Darden Restaurants on Tuesday applauded the announcement that the Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices program was successfully benchmarked and accepted by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
With global demand for seafood expected to jump 90 percent over the next 20 years, safe, responsible aquaculture will be essential to ensuring the sustainability of the world's oceans, said Red Lobster’s parent company.
“The GFSI benchmarking is the highest validation of the Best Aquaculture Practices certification program," said Bill Herzig, senior VP of purchasing and supply chain innovation for Darden. "Seafood from BAP-certified sources meets the most stringent standards for food safety, which is a critical component of our overall sustainability efforts.
"Darden was the first U.S. restaurant company to require its farmed shrimp suppliers to adopt BAP standards and the GFSI benchmarking takes on added importance as BAP expands to include other species such as tilapia and catfish," Herzig added.
All Aquaculture stories >