Wegmans adopts new rules for buying farmed shrimp.

Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, New York, USA, has teamed up with Environmental Defense, a political advocacy organization, on what is described as a first-of-its-kind purchasing policy for farmed ship at its 71 stores, based on comprehensive and strict environmental standards.

Shrimp accounts for around 25% of all seafood consumed in the United States every year. Annually, Americans eat more than 1.3 billion pounds of the popular shellfish, nearly three quarters of which is farmed.

"Wegmans has always been committed to providing our customers with products that set a high standard for food quality, and we pride ourselves on thinking innovatively about how we purchase food in an environmentally responsible way," said Carl Salamone, vice president of seafood for the chain. "In 2006 we introduced Farmed King Salmon raised under environmental standards developed by Environmental Defense. The latest announcement about farmed shrimp from Belize is an expansion of our efforts to offer seafood that meets the toughest health and environmental standards."

The new purchasing standards require farmed shrimp producers to eliminate the use of antibiotics and other chemicals, avoid damaging sensitive habitats, treat their waste water and reduce the use of wild fish to feed shrimp. Suppliers will be able to demonstrate their compliance with these standards by meeting aggressive performance targets and implementing an auditing and reporting system to monitor progress.

Wegmans and Environmental Defense developed this purchasing policy in cooperation with Wegmans' shrimp suppliers. It requires that farmers immediately meet at least nine of the purchasing standards, including strict standards for levels of PCBs and other contaminants, and comply with local laws. Suppliers must meet all 12 standards within one year.