Wakefern Ups Seafood Sustainability

In support of a continued effort to achieve seafood sustainability, Wakefern Food Corp. has partnered with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), and will increasingly source wild-caught and farm-raised seafood for processing in its facility that meets one of these certification standards.

Wakefern also is obtaining MSC Chain of Custody certification, a comprehensive traceability program, at its seafood processing facility in New Jersey.

“We have committed to working with suppliers who ensure that our wild-caught and farm-raised seafood is sourced from certified, sustainable fisheries and farms,” said Karen Meleta, corporate spokesperson for Wakefern.

The MSC’s fishery certification program and seafood ecolabel recognize and reward sustainable fishing by working with fisheries, seafood companies, scientists, conservation groups and the public to promote the best environmental choice in wild-caught seafood.

Through its Best Aquaculture Practices program, GAA encourages the use of responsible production systems that are sustainable regarding environmental and community needs, and efficiently provide safe, wholesome aquaculture products to the world’s population.

All of Wakefern’s seafood undergoes a seven-point inspection, following the US Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines. Furthering its sustainable seafood goals, Wakefern will discontinue the distribution of orange roughy, shark, blue-fin tuna and grouper to its retail partners due to their status as overfished, until a sustainable source can be identified.

“We recognize that consumers depend on seafood as a quality source of protein and that fishing provides a livelihood for many communities both here in the U.S. and abroad,” added Meleta. “In order to ensure that our customers have quality seafood available to them and their families well into the future, this partnership with MSC and GAA will help us achieve the goal of sourcing sustainable seafood.”

Keasbey, N.J.–based Wakefern Food Corp. comprises 50 members who operate more than 250 supermarkets under the ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.