October 11, 2019 — Publix Super Markets, a Lakeland, Florida-based retailer with more than 1,200 locations in seven southern US states will begin, in 2020, to “reverse audit” some of its many seafood suppliers for their sustainability claims.
“We expect them to be in compliance and [to] find no errors,” Guy Pizzuti, the company’s seafood category manager, told Undercurrent News in a recent email exchange.
The reverse audit process will take an item code and lot number and work backwards through the system, he explained. In instances where aquaculture-related suppliers are found out of compliance, the company will meet with both the supplier and the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program, he said.
“Corrective actions would be submitted, audits would be increased, and [the] business would be reduced or eliminated [from the supplier list] pending any further issues. BAP will be asked to demonstrate findings to both Publix and the supplier.”