May 25, 2011

Wakefern receives Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification

Wakefern Food Corp. has been included by the Global Aquaculture Alliance's expanding list of retailers, foodservice operators and distributors that have accepted GAA's Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification for farmed seafood.

Wakefern Food Corp. recently confirmed its commitment to the BAP programme and will work with its suppliers to meet sustainability goals through BAP certification at both the farm and processor levels.

Wakefern, the US largest retailer-owned cooperative, is comprised of 47 member companies that own and operate retail supermarkets under the ShopRite banner. With retail locations in six US states, the Wakefern cooperative reaches into the New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland markets. The company also has plans in place to require feed and hatchery certification.

Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification programme based on global performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain, namely farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills to ensure production through environmentally and socially responsible means.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance is proud to add Wakefern to the ever-expanding list of companies that are taking a role in changing the course of aquaculture production around the world.

"Our BAP standards programme is a manifestation of how the marketplace can make a positive difference on a global scale," Peter Redmond, GAA vice president of global market development, said. "The growth of sustainable aquaculture is at the heart of GAA, and every endorsement of our standards gives us increased comfort with the future of aquaculture."

Wakefern is committed to providing its ShopRite customers with seafood that is sustainably sourced," said Karen Meleta, vice president of consumer and corporate communications for Wakefern Food Corp. She also added, "Participating in the BAP programme provides us with the assurance that our farm-raised seafood suppliers are employing environmentally and socially responsible practices."