Chinese retailer Qdama to stock BAP-certified seafood

Chinese retailer Qdama has signed up with the Global Seafood Alliance to stock Best Aquaculture Practices-certified seafood in its stores.

Qdama, commonly referred to as Qiandama, a play on the Mandarin name “Auntie Qian,” is a Guangzhou-based chain that made its name with a pledge not to sell meat kept longer than one day in its stores.

The firm, which also sells seafood and vegetables, will stock BAP-certified seafood in several hundred franchised stores nationwide. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Qdama Managing Director Feng Weihua said his firm had embraced BAP certification as a guarantee of product safety for its seafood customers. The results of a survey of 3,000 Chinese consumers by GSA published recently suggest that food safety is by far the highest priority in their purchasing decisions.

Irish Xin Wang, director of business development at GSA’s China office, told SeafoodSource the signing “highlights Qdama's support sustainability [in] aquaculture.”

“Though food safety will still be the first concern for most Chinese retailer and foodservices, sustainability of seafood is also a winner,” Wang said. “I hope with the effort of GSA and GSA's partners, we can together speed up the process and raise recognition of sustainable aquaculture in China.”

Qdama has yet to follow through its plan, announced in 2021, of launching an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Recently, the company also announced plans to scale back a nationwide expansion and will instead focus on the country’s wealthy south. 

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