The Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) is pleased to announce that UK supermarket Lidl GB today voluntarily disclosed its farmed seafood sources for the first time, by publishing a list of its farmed fish and shellfish through the ODP.
Lidl GB first disclosed its wild-caught seafood sourcing through the ODP in 2018 and has now updated its ODP profile for 2020 to include information on the origin of both wild-caught and farmed seafood sources. The profile, which reflects sourcing for all permanently listed wild-caught and farmed products negotiated for Lidl GB in 2019, shows whether those sources were certified to a recognized standard or in an improvement project and includes sustainability ratings and brief notes on environmental impacts.
Amali Bunter, Responsible Sourcing Manager at Lidl GB said:
“At Lidl GB we are extremely proud of our commitment to sourcing 100 percent of our own brand fish and seafood from responsible sources, one of the first supermarkets to do so. By voluntarily disclosing our farmed seafood sources, in addition to our wild-caught species, through the Ocean Disclosure Project, we are pleased to commit to even greater transparency to help shape a more sustainable fishing industry.”
Lidl GB sources eight different species of farmed fish and shellfish, including Atlantic salmon, European seabass, pangasius, and whiteleg shrimp, the most popular farmed seafood products in UK retail. In 2019, all of Lidl GB’s farmed seafood came from sources certified as responsibly farmed.
Tania Woodcock, project manager for the Ocean Disclosure Project, said:
“By expanding the scope of its seafood sourcing disclosure to include farmed sources, Lidl GB has taken an important step toward even greater transparency of its seafood. We welcome their continued commitment to transparency and their renewed participation in the Ocean Disclosure Project.”
The ODP was started by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 30 companies, including retailers, suppliers, and aquaculture feed manufacturers from Europe, North America, and Australia, have participated. Other ODP participants include British retailers Aldi UK & Ireland, Asda, Co-op Food, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, Morrisons, Tesco, and Waitrose & Partners.
Lidl GB’s full profile can be viewed here.
About the Ocean Disclosure Project:
Established in 2015 by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) is a global platform for voluntary disclosure of seafood sourcing. The ODP is dedicated to increasing transparency in seafood supply chains by encouraging seafood-buying companies to publicly report on the seafood they source. The ODP provides a common template through which companies can report the fisheries and fish farms they source from, alongside information on the provenance, stock status and management, and environmental impact (including impacts on protected, endangered, and threatened species, bycatch, and benthic habitats; marine inputs for fish feed; and farming impacts on wild species and water quality) of these sources. This information is used to create annual profiles reflecting the company’s sourcing from the previous year, which are then published on the ODP website. Visit us at www.oceandisclosureproject.org.
About Lidl GB:
Since establishing itself in the UK in 1994, Lidl has experienced continuous growth in Great Britain and today has over 25,000 employees, 800 stores and 13 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales. As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. With a presence in over 30 countries around the world, the supermarket now has more than 10,800 stores globally. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company’s daily operations, with a vision to ‘make good food accessible to everyone’, ensuring that all Lidl food is produced, sold and consumed in ways that benefit producers, people and the planet. Lidl GB is passionate about working with British producers and sources 60 percent of its products from the UK, working with suppliers across the British Isles wherever possible.