Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Introduces New Label to Distinguish Sustainable Seafood

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas, August 31 /PRNewswire/ --

- Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Blue Eco-Label Now on Ten Fish Products

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced today that shoppers can now find the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) independent blue eco-label on ten fish products, including the world's first MSC-labeled surimi products, in Supercenter and Neighborhood Market locations across the United States.

"The MSC label is an easy way for consumers to identify seafood from fisheries that meet the MSC's strict environmental standard," said Peter Redmond, vice president, Wal-Mart Seafood and Deli. "We have set a goal to procure all wild-caught seafood for North America from fisheries certified by the MSC within the next three to five years and this is the first step toward that goal. This initiative is part of Wal-Mart's continued commitment to offering sustainable products at affordable prices to our customers."

Rupert Howes, chief executive of MSC, described the launch of the first MSC-labeled products within Wal-Mart Stores as a major milestone in the company's sustainable procurement initiative. "The range and volume of MSC eco-labeled seafood products on Wal-Mart's shelves are set to increase significantly over the coming years as more suppliers meet our requirements for processing and handling sustainable seafood," said Howes. "Furthermore, Wal-Mart supply fisheries have begun to engage in the early stages of the MSC assessment process. We hope that this commitment will encourage other fisheries to join the MSC assessment process and provide a powerful new route for consumers to support sustainable fishing."

In February 2006, Wal-Mart pledged to source all of its wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for the North American market from fisheries that meet the MSC's independent environmental standard. The first products to hit Wal-Mart's shelves came from Beaver Street Fisheries and AquaCuisine in April.

"We are proud to be involved on the forefront of this bold industry leading step by Wal-Mart as we have consistently scoured the globe for sustainable wild-caught and environmentally friendly aquaculture resources," said Carlos Sanchez, director of Product Development at Beaver Street Fisheries.

Mark Goforth, President of AquaCuisine, has also confirmed the development of additional MSC-certified products for Wal-Mart: "We commend the initiative and foresight of Wal-Mart to expand consumer and industry awareness of MSC-certified fisheries. AquaCuisine is proud to be developing additional delicious world-class, environmentally sound products. We feel this initiative is a natural step to further demonstrate our commitment to the sustainable seafood movement and promote MSC certification around the globe."

Today, Wal-Mart Supercenter and Neighborhood Market customers can choose from the following MSC-labeled seafood:

- Aquamar Classic Flake Style Premium Imitation Crab Meat (12 oz /340g) - Aquamar Classic Leg Style Premium Imitation Crab Meat (12 oz /340g) - Aquamar Imitation Crab Meat (1.5 lbs /680g) - New Zealand hoki fillets (3 lbs /1.36kg) - 'Seafood Tonight' Alaska salmon patty cakes (7 oz /199g) - Trans Ocean Classic Imitation Crab Meat Chunk Style (8 oz /227g) - Trans Ocean Classic Imitation Crab Meat Flake Style (8 oz /227g) - Tray packed New Zealand hoki fillets (random weight) - Wild salmon fillets (1 lb /454g) - Wild Alaskan Pollock fillets (2 lbs /908g)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. The company has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca, formerly the Pacific Stock Exchange, under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartfacts.com . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com .

MSC, The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), is an independent non-profit organization set up to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. Its distinctive blue eco-label can now be found on more than 370 products sold in major retail chains in 26 countries. To date, 21 fisheries are certified to the MSC's environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Together they record annual catches of over 3.5 million tons of seafood. They represent 42 percent of the world's wild salmon catch, 32 percent of the world's prime whitefish catch and 18 percent of the world's lobster catches for human consumption. For further information: http://www.mis.org .

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