Giant Food, the Landover, Maryland-headquartered regional grocery store operator with 164 outlets in Virginia, Delaware and Washington DC as well as in Maryland, has joined the Ocean Disclosure (ODP), a global platform where retailers voluntarily share insight into their sourcing methods to ensure sustainable seafood practices. Other major supermarket and grocery store operators that have signed on with the program include Aldi, ASDA, Co-Op, Hannaford, Lidl, Meijer, Morrisons, Publix, Tesco, Waitrose and Walmart.
The sustainable seafood policy at Giant Food, a division of Ahold Delhaize, has long ensured that every seafood item sold in stores meets sustainability criteria, but the grocer is now taking it a step further enlisting ODP to make the original sources of all its private label, wild-caught seafood transparent and available to the public.
“We want shoppers to be able to trust that when they purchase any seafood product from Giant, that it is coming from a verified source,” said President Ira Kress. “Participating in the ODP represents our assurance to total transparency and being able to offer products that are in line with our commitment to sustainable sourcing throughout every department of the store.”
Giant is also a partner of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), which ensures that all seafood that enters stores is vetted against the specific criteria in Giant’s sustainable seafood policy. This announcement marks the latest sustainability commitment for Giant, a long-time industry leader in responsible and environmentally conscious operations.
“Knowing where your seafood comes from is a critical element of any effort to buy sustainable seafood, said Kyle Foley, sustainable seafood senior program manager at GMRI. “By joining the ODP, Giant Food is pulling back the curtain and being transparent about the original sources of the seafood sold in stores.”
