Peter Vasil, category manager for beef and seafood at Sysco Canada, said the Russian war in Ukraine caused the company in Canada to look for alternative seafood species to keep product in the major foodservice distributor's pipeline.

Sysco, the largest restaurant supplier to both US and Canadian restaurants, made the decision to not purchase directly from Russia in response to the conflict, but Vasil said the company could not find a practical way to keep out Russian-origin products processed in China or other countries and imported into North America.