Carrefour’s pangasius fillets. (Photo: Carrefour/FIS)
Carrefour stops selling pangasius
BELGIUM
Wednesday, January 25, 2017, 00:40 (GMT + 9)
Carrefour Belgium has decided to stop stocking up on pangasius and suspend the sale of this fish in all its stores.
This decision concerns both its own brand products and those of national brands.
"Given the doubts that persist about the adverse impacts that pangasius farms have on the environment, Carrefour ceases the sale of this fish and has already suspended its orders. There are still some stocks of frozen fish stock in some stores, which will be sold, but from now on, no more pangasius will be offered in the fresh produce departments," the company said in a statement published on Monday.
At the moment, Delhaize supermarket chain says it does not intend to follow Carrefour steps.
"The main reason for this is that we have received assurances from our suppliers that their pangasius meets the strictest ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) criteria," spokesman Roel Dekelver said.
Pangasius, which comes mainly from aquaculture farms in Vietnam, has been the subject of controversy for several years, due to questions regarding the sanitary conditions in its production.
Gwendoline Viatour, a spokeperson for WWF Belgium, said to local media about the decision taken by Carrefour: "In truth, we cannot say about the reasons that led Carrefour to make that choice. What we can see is that there is a label, the ASC label, which can guarantee that the pangasius was raised with strict respect for the environment, and that it also meets the very important social criteria. Therefore, for us, if the pangasius has the ASC label, there is no problem."
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