BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Cos. has reached the goal of having 100% of its stores’ prepared sushi aligned with the company’s Responsible Seafood Policy, the company said Friday, noting that it reached the goal a year early.

Originally adopted in 2018, the “Top 5 by 2022” Sushi Commitment set an ambitious goal for Albertsons Cos. to transition salmon, tuna, shrimp, and imitation crab to sources that meet the Responsible Seafood Policy within five years. As part of the Sushi Commitment, the company also pledged to discontinue eel until sustainable sources become available, which was achieved in 2019. Now all salmon, tuna, shrimp, and imitation crab used in sushi meet one of the following criteria from Albertsons Cos. Responsible Seafood Policy:

• Rated Green (best choice) or Yellow (good alternative) by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program; or
• Certified to an equivalent environmental standard; or
• Sourced from fisheries or farms making measurable and time-bound improvements.

“We owe it to our customers to make sure each and every product is of the highest quality, and at Albertsons Cos., that includes offering seafood from environmentally responsible sources,” said Jewel Hunt, group vice president of bakery and deli food service at Albertsons Cos. “We are thrilled to be achieving our Sushi Commitment early, and look forward to sharing more on our progress across the rest of our seafood portfolio in the coming months.”

The responsibly sourced sushi can be purchased at any of the Albertsons Cos. family of stores where sushi is sold including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, ACME Markets, Randalls, Pavilions, Haggen and Carrs, the company said.

This achievement is part of Albertsons Cos. ongoing efforts to advance the sustainability of the extensive seafood offerings at the company’s nearly 2,300 stores. In addition to exceeding timelines on the company’s Sushi Commitment, Albertsons Cos. announced last year that 100% of their Open Nature and waterfront BISTRO seafood met their Responsible Seafood Policy two and a half years early.

Albertsons Cos. said it recognizes that environmental sustainability is just one important element of responsibly sourced seafood, which is why the company’s Responsible Seafood Program incorporates additional criteria that are critical to the seafood industry, such as traceability and social responsibility. In collaboration with their sushi vendors and FishWise, Albertsons Cos. is undertaking a traceability project to verify that tuna fishing boats in the company’s sushi supply chains follow international fishing laws and industry best practices as outlined in Albertsons Cos.’ At-Sea Transshipment of Tuna Position Statement.