While 82% of Americans surveyed are adding salmon, shrimp and tilapia to their plates, they want to know where it’s coming from and that it was sourced responsibly, according to a June 2017 Cargill Feed4Thought consumer survey.
The survey, which polled more than 1,000 US residents, found that 72% of American consumers believe seafood is important to their health and nutrition.
Eighty-eight percent of respondents are willing to pay more for seafood that is certified as sustainably and responsibly sourced.
This especially appeals to the younger generation, with 93% of millennials agreeing they are willing to pay more.
“It is important that the seafood industry earns consumer trust,” said Avrim Lazar, convener of the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI).
“That’s why we work very hard to meet third party, rigorous certification standards.”
“Consumers deserve independent assurance that the seafood they eat is sustainable and responsibly sourced.”
Cargill Aqua Nutrition for example produces feed for salmon, tilapia and shrimp in 18 countries.
It has 38 specialized aquaculture feed facilities and three innovation centers for aquaculture, which together produced 1.74 million tons of aqua feed in 2016.
The division provides 2.7 billion seafood meals from its salmon feed alone.
Cargill facilities in Canada and Chile hold both Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and GLOBAL Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP) certifications.
Cargill plants in Scotland and Norway are Global GAP-certified, while factories in Honduras and Nicaragua are BAP-certified.
Cargill Aqua Nutrition also supplies feed which meets the requirements of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, an organization focused on environmental and social responsibility in the farmed seafood supply chain.
