Food Lion joins Ocean Disclosure Project to increase transparency of sustainable seafood

Food Lion, a division of Ahold Delhaize USA, has joined the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP), a global platform where retailers voluntarily share insight into their sourcing methods to ensure sustainability.

All seafood products sold in Food Lion stores are fully traceable to the wild fishery or farm, and come from sustainable sources, and Food Lion’s ODP public profile outlines the origin of wild-caught species offered for sale at Food Lion’s more than 1,000 stores  in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The platform enables customers to make more informed decisions when shopping with Food Lion and will be updated annually.

The ODP was created by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a non-profit organization that works directly with the seafood industry to improve the sustainability of seafood. 

“When you buy seafood at Food Lion you can trust that the products you buy in our stores are brought to you in a way that you can feel good about,” said Meg Ham, president of Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion. “Being a good neighbor to us means offering the products and services our customers expect from Food Lion, but also sourcing and packaging those products and operating our stores in a sustainable way. It’s important to us that our customers know where their seafood comes from, so it only makes sense to join the ODP and make public the origin of wild-caught seafood sold in our stores.”

Related:Sustainable seafood stays in the spotlight

Food Lion works closely with a nonprofit science partner, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), to vet all seafood that enters stores against the specific criteria in Food Lion’s sustainable seafood policy.

“Being able to trace seafood back to its source has always been an important part of Food Lion’s seafood policy, and joining the ODP adds a new level of transparency that is exciting and important for driving change on global seafood sustainability issues,” said Kyle Foley, senior program manager at GMRI.

The announcement marks the latest sustainability commitment for Food Lion, long an industry leader in operating in a responsible way.

In September, the retailer announced a new commitment to restrict certain chemicals from all private label products and packaging, working in partnership with Retail Business Services, which develops private brand products for each of the Ahold Delhaize USA local brands. The commitment also includes working with suppliers to ensure products meet high standards for ingredients beyond what’s required by law today and includes a collaborative effort with suppliers to address root causes of contaminants.

Related:Grocery chains make strides in sustainability