Publix Ups In-Store Transparent Seafood Practices
As part of its ongoing effort to support seafood sustainability, Publix Super Markets has further collaborated with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) to identify issues affecting sustainability in the seafood industry. The partnership enables Publix customers to make informed, responsible choices regarding seafood.
The grocer’s customers will now be able to easily spot which seafood purchases come from a sustainable source or are responsibly raised or caught, thanks to responsibly sourced and sustainably sourced icons appearing with the price tags at Publix full-service seafood departments and on shelf tags in its frozen seafood cases. Products sporting these icons have met strict SFP and GSSI standards for responsible and sustainable seafood practices.
“Participation with SFP helps Publix better understand important issues surrounding seafood sustainability,” said Maria Brous, the grocer’s director of media and community relations. “This partnership allows us to identify where change is needed the most and empowers Publix to invest in fisheries to help them gain necessary resources to improve their sustainability practices.”
In 2017, Publix became the first U.S. supermarket retailer to take part in the Ocean Disclosure Project. The retailer has been a partner of SFP since 2009 and was an early adopter of the fishery improvement project (FIP) approach. Publix regularly meets with all its seafood suppliers to discuss sustainability and works with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) to drive change in the industry.
Privately owned and operated by its more than 200,000 employees, Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix has 1,221 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The company is No. 5 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
