US grocer Food Lion has launched what it termed an “industry-leading” sustainable seafood policy that encompasses fresh, frozen, canned and packaged seafood products.
The chain, owned by Belgian retailer Delhaize Group, will provide “full traceability” for its seafood products. Manufacturers supplying wild caught seafood will be required to provide “enforceable and science-based management plans” that ensure seafood populations remain “healthy”. Meanwhile, farmed seafood will be certified by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to ensure farming techniques do not harm communities, workers, the environment or human health.
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Karen Fernald, SVP of merchandising at Food Lion, said: “Through our policy, customers can trust that the seafood products they buy in our stores today are responsibly harvested. Our seafood products have been documented as meeting important criteria around sustainability, adding Food Lion to an elite list of grocers in the US to accomplish this goal.”
