Publix is taking a much closer look at the fish sold in its stores. But not necessarily for freshness or price, or even damage from oil spilling in the Gulf.
Officials at Publix are starting to reveal details about a company-wide project to rank seafood supplies on sustainability and to stop buying stocks that don't meet certain standards over time.
Like the boom in reusable bags and organic vegetables, it's another case of the overall concept of sustainability changing the grocery landscape. And like families at the dinner table debating how to define being "green," it's a delicate process for grocery stores to balance the drawbacks of buying seafood caught in the wild versus seafood raised in fish farms that have their own environmental issues attached.
Ultimately, more than 300 seafood items that Publix sells will come under a new grading scale, from high-end tuna steaks to frozen shrimp. This generally follows the direction in which more grocery stores are heading. Target recently revamped its sourcing of salmon so it only buys wild-caught fish.
The Publix project has been in the works for three years but kicked off in earnest last summer when Publix chief executive Ed Crenshaw spoke in a private meeting that Publix called with more than 70 of its seafood suppliers.
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