ORGA Whole Foods became the first eco-friendly food distributor to sign a marketing agreement with the MSC to expand seafood distribution on June 21, 2017 (Wed)

Through the MOU, ORGA will supply MSC-certified seafood to consumers

▲ On June 21 (Wed), ORGA held an MOU signing ceremony with the MSC to expand supply of sustainable seafood.

Nam, Jei-Ahn, CEO of ORGA (on the right) and Patrick Caleo, MSC’s Asia Pacific Regional Director (on the left) attending the ceremony held at ORGA’s Bangi branch

Under the new brand slogan of LOHAS Fresh Market, ORGA Whole Foods (CEO Nam, Jei-Ahn), an affiliate of Pulmuone, joins hands with an international non-profit organization called the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to bolster the supply of “sustainable seafood.”

ORGA announced on June 21 that it has signed an MOU with the MSC to increase the distribution of “sustainable seafood,” with CEO Nam, Jei-Ahn, MSC’s AP Regional Director, Patrick Caleo, the MSC Korea Program Consultant Seo, Jong-Seok (a professor at Pukyong National University), and other guests present at the signing ceremony held in ORGA’s Bangi store. 

▲ On June 21 (Wed), ORGA held an MOU signing ceremony with the MSC to expand supply of sustainable seafood.

Nam, Jei-Ahn, CEO of ORGA (on the right) and Patrick Caleo, MSC’s Asia Pacific Regional Director (on the left) attending the ceremony held at ORGA’s Bangi branch

ORGA plans to boost the supply of MSC-certified seafood through the MOU, and increase the use ingredients with MSC labels when producing and distributing processed and seafood products.
Moreover, ORGA stores will promote “MSC eco-labels,” as a means to encourage customers to be better aware of consuming sustainable seafood and preserving marine resources.

The MSC is an international non-profit organization founded in 1997 with the purpose of preventing overfishing and safeguarding seafood supplies to be sustainable. The organization has three core principles, which are ▷ observing environment preservation regulations, ▷ minimizing environmental impact, and ▷ effectively managing fisheries concerning natural resources and environmental impact, and 28 performance indicators. Fisheries and products that meet the requirements mentioned above are able to receive the MSC certificate, “eco-label,” indicating that the seafood products are sustainable.

▲ ORGA CEO Nam, Jei-Ahn holding MSC label with MSC’s Asia Pacific Regional Director Patrick Caleo

 
It is estimated that globally, 10 % out of 10 million tons of seafood products are certified to be sustainable via the MSC. 

The MSC certification can be categorized into the MSC Fisheries Standard, and two different versions of the MSC Chain of Custody Standard for processing and distribution phase, and restaurants respectively. In the case of Korea, seafood products such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, and pollack from over 30 companies including Hansung Enterprise, Ottogi SF, and IKEA have received MSC certification.

ORGA’s CEO Nam, Jei-Ahn stated, “ORGA has been expanding its role as LOHAS Fresh Market by driving multiple initiatives such as ‘ORGA Whole Seed’ for planting quality strains of seeds worthy of preservation, animal welfare scheme, and raising the share of low-carbon agricultural products used.” Mr. Nam also added by saying that, “The MOU with the MSC helped ORGA to protect the marine eco-system, and offer sustainable seafood that is even more reliable and safe to the consumers.”