look forward to continue our great cooperation with Orkla Foods Sweden." Says Henk Brus, Managing Director at Pacifical.

Orkla Foods Sweden has given traceability and transparency an extremely important role by making all MSC canned tuna products by Abba carrying the Pacifical logo 100% traceable online at http://www.abba.se. In the beginning of 2016, customers will be able to find out where their tuna was caught, the name of the vessel and captain that caught it, where it was processed and many other interesting facts. 

Independent MSC trained onboard observers monitor and record all fishing operations according to the strictest MSC chain of custody (COC) standards. The PNA MSC COC provides assurance that the tuna was caught in a sustainable way. Around 50 percent of the world supply of skipjack is caught in PNA waters, which includes a substantial supply of sustainably caught free-school MSC tuna, making Pacific island nations the single most important source of raw material for the global tuna industry.

Orkla Foods Sweden's commitment to healthy oceans is in line with consumer expectations and will build further trust in their brand. By committing to MSC, Orkla Foods is helping to secure a sustainable future for our oceans and the fishing industry." says MSC Program Director for Scandinavia Minna Epps. 

About Orkla Foods Sweden Orkla Foods Sweden prepare food and beverage in Sweden, with care for people, land and sea. Our brands are Abba, Abba Middagsklart, Kalles, FELIX, BOB, Anamma, Frödinge, Ekströms, Risifrutti, Grandiosa, Önos, Mrs Cheng's, Kung Gustaf, FUN Light, Grebbestads, JOKK, Den Gamle Fabrik, Ejderns, Svennes, Hållö, Lucullus, Limfjord, Liva Energi and Paulúns. With 1500 employees and a turnover of about 5 billion SEK, we are one of Sweden's leading food companies. Our head office is located in Malmö, but we have several production facilities throughout the country.

About Pacifical  Pacifical is the global marketing company jointly set up by 8 Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) in 2011 to promote the PNA region and actively trade their MSC certified sustainably caught free school skipjack and yellowfin tuna to consumers around the world. Pacifical MSC certified skipjack and yellowfin tuna from PNA waters is available in 12 different countries around the world and all products carry the Pacifical logo as clear representation of the end market's commitment with the PNA region and recognition to those nations managing the tuna stocks in their waters on a daily basis. [http://www.pacifical.com] 

About the PNA The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) control the world's largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. PNA Members, located within the Western Central Pacific Ocean, are Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. In 2011, the PNA skipjack tuna caught without using FADs was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as sustainable, creating the world's largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. PNA yellowfin tuna caught without using FADs was added to the certificate in February 2016. The PNA countries together have 25% of the world tuna stocks in their waters and together manage the largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery in the world. In 2016 the PNA have been named the winner of the Seafood Champion Award for Vision 2016 at the global Seafood Summit. [http://www.pnatuna.com]

About Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is recognized as the world's leading certification program for sustainable, wild-caught seafood. In collaboration with fisheries scientists and marine experts, the MSC has developed two global, science-based standards. The MSC Fishery Standard evaluates the sustainability of fisheries and the MSC Chain of Custody Standard ensures that any seafood carrying the blue MSC ecolabel is traceable to a certified fishery. 

Media Contacts:
Cynthia Asaf
Marketing and Sales Manager
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SOURCE Pacifical