Greenpeace has lashed out at Tesco alleging it has reneged on a promise it would only stock sustainable tuna.
In a blog post, Greenpeace activist Ariana Densham said Tesco promised three years ago “to help protect our oceans” by only stocking tuna that was fished sustainably and in a way that didn’t threaten other wildlife.
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“At the same time as going 100% pole and line in its own brand in 2012, Tesco introduced a new dodgy brand called Oriental & Pacific back on to its shelves. Just like the Big Bad Wolf in disguise, Tesco has brought unsustainable tuna back – just this time under a different label,” wrote Densham.
A spokesperson for Tesco told just-food today (3 February), “The Greenpeace assessment is simply wrong.”
“We moved much faster than many of our competitors to make sure our own-brand tuna is 100% pole and line. We have also promised to use sustainable tuna in other products like pastas, sandwiches and salads. Many of our competitors continue to sell non-pole and line caught tuna. Customers have a great choice of sustainable tuna at Tesco.”
However no response was offered when asked whether the Oriental & Pacific tuna brand was sustainably sourced.
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By GlobalDataJohn West and Princes tuna brands were also criticised as being “no better than it was in 2011”. Morissons, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose and Co-op however were tagged “tuna market leaders – all with 100% sustainable tuna in their tins.”
