the then new RSPCA Freedom Food scheme with the aim of improving welfare standards for animals at all stages of the food chain. Their range of "freedom foods" certified products began from around this time. The Co-op also has a range of animal welfare standards for its own brand chicken, pork and turkey products which are more strict than UK legal requirements. It has also labelled the living conditions of the hens which lay its eggs in the 1990s and became the first retailer to switch to only using free-range eggs in all own brand products. As a result of these policies, The Co-operative was awarded a 'Tier 2' standard by the 'Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare' for 2013. In this report The Co-operative was recognised for banning the prophylactic use of antibiotics or any other artificial substance for use in promoting abnormal animal growth in all own brand products; prophylactic antibiotic use is found in the majority of meat sold in Europe but has been linked to the development of antibiotic resistant infections such as certain strains of E. coli. The business only allows antibiotics to be administered "with the specific written approval of a vet to address a specific health threat." The business also limits any journey time when transporting of livestock to 6 hours, but most journeys should be under 1 hour. Responsible fish sourcing The Co-operative is one of the leading retailers of responsible fish in the UK having launched its Responsible Fish Sourcing Policy in 2008 after commissioning research in association with NGOs, academics and its suppliers. This report was subsequently updated in 2014. The Co-operative Food was commended by the Marine Conservation Society with a "gold award" (2011) and a "silver award" (2013) and, for its sourcing policy, The Co-operative was one of five organisations accredited with the 2010 Seafood Champion Award. Since 2011 all own-brand tuna has been caught using the pole and line method and does not use "Fish Aggregation Devices", a method with a significantly lower by-catch rate when compared with conventional tuna fishing. Since 2012, all farmed salmon has been certified by the RSPCA Freedom Foods accreditation scheme. In 2008 the Co-op committed £200,000 to enable fisheries which would struggle to fund the certification process to become accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council. In 2015 the Co-op became one of the first retailers to join the "Ocean Disclosure Project"