We continue to make significant progress in the US in our sustainable fish and seafood sourcing initiative, through our partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium. Originally launched in 2006, the initiative fortifies our commitment to protecting threatened fish supply by moving the Company’s purchases away from threatened fish species and towards sustainably sourced supplies. We are delighted to have exceeded our target by eliminating 1.5 million pounds of unsustainable seafood from our suppliers, and achieved an overall sustainable products purchasing rate of 70%. We have also removed nearly 300,000 pounds of Atlantic cod from the supply chain, decreased shrimp purchases by 835,000 pound and unsustainable salmon by 49%.
Our Canadian businesses, as part of their own sustainable fish programme, are moving from unsustainable farmed salmon to wild salmon, thereby removing approximately 50,000 of farmed salmon from their menus each year.
As the first EU contract foodservice provider to gain Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in 2008, our UK team continues to drive forward their seafood sourcing initiatives in 2009, working alongside the MSC to educate and influence the supply chain in terms of our impact on threatened seafood species and alternative sustainable sources.