Aquaculture: Our Farm-Raised Seafood
Farmed catfish. Farmed salmon. Farmed shrimp. You see it everywhere. So what's the difference between our farm-raised seafood and what's available anywhere else? We know exactly where our farmed seafood comes from. We know where it swam and we know what it was fed...and more importantly, what it wasn't fed!
We also know that we can trust our farmer partners because, like us, they're committed to the healthiest, most environmentally friendly farmed seafood. Together with scientists and environmentalists, they helped us to develop our strict Quality Standards for Aquaculture. And with the traceability required by those standards, we can track our farmed seafood—where it came from and how it got to our stores.
What's so Great about Aquaculture?
It makes sense! Farming seafood can provide a consistent, high-quality, year-round supply of healthy and delicious protein. And when it's done right, aquaculture can be environmentally friendly and can be a crucial way to supplement wild-caught fish supplies.
On the other hand, poor farming practices, including those that cause water pollution and other negative impacts on the environment—as well as the overuse of chemicals and antibiotics—are bad news. That's where Whole Foods Market comes in. With our strict Quality Standards and third-party verification process, we ensure that we only source farmed seafood from the world's leaders in environmentally responsible aquaculture.
Our Quality Standards are This Big!
Our Detailed Standards
Pardon our pride, but we really do have incredibly strong and thorough buying standards for farmed seafood—feel free to compare us to other markets! We are committed to these standards and to implementing them for farmed seafood throughout our stores. Here are a few highlights:
- Our Quality Standards for Aquaculture prohibit the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones and poultry and mammalian by-products in feed.
- We do not carry genetically modified or cloned seafood.
- We partner with farmers who work hard to be the leaders in sustainable aquaculture.
- Our standards require producers to minimize the impacts of fish farming on the environment by protecting sensitive habitats such as mangrove forests and wetlands, monitoring water quality to prevent pollution and sourcing feed ingredients responsibly.
- Our seafood is free from added preservatives such as sodium bisulfite, sodium tri-polyphosphate (STP) and sodium metabisulfite.
Here are some specific standards for popular farm-raised fish you'll find at Whole Foods Market.
Farm-Raised Shrimp
Our standards prohibit conversion of sensitive ecosystems such as mangrove forests into shrimp farms, and we track the shrimp from hatchery to pond to processing to ensure the standards are met. Shortly after harvest, they're flash frozen to maintain that "good shrimp" flavor and texture. And, unlike what you'll often find at other markets, our shrimp are never treated with preservatives.
Farm-Raised Salmon
Our salmon are raised in carefully monitored, low-density pens without antibiotics, pesticides or added growth hormones. Detailed protocols prevent escape of the salmon into the wild, and harmful and lethal methods are never used on predator birds and marine mammals.
Farm-Raised Rainbow Trout
Our trout are raised in America in systems that mimic a rushing stream with no antibiotics or added hormones.
Farm-Raised Tilapia
Our tilapia is raised in Ecuador and Costa Rica to our strict standards which prohibit antibiotics and preservatives. Nor do we allow the industry-standard use of hormones for sex reversal. And, our tilapia feed contains fish processing trimmings instead of wild fish caught just for feed.
Farm-Raised Arctic Char
This cousin to salmon has a gorgeous reddish pink color and a very likable, full but not fishy flavor. Based among the black volcanic boulders of Iceland's southwest coastline, our farmer partners raise Arctic char in cold-water, land-based tanks. This system offers excellent control over water quality, prevents escape of fish into the wild and helps protect the char from predators.
Farm-Raised Catfish
Our catfish are fed mostly grain with no antibiotics or hormones added. And synthetic herbicides are never used in their ponds. Our partner in North Carolina has been working with us for years to hone their process for the finest catfish farm in the U.S. To maintain high standards—theirs and ours—they own it all, the hatchery, the farm and the processing plant.
What about Mercury?
Fortunately, most farmed fish are low in mercury. They live for a relatively short time so they do not accumulate as much mercury as some species of wild fish. And if they are fed fish, it is usually types low in mercury. Learn more on our methylmercury info page.