Andronico's Community Markets Launches New Responsible Seafood Program

Andronico’s Community Markets partners with non-profit FishWise to offer customers responsibly sourced seafood options

San Leandro, CA, September 12, 2014 — Today, Andronico’s Community Markets announced a partnership to implement a responsible seafood program with FishWise, a non-profit organization focused on working with seafood businesses to promote the health and recovery of ocean ecosystems.

“Partnering with FishWise and implementing the FishWise seafood labeling program will provide our guests all information necessary for them to make educated seafood purchasing decisions” notes Reid Pomerantz, Andronico’s Director of Meat and Seafood.  “The program also validates our efforts over the past several years to source seafood selections that are sustainable and will drive us even more to provide sustainable and eco-friendly options for our customers going forward”.

Through the new program, Andronico’s has strengthened its commitment to offering customers environmentally responsible seafood by improving sourcing, staff training, and point of sale materials for customers. Seafood sourced through the program will now bear Green, Yellow, and Red labels in the fresh case, per the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program color ratings. Items bearing Green and Yellow labels come from sources that minimize the environmental impacts of wild harvesting or farming, or are otherwise good alternatives to less sustainable options. Items bearing Red labels come from sources in need of improvement and Andronico’s has committed to finding alternatives to these products over the coming years. The program is new but Andronico’s is already making big changes, for example, having recently switched from Red rated farmed salmon to the environmentally preferable Yellow rated farmed salmon, Verlasso^®, from Chile.

“FishWise commends the sustainability commitments that Andronico’s Community Markets has made to ensure that its customers can purchase high quality, responsibly sourced seafood”, Ethan Y. Lucas, Project Manager for FishWise said. “Andronico’s Community Markets have cultivated a strong reputation in the Bay Area for affecting positive change in the local community and the extension of these commitments to the seafood department demonstrates its dedication to customers and the environment.”

Andronico’s seafood staff have also undergone extensive training in support of the new program, meaning customers can feel comfortable asking any questions about the type, source, sustainability, and quality of seafood at their local Andronico’s Community Market.

The agreement between Andronico’s Community Markets and FishWise is consistent with the Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood. The Common Vision is an ambitious but realistic guide to environmentally responsible seafood for businesses that was developed by more than fifteen of North America’s leading ocean conservation organizations.

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About Andronico’s Food Markets

Since 1929 Andronico’s Community Markets has been a progressive, privately owned grocery retailer with five locations throughout the Bay Area offering a full range of specialty, local and everyday grocery items, high quality produce, a full selection of meat and fish from seasoned butchers and fishmongers, freshly prepared foods, cut flowers and plants and an eclectic range of local and international wine and beer. They’ve implemented the new “Shop Local” program providing customers with information about what products in the store are manufactured, produced, packaged, and/ or raised in Northern California.For more information, visit www.andronicos.com. Shoppers can also find Andronico’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AndronicosCommunityMarkets) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/andronicos1).

About FishWise

Based in Santa Cruz, CA, FishWise promotes the health and recovery of ocean ecosystems by providing innovative market-based tools to the seafood industry and supports sustainability through environmentally responsible business practices. FishWise partners with some of North America’s largest and most innovative retailers, suppliers, and producers. For more information, visit www.fishwise.org.

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