Sustainability

At Intercity Packers, we recognize our role in ensuring an eco-friendly, sustainable future for the meat and seafood we buy and sell, as well as for the health of the land and oceans. We aim to be a model of sustainability in the Canadian marketplace and to continue to be a proactive leader that is well positioned to supply the most sustainable meat and seafood products.

We believe in the continuous improvement process and take an active role in assisting external fisheries, aquaculture projects and natural meat producers.

Ocean Wise is a global conservation organization dedicated to tackling the threats impacting our oceans such as overfishing, climate change, pollution, and urban development through engagement, research and education.

Intercity Packers is proud to be the founding supplier partner of The Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program (known as Albion Fisheries at the time), which was created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. Ocean Wise works directly with our customers to highlight their menus and display cases with the Ocean Wise symbol. This makes it easier for consumers to make environmentally friendly seafood choices.

Intercity Packers has been a proud FishChoice Supplier Member since 2012. As a FishChoice Supplier Member, our company is part of a seafood community of like-minded businesses, NGOs, and others who are committed to advancing seafood sustainability. We accomplish this primarily through the FishChoice platform by having seafood product source information publicly available and transparent in its origin as well as identifying the current sustainability status of our seafood products.

FishChoice partners with the leading global organizations that rate and certify seafood based on its environmental sustainability. FishChoice matches our product sources with that information and updates us when that information changes so we can make sure our staff and customers have the most current information readily available. The platform is becoming the most in-depth resource for seafood company and product information available online with sustainability data covering an estimated 700 species and over 4,000 sources of wild and farmed seafood.

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization that is on the mission to use their ecolabel and fishery certification program to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.

Any seafood sold with the blue MSC label needs to be traceable from ocean to plate. For this to work, every company along the supply chain needs to be certified to the MSC Chain of Custody Standard. As a certified supplier, we can keep product’s chain of custody traceable.

Intercity Packers is an active Business Collaborator partner of The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, which helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that’s fished or farmed in ways that support a healthy ocean, now and for future generations. Seafood Watch Business Collaborators make a commitment to identify environmentally responsible recommendations on all product listings and provide accurate Seafood Watch information to all customers.

Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are Best Choices or Good Alternatives, and which ones you should avoid. Seafood Watch advances policies and management measures to improve traceability in the global seafood supply chain, unregulated fishing, advocate for fisheries management and work internationally to address environmental and human rights issues.

As the first seafood distributor in Canada to become Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified, Intercity Packers (previously Albion Fisheries) is proud to highlight our association with these standards. The comprehensive BAP standards encompass the entire aquaculture production chain, including farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills.

• All standards address every key element of responsible aquaculture, including environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, animal welfare and traceability
• The seafood processing plant standards are benchmarked against the latest Global Food Safety Initiative food-safety requirements
• A market development team actively promotes the BAP program to retailers and foodservice operators worldwide on behalf of BAP-certified facilities

The Quality Control Team at Intercity Packers works directly with fishermen, fishing boats and firms to improve pre/post-harvesting techniques ensuring the finest quality fish and shellfish available. Our ozonated water cleaning system is used in every stage of processing; ensuring product cleanliness, bacterial elimination from the environment. Our plant personnel undergo continuous training to meet and exceed strict industry standards.