Sustainable Seafood Guide

In 2012, Woolworths committed that by 2015, all our wild-caught seafood would be either WWF-SASSI Green-listed, caught from MSC (or equivalent) certified fisheries, or sourced from fisheries that are undertaking credible, time-bound improvement projects. By the end of 2015, we achieved 93% of these goals, and by February 2016, this increased to 97%. The remaining 3% of Woolworths’ volume sales comes from wild-caught fish species that are not currently assessed by either WWF-SASSI or MSC.  We do not sell Red-listed fish species.

We’re now working on improving the sustainability of the farmed fish in our supply chain. It is our goal that by 2020 all aquaculture species sold by Woolworths will be either WWF-SASSI Green-listed, ASC (or equivalent) certified, or from aquaculture operations that are engaged in a credible, time-bound Improvement Project.

Today, 61% of commercially important assessed marine fish stocks worldwide are fully fished, and 29% are overfished (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2015). Given the importance of fish as a vital source of protein for billions of people, the state of the ocean’s fish stocks and marine ecosystems is a worldwide concern. Woolworths has shared this concern for a number of years. We’re therefore committed to procuring all our seafood from sustainable fisheries and responsible farming operations and are also working with local and international seafood sustainability awareness  and certification programmes, including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the WWF-SA’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to ensure that all our seafood is responsibly sourced and traceable back to the ship that caught it or the farm that raised it. 

The impact of agriculture is threatening natural resources and biodiversity in South Africa. Over the past decade we’ve seen that while current farming practices have produced cheap food in abundance, they carry hidden costs for the health of our planet and its people. As a result, we make it our business to work together with our suppliers to minimise these impacts, and positively influence the environmental and social outcomes of doing business. 

rBST FREE AYRSHIRE MILK

September 27. 2017

Woolworths is pleased to announce the reintroduction of rBST-free labelling onto their milk packaging, starting with all of their fresh Ayrshire milk products. This follows the approval from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) of Woolworths audit protocol, including the implementation of rBST hormone testing.

BST is a naturally occurring protein hormone produced by dairy cows to regulate their milk production. rBST is a synthetic version of BST, often given to cows to increase their milk production. Since 2002, Woolworths has not used rBST to treat any of their Ayrshire dairy cows in response to customer demand.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer our customers further assurances that our fresh Ayrshire milk does not contain rBST. Alongside the relationships we have built with our dairy farmers, regular audits to ensure they are not administering the hormone, and extensive audit protocols, we are now also able to accurately test milk for the presence of rBST. This means we can verify via structured testing that our milk is rBST free,” says Suzy O’Regan, Woolworths Dairy Product Developer.

“Our commitment to responding to our customers’ requests for milk produced without the use of the rBST hormone was the driving force behind implementing testing by with an internationally recognised academic institution,” adds O’Regan,.

Woolworths has been working closely with the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries regarding the processes of legal compliance as well as the Dairy Standard Agency to ensure product integrity regarding rBST at farm level.

rBST-free labelled milk products will be available in stores from the 4th September and will be rolled out during the course of the month. The Ayrshire milk bottle, which currently displays our “green heart” to communicate that it is made of 30% plant-based plastic, will now also include the rBST-free ‘stamp’.

“This announcement is another milestone on our Good Food Journey, following the launch of our environmentally friendly plant-based milk bottles last year. This is our commitment to providing customers with food that is better for the environment and better for the people who produce it,” concludes O’Regan.

ENDS

rBST FREE LABELLING - AUDIT PROTOCOLS

Woolworths has been working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries regarding the processes of legal compliance as well as the Dairy Standards Agency to ensure product integrity regarding rBST at farm level. 

This includes:

• • Audit protocols approved by DAFF (Dept. of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)
• • Independent audits against the rBST audit protocol to ensure compliance to Woolworths standards
• • Routine rBST hormone testing by an independent laboratory to verify hormone absence.