Hy-Vee frozen shrimp. (Photo: Hy-Vee)

Hy-Vee deepens its commitment to responsibly sourced seafood products

UNITED STATES
Thursday, August 17, 2017, 03:10 (GMT + 9)

Hy-Vee  announced that all their national brand frozen seafood offered at their stores is responsibly sourced in compliance with the Midwestern grocery chain’s seafood procurement policy.

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee declares itself to be the first Midwest retailer to guarantee that 100 per cent of the fresh and frozen seafood sold in its 245 stores comes from environmentally responsible sources.

This decision builds on the retailer’s December 2015 announcement that all of its private-label fresh and frozen seafood is responsibly sourced.

“This achievement fulfills our promise to our customers to do the right thing, and we will keep working hard with our suppliers and partners to maintain this level of excellence moving forward,” pointed out Brett Bremser, EVP of perishables at Hy-Vee.

Hy-Vee’s seafood procurement policy was created with guidance from FishWise, a nonprofit sustainable seafood consultancy that partnered with the retailer in 2011.

The policy defines responsible seafood as coming from sources that are rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, certified to an environmental standard equivalent to these ratings, or sourced from credible, time-bound improvement projects.

Since the policy’s inception in 2012, Hy-Vee has worked to transition more than 5 million pounds of seafood to environmentally responsible sources.

In June 2017, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and Seafood Watch announced that two-, three- and four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified tilapia is at least equivalent to a Seafood Watch Yellow rating, bringing tilapia products previously unrated by Seafood Watch into compliance with Hy-Vee’s policy.

“We are thrilled at Hy-Vee’s latest 100 per cent achievement, and deeply appreciative of the hard work by Seafood Watch, GAA and other stakeholders to elevate BAP-certified tilapia to a level that meets Hy-Vee and other retailers’ responsible sourcing policies,” said Kathleen Mullen-Ley, project director at FishWise.

Hy-Vee ensures it will continue to work with FishWise to monitor changes in sustainability ratings and certifications of its seafood products to ensure Hy-Vee maintains 100 per cent compliance with its policy moving forward.

In addition, Hy-Vee and FishWise are also working together to improve the environmental and social responsibility of the company’s shelf-stable tuna products.
 
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