Complaint vs Ocado & Sainsbury’s ‘Organic’ Scottish Salmon “Farmed Responsibly” by Mowi Filed with Trading & Advertising Standards

 

 

Read Scamon Scotland's complaint to Trading Standards (copied to the Advertising Standards Authority) in full online here

 

Ocado & Sainsburys complaint to Trading Standards 16 February 2022 #1

 

 

Organic Ocado spoof

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Scamon Scotland's complaint to Trading Standards (copied to the Advertising Standards Authority) in full online here

 

 

 

 

 

Read more via:

 

 

 

 

 

Poster pesticides Ireland

 

 

Ramsay

 

 

Appendix:

 

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 12:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Official] CMA213680-1 Response from Competition and Markets Authority
To: General Enquiries <general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk>
Cc: Trading Standards <tradingstandards@wirral.gov.uk>, <nationaltradingstandards@actso.org.uk>
 
 
 
This complaint (download as a PDF online here) provides more hard evidence against the marketing and advertising of Scottish salmon – in this case 'organic' salmon farmed by Mowi – as "responsible".
 
Please pass this onto your intelligence team.  I have also copied in Wirral Trading Standards as the Sainsbury's 'organic' Scottish salmon product in question was purchased in Upton on the Wirral.  The complaint has also been shared with the ASA since there may be overlap with any investigation they are conducting into "responsibly farmed" and "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon. 
 
 
Thanks,
 
Don
 
 
 
 
 
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 11:52 AM
Subject: Re: [External] Complaint Vs "Responsibly Farmed" Mowi Scottish salmon sold by Tesco & Sainsbury's
To: Celia Howarth <celiah@asa.org.uk>
Cc: David Barber <davidb@asa.org.uk>
 
 
This complaint (online here) provides more hard evidence against the marketing and advertising of Scottish salmon – in this case 'organic' salmon farmed by Mowi – as "responsible".
 
Do you have an update on the complaint filed in November 2021?
 
Thanks,
 
Don
 
 
 
 
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 12:11 PM
Subject: Re: Please cancel all ASC certification of Mowi's toxic Scottish salmon!
To: <asc-ca@lr.org>, Jack Cutforth <Jack.Cutforth@asc-aqua.org>, Chris Ninnes <chris.ninnes@asc-aqua.org>, Bertrand Charron <Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org>, <Alastair.Dingwall@asc-aqua.org>, <andrew.mallison@asc-aqua.org>, <martina.spata@asc-aqua.org>, <Holly.Eggleston@asc-aqua.org>, <info@acoura.com>

Please note a complaint filed this morning with Trading & Advertising Standards vs Ocado and Sainsbury's for deceptive marketing of "responsibly sourced" 'organic' Scottish salmon (the latter carries the ASC's "farmed responsibly" logo):
 
 
 
Scamon Scotland politely requests the ASC to provide substantive evidence to back up your claim that Scottish salmon is "farmed responsibly". 
 
As today's complaint includes: "Scamon Scotland recommends that the Soil Association withdraw from certifying salmon farms as ‘organic’ and that the ASC changes their marketing logo to better reflect the reality of irresponsible salmon farming."
 
ASC spoof logo Irresponsibly Farmed #1 horizontal .jpg
 
This was Tweeted this morning via https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493855621749391368 
 
 
Best fishes,
 
Don
 
 
 
 
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 12:28 PM
Subject: Complaint vs Soil Association certified 'organic' Scottish salmon sold by Ocado & Sainsbury's
To: Ian Ayling <iayling@soilassociation.org>
Cc: Helen Browning <hbrowning@soilassociation.org>, <cert@soilassociation.org>, <contact@soilassociation.org>

 
If you would like to provide any substantive evidence to back up the Soil Association's claims that 'organic' salmon farming is 'responsible' please feel free to pass on. 
 
Scamon Scotland (formerly Scottish Salmon Watch) politely asks for a list of all Soil Association certified 'organic' salmon farms in Scotland. 
 
Please note that 'organic' salmon farming production has trebled over the last year (2020 to 2021): Scottish 'Organic' Scamon Leaps 181% – 4,462 tonnes to 12,528 tonnes from 2019 to 2020!
 
Fish Farming Expert reported in December 2021:
 
"Mowi Scotland’s Invasion Bay farm in Loch Sunart has received organic certification from the UK Soil Association. The site is Mowi Scotland’s fourth seawater farm to attain Soil Association certification in just over a year. Its Loch Leven site gained certification towards the end of last year, and the Sconser and Harport sites on Skye were certified in March and April 2021 respectively. The company is now working on additional sites to add to the organic portfolio": https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/mowi-scotland-growing-organically/
 
Mowi's Loch Ewe salmon farm was certified by the Soil Association in 2020: https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/first-salmon-harvested-at-mowi-scotland-organic-site/
 
And Fish Farming Expert reported in August 2021:
 
"Salmon farmer Cooke Aquaculture Scotland today announced that its newest seawater site, at Bay of Holland in Stronsay, Orkney has become its tenth site to achieve Soil Association organic certification": https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/cooke-scotland-unveils-10th-organic-salmon-farm/
 
In addition to Cooke's Bay of Holland, could you please list all the other salmon farms currently certified as 'organic' by the Soil Association?
 
The 'Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2020' – published by the Scottish Government on 30 September 2021 – details only nine 'organic' salmon farms:
 
image.png

As today's complaint includes: "Scamon Scotland recommends that the Soil Association withdraw from certifying salmon farms as ‘organic’"
 
This was Tweeted this morning via https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493855621749391368 
 
If the Soil Association is going to continue to certify salmon farms as 'organic' then perhaps you should change the packaging to reflect the reality of salmon farming?
 
Organic spoof.jpg
 
 
Best fishes,
 
Don
 
 
 
 
 
From: General Enquiries <general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk>
Date: Mon, Feb 21, 2022 at 9:47 AM
Subject: [Official] CMA213680-3 Response from Competition and Markets Authority
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

CMA Logo 

Our ref: CMA213680-3

 
Dear Mr Staniford

 
Thank you for your further email which I confirm has also been passed to our intelligence team for consideration. 
 

Our intelligence team will look at the information you have given us. The CMA may also use its extensive information gathering powers if appropriate.  
 
Unless we ask you to, there is no need to contact the CMA about your enquiry or send us any more information. We will be in touch with you should we need anything further from you. 

 

Yours sincerely 

Bethany Skyrme (she/her) | Business Support Assistant | Strategy, Communications and Advocacy | Competition and Markets Authority
The Cabot | 25 Cabot Square | London | E14 4QZ
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