Starting in November, all boxes of McFish served in McDonald’s restaurants in Brazil will carry the blue ecolabel of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the world's leading certification program for wild-caught sustainable seafood.

This announcement extends McDonald’s international commitment to serving MSC certified fish and helping to ensure healthy oceans for generations to come. McDonald’s customers in Brazil will join those in Canada, Europe and the USA already enjoying seafood sourced from fisheries which have been independently certified as maintaining healthy fish stocks and marine ecosystems.

McFish sandwich traceable back to a sustainable fishery

The Chain of Custody (CoC) certification achieved by McDonald’s Brazil ensures the hoki in the McFish sandwich can be traced back to a fishery that has been certified against the robust MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The standard provides assurance that in every step of the chain – from the fishers, to the processor, to the distributor and the consumer – MSC certified seafood is not mixed with or substituted for non-certified seafood.

"This recognition reinforces our commitment to good environmental and social production practices. We constantly seek to improve practices, in order to maintain the quality of products offered to our customers and to act transparently, operating sustainably in all processes," says Celso Cruz, Director of Supply Chain of Arcos Dorados, the largest operator of McDonald’s restaurants in Latin America. 

Engaging customers

“We congratulate McDonald’s Brazil on the achievement of attaining MSC Chain of Custody certification and their efforts to support sustainable fishing practices,” said Geoff Bolan, commercial director of the Americas region for the Marine Stewardship Council. "Having the blue ecolabel on boxes of McFish in all McDonald’s restaurants in Brazil will contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by engaging consumers. It will spread the message of the importance of choosing sustainably caught seafood in more than 830 restaurants across the country.”

This announcement comes ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics which are expected to see millions of visitors to Brazil. In December 2013, the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games announced a comprehensive agreement to promote MSC certified seafood at the Games.

1.5 million Brazilian customers a day

McFish is a combination of a breaded hoki fillet, cheese, tartar sauce and a soft warm, steamed bread roll.  The sandwich is a favorite with the Brazilian public and is a fixed item year-round on the McDonald’s menus exclusively in Brazil locations. More than 1.5 million customers visit McDonald’s restaurants per day in Brazil.