MSC's blue tick eco-label is credible and independent

Sir, A recent article about sustainable seafood may have given some readers the impression that products can be described as MSC-certified, even if they aren’t labelled as such (‘More MSC-certified seafood offered at Aldi and Lidl than at M&S’, 30 January, p44).

We would like to clarify that if a product doesn’t carry MSC’s blue tick eco-label on the pack, retailers cannot claim it contains MSC-certified fish. While supermarkets can, of course, make their own claims about sustainable sourcing, shoppers know that when they see the MSC eco-label on fish or seafood, there is a credible, independent assurance that the product has been fished responsibly and is traceable from ocean to plate, and they don’t have to simply take the retailer’s word for it.

Toby Middleton, programme director for UK & North East Atlantic, Marine Stewardship Council