SFN: News From DuPont & Whole Foods

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By Carol McCracken (Post # 845)

Earlier this month, chemical giant DuPont announced it had created a new farmed salmon diet that “dramatically reduces the need for wild fish oil,” according to a report from “Sustainable Food News.”

According to DuPont its new “omega-3 technology”is being fed to salmon grown at commercial farms in the Patagonia region of Chile and will be introduced to limited U.S. customers through market testing in September, the report said.

After seven years of researach, DuPont has developed a new yeast rich in long-chain Omega-3s to replace the fish oil in the salmon diet, providing a new land-based source of heart-healthy Omega-3s and greatly reducing the need for feeder fish.

DuPont is partnering with AquaChile, the world’s largest Chilean-owned salmon company with operations in Chile, Costa Rica and the United States.

The news from Whole Foods is that its second quarter net income soared 35 percent to $88.5 million on sales of $2.4 billion, an 11 percent increase. The report said that this Texas-based chain of 309 stores, with $9 million in annual sales grew 8.4 percent, or 17.2 percent on a two-year stacked basis. It also considers 1,000 stores to be a reasonable indication of its market opportunity in the U.S. Canada and the UK are considered good locations for expansion of the chain.

“We are continuing to gain market share at a faster rate than most public food retailers as reflected in our 8.5 percent comparable store sales growth year to date. We attribute much of our success to our value efforts, which have improved our price image and to continuing to raise the bar in areas that matter to our customers, particularly quality standards and health and wellness,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO.

“Sustainable Food News” is an on-line only, daily newsletter to the organic food industry. For more information, please call Dan McGovern, publisher at (207) 749-5249. McGovern lives on the Hill.