By: Usmawati Anggita Sakti

Maintaining a diet and choosing food products are important to maintain a healthy body and the balance of nature. Nutritious food that is processed with environmentally friendly principles will certainly support health and improve the quality of life. Conversely, poor quality food can threaten our lives.

Based on the results of the Supervision of the School Food Snacks Situation (PJAS) by the POM Agency in 2006-2010, the percentage of school snacks that do not meet the requirements of safety, quality and nutrition ranges from 40% - 44%. Whereas snacks play an important role in providing energy and nutritional intake for school-age children (bpom.go.id, 2011).

Departing from the results of this supervision, in 2013 the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia together with the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) and PT Tupperware Indonesia established April 12 as National Pack Day. Through the commemoration every April 12, it is hoped that the public will realize the importance of bringing lunch so that the products consumed are safe, nutritious and of high quality.

More than that, this movement actually intersects with the preservation of nature, especially marine sustainability. Bringing lunch means reducing the use of plastic snacks where Indonesia is currently the second largest contributor to plastic waste in the sea.

Sustainable Seafood Menu for Your Pack

In addition to health risks and the use of plastic waste, food that ignores the principles of environmental sustainability can threaten the sustainability of natural resources. For example, seafood caught with the wrong fishing gear can harm coral reefs or shrimp farmed with chemical feed can potentially pollute the surrounding environment. Faulty fisheries practices put the stock of marine resources at risk. In other words, fisheries practices play a role in the sustainability of marine resources. Therefore, the selection of quality, nutritious and safe food for health and the environment can also be reviewed from the process of catching and processing.

Sustainable seafood can be an alternative for people who are determined to adopt a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle. Sustainable seafood products are processed marine products that are caught or cultivated by holding the principles of responsible and sustainable fisheries. By choosing sustainable seafood, the community contributes to maintaining fishery resources.

In order to protect fisheries resources, since its establishment in 2009, Seafood Savers as an initiative of WWF-Indonesia continues to encourage various companies and retailers to market environmentally friendly seafood products. One of these companies is PT SEA which has the trademark name Fish n Blues. Fish n Blues is a retailer that markets processed marine products by implementing sustainability principles in its fishing activities. One of its flagship products is Yellowfin Tuna, which is caught using environmentally friendly fishing gear by fishermen groups in the waters of Sendang Biru, Malang, East Java. Fish n Blues products can be used as school or work lunch menus. For example, tuna spread that becomes Tuna Spread Sandwich.

The commemoration of the National Bring Lunch Day, can be a trigger for the movement to bring sustainable seafood lunches. Environmentally friendly seafood lunches, in addition to being safe, quality and nutritious, contribute to the sustainability of Indonesia's marine resources.