Hypermarket chain Cora, which has 61 stores in France is launching algal fed salmon, rich in essential EPA and DHA omega-3, providing shoppers across the country with a high quality, tasty and healthy salmon with unrivalled sustainability credentials.
The launch follows the introduction of this highly nutritious salmon in Supermarché Match, which resulted in a 12% growth in salmon sales. Both Match and Cora are owned by Belgian retail group Louis Delhaize.
To sustainably achieve the high levels of EPA and DHA omega-3, the salmon has been fed an innovative diet containing natural marine algal oil by Veramaris, which partly replaces wild fish in the salmon feed.
“It’s the first time this range of salmon has been available on a national scale in France,” according to Samuel Denoux and Jonathan Rotgé, Cora’s Seafood Director and Buying Manager, respectively.
“Our team is really proud to have mobilised an entire value chain to make this quality of salmon accessible to everyone.”
Commenting on the launch, Karim Kurmaly, Veramaris CEO, said: “First with Supermarché Match and now Cora deciding to offer salmon fed on Veramaris algal oil, French consumers have increased opportunity to purchase algal fed salmon and enjoy the benefits of consuming salmon that has both a nutritional and sustainability benefit."
“The launch is testament to the progressive culture amongst French retailers who realise the benefits of selling salmon raised on this diet. Not only can it help increase the amount of EPA and DHA omega-3 in the French diet, our algal oil is also sustainable as it can replace fish oil coming from wild-catch forage fish.”
The French diet is deficient in EPA and DHA omega-3. As a nation, not enough seafood, in particular oily fish, is consumed but these natural nutrients are essential for health.
“EPA and DHA omega-3 perform an important role in supporting heart, eye and brain health, and in regulating and resolving inflammation within the body preventing the level of inflammation becoming too high. You could say they strengthen the body’s natural defences,” comments Doctor Patrick Sérog.
Veramaris’ natural marine algal oil offers an alternative and sustainable solution to using forage fish which, traditionally, have been used to feed salmon. What’s more, Veramaris’ natural marine algal oil contains twice the amount of both EPA and DHA omega-3 compared with fish oil.