Posts Tagged ‘seafood’
Nearly 600 retailers join anti-GMO campaign
On the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s preliminary approval of genetically modified salmon, nearly 600 retailers say they will take part in a new anti-GMO campaign.
The inaugural “National Non-GMO Month,” sponsored by the Non-GMO Project of Upland, Calif., will be held in October, which happens to coincide with National Seafood Month. Meanwhile, Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) this week called GM salmon “Frankenfish” and the FDA’s potential approval of AquaBounty Technologies’ GM salmon “risky and a threat to the survival of wild species.’
Around 580 natural and independent food stores, including Whole Foods Market, will draw consumers’ attention to the non-GMO products that they carry, as well as educate them about the GMO issue. According to the Non-GMO Project, studies show a correlation between the consumption of GMOs and health risks.
WWF: Don’t reject Barents Sea cod
The World Wildlife Fund expressed concern on Friday over the intentions of retailers in Germany, the United States and Canada to drop all Atlantic cod products because of sustainability questions.
While the environmental group admits some Atlantic cod fisheries have room for improvement, the group is urging retailers to not reject cod purchases from the Barents Sea, a fishery that is described by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as harvested sustainably, and one that has obtained Marine Stewardship Council certification for sound management. WWF claims that dropping Barents Sea contradicts retails’ commitments to sell sustainable seafood.
“Science confirms that Barents Sea cod is being harvested sustainably, therefore it’s excessively heavy-handed and unnecessary to de-list this fishery from supermarket shelves,” said Alfred Schumm, leader of WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative. “The MSC certified Barents Sea cod is undoubtedly one of the best options at the fish counter.”
Whole Foods to stop selling over-fished seafood
Whole Foods Market Inc. is phasing out seafood considered over-fished or unsustainably-caught.
Austin-based Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI) operates a store in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood and plans to open its second in the region in the North Hills in 2011. The new seafood strategy is part of the grocer’s efforts to better inform customers about fish and shellfish sources. In partnership with the Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, the company has adopted an in-store, color-coded sustainability rating system for wild-caught seafood. Whole Foods has also committed to phasing out all red-rated species by Earth Day 2013, including swordfish, Atlantic cod, sole and tuna, among others.
Seafood color-coded green, or “best choice,” indicates the fish is part of an abundant population and is fished in an environmentally-friendly way. A yellow-coded offering means a “good alternative,” or having some concerns about population or fishing methods. The red, “avoid” category signals the species is suffering from overfishing, or that current fishing methods harm other marine life or habitats.
Read more: Whole Foods to stop selling over-fished seafood – Pittsburgh Business Times
Consumer information campaign about sustainable seafood
The age-old dating wisdom that “there are plenty of fish in the sea” is not true when it comes to the scaly and shell-covered creatures swimming in our oceans.
Concerns over depleting our wild fish supply are part of a broader campaign called the sustainable seafood movement, which encourages consumers to be more aware about where their shrimp scampi and spicy tuna rolls come from and the environmental cost required to reach the dinner table.
“Sustainable” is one of those foodie adjectives that rolls off so many tongues these days its meaning may get muddled. But, in general, it means producing food in a way that is not destructive to our planet, and is economically and socially just.
Making sustainable seafood easier
A new site aimed at chefs and retail buyers is attempting to connect those purchasers of sustainable seafood to supply. FishChoice.com says its Web-based tool, launched in early August, will make it a lot easier for buyers to connect with sustainable suppliers.
The site was developed because 90 percent of consumers say it is important for the food industry to be more proactive in addressing environmental concerns and retail buyers and chefs often don’t have the time to research all the options available to them, according to Richard Boot, the founder and president of nonprofit FishChoice.com.
European consumer interest in seafood information and traceability
European consumer interest in seafood information and traceability
Expiry date, price, species name and weight are the most used information cues on seafood labels, packages or shelves (Figure 2). Consumers are most familiar with these cues and they feel able to derive clear quality expectations from the information these cues convey. Other cues like capture area, brand, nutritional information or date of capture are far less used. The likely reasons are consumer’s lack of familiarity, and lack of trust in these cues that signal typical credence attributes.