CONTACT: Jo Natale FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wegmans Food Markets 1/13/97
Gordon Helm, USDC
Wegmans Food Markets has become the first major supermarket chain to participate in the Commerce Department's voluntary seafood HACCP certification program. The Commerce Department has for over 40 years been the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the U.S. seafood industry.
Beginning January 12, 1997, Wegmans Food Markets reached a major milestone for the voluntary program when Wegmans brought its entire chain of stores, warehouse, and distribution into the U.S. Department of Commerce voluntary seafood HACCP program.
Wegmans, which has 53 stores in New York and Pennsylvania, is a family-owned supermarket chain nationally recognized as a leader in quality perishable products and market innovation. The supermarket chain, which worked closely with the department to develop the quality program's symbol, will display it prominently in its stores and seafood packaging.
Wegmans' wide use of the symbol illustrates its solid partnership with the USDC, working through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Seafood Inspection Program, which certified the Wegmans Seafood Quality Control Program.
Founded in 1916, Wegmans has in part built its reputation on consumer education. As Danny Wegman, president of the chain, explains, The USDC voluntary HACCP program will help consumers feel very confident about the seafood they buy from Wegmans. Our challenge will be to explain the concept and the benefits of the HACCP process to our customers." Customers will find a video playing in each of Wegmans' seafood departments to help demystify the meaning of HACCP, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, a relatively new acronym for the retail customer.
Originally developed for the NASA space program, the HACCP concept means a process is in place that prevents problems from occurring. The HACCP system identifies all critical points in processing and distribution where seafood quality and safety can be compromised and, if necessary, takes corrective action. Participants are required to keep detailed records, which are then verified by the USDC.
The USDC has operated a voluntary fee-for-service seafood inspection program for over 40 years, its mission to facilitate seafood trade in the United States and abroad. The program is committed to certifying the quality and the safety of seafood products so that consumers may obtain the quality products they seek. The USDC HACCP-based program has been available since 1992 to all segments of the seafood industry. The USDC certified over one billion pounds of seafood in 1995 and expects to exceed that figure in 1996.