Sodexo Celebrates Demonstrated Progress Increasing Sustainable Seafood Offerings With ‘Your Better Choice in Seafood®'

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of its recently issued performance-based sustainability report last month, Sodexo, Inc., the leading global provider of Quality of Daily Life Solutions, today announces significant demonstrated progress for its sustainable seafood initiative, Your Better Choice in Seafood^®. The initiative offers the most comprehensive, highest quality, sustainable fresh and frozen seafood program in the industry, and it just doubled the available selection of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified sustainable seafood products to more than 150 SKUs for Sodexo clients and customers.

"Sodexo serves over 10 million meals every day in North America; 50 million globally," said Ann Oka, senior vice president, supply management, Sodexo, Inc,  "That's 50 million opportunities everyday to influence significant changes throughout our supply chain, protecting sea diversity and ecosystems, while meeting the growing demand for great tasting, nutritious seafood."

Your Better Choice in Seafood represents a strategic approach to healthy, sustainable consumption of seafood that is unprecedented in the industry. In addition to doubling selections available to clients and customers, the initiative is well aligned with trends projected by the National Restaurant Association indicating increased demand for sustainable seafood and new USDA nutrition guidance, advising all Americans to eat seafood at least twice a week. 

Sodexo's Your Better Choice in Seafood
Since first launching in February 2011, Sodexo's sustainable seafood initiative has constantly advanced toward its commitment to have 100% of its contracted seafood certified sustainable by 2015.  Through strategic partnerships with key suppliers including Slade Gorton^®, Contessa^®Premium Foods and CleanFish^®, the initiative promotes Your Better Choice in Seafood^®which is built on four key platforms:

1. Better Variety - The most recent additions to Sodexo's flexible, diverse line of frozen sustainable seafood are a greater variety of breaded, battered and encrusted seafood many of which are lower in fat and sodium.
2. Better Taste - Available nationally through a network of approved regional distributors, the initiative provides a comprehensive, high quality fresh seafood program to meet Sodexo customers' needs. Salmon, Tilapia and regional value-added fresh products are featured as well as artisan, eco-friendly offerings like Loch Duart Salmon and Laughing Bird Shrimp from CleanFish.
3. Better Standards - As the global authority in seafood quality and safety, NSF Surefish has developed an independent third party led specifications and quality assurance program for Sodexo. This program is unsurpassed in the industry for consistent, dependable quality.
4. Better Environment – Working with the Marine Stewardship Council and the Global Aquaculture Alliance, Sodexo has made an allegiance to support global standards of excellence for environmental responsibility and accountability in seafood. 

Why is Sustainable Seafood Important?
Seafood is the main source of protein for over 15% of the world's population and demand for it is rising.  The United Nations predicts another two billion people will join the world's population within 20 years.  This increase in demand is challenging the world's supply of seafood.  A study published in 2006 in the journal of Science by a team of leading fishery scientists concluded that the world's fisheries are in collapse and, if current trends continue, they will be beyond repair by 2048.[1] In addition,

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global fisheries production totals 141.6 million tons annually.
• 52% of the oceans' wild fish stocks are fully exploited, 16% are overexploited, 7% are depleted and 1% is recovering.[2]
• Seven of the top ten marine fisheries, accounting for about 30% of all capture fisheries production, are fully exploited or overexploited.[3]
• 90% of the entire oceans' large fish have been fished out.[4]
• According to the MSC, 200 million people are directly or indirectly employed in seafood industries.

Your Better Choice in Seafood supports several of the 14 commitments making up Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan, its global roadmap for sustainability.  Included among them is the commitment to source sustainable fish and seafood, to promote choices with reduced sugar, salt and fats and to ensure compliance with a global sustainable supply chain code of conduct.

Read more about Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan and its commitments to the environment, health and wellness and support for local communities. You can also view the FY 2010 performance-based sustainability report for Sodexo at bettertomorrow.sodexoUSA.com.

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $15 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions
Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo acts as the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and employee well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 380,000 employees in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled array of On Site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the fulfillment of its employees and the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates.

Key Figures (as of August 31, 2010)

(1) B. Worm et al., Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services.  Science, November 3, 2006, Vol 314.

(2) FAO. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture – 2004.  "Part 1: World Review of fisheries and aquaculture." 2004. Rome.  http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/007/y5600e/y5600e04.htm#p_1

(3) FAO, Review of the State of World Fishery Resources http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/y5852e/Y5852E02.htm   

(4) Myers, R.A., and Worm, B. (2003) Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities. Nature, 423: 280-283

SOURCE Sodexo, Inc.