Superior Fresh hosts farm tour for supermarket dietitians

Superior Fresh recently hosted a group of supermarket dietitians at its farm in Hixton, Wisconsin, U.S.A. for a “Food As Medicine Regenerative Farm Tour.”

The company, which opened in 2015 and expanded its Atlantic salmon farming operations in 2019, said it wanted to give dietitians a behind-the-scenes look at how Superior Fresh is “making healthy food production a top priority.” The company operates a land-based farm connected to an adjacent greenhouse where the salmon waste is used to grow to USDA organic leafy greens.

Registered dietitians are great ambassadors for Superior Fresh’s brand, Superior Fresh President Brandon Gottsacker said, because “they can appreciate what we are doing differently to produce the highest-quality, nutritious, and sustainable seafood and fresh produce that are the foundation of a healthy diet.”

Superior Fresh is one of the few domestic producers of farmed Atlantic salmon in the U.S., “while the majority of farmed salmon is imported from thousands of miles away,” Gottsacker said.

The company touted its omega-3 content of its fish, which it said can be as high as twice the levels of competitors’ salmon, according to Superior Fresh, citing EPA and DHA tests it had performed at an independent laboratory. Superior Fresh said its salmon are fed an organic diet of natural marine-based ingredients, providing them their high omega-3 content levels.

Barbara Ruhs is a registered dietitian who partnered with Superior Fresh to host the tour. She said educating supermarket dietitians can have a huge impact, because they influence the buying decisions of millions of customers at retailers across the U.S. Many dietitians are involved with educating customers in stores by providing individual nutrition counseling, which is covered as a reimbursable session by many health plans for people with a clinical diagnosis for heart disease, diabetes, and disease prevention.

“The majority of Americans (90 percent) are falling short of consuming adequate omega-3 essential fat (EPA+DHA) intake of 500 milligrams per day that is predominantly found in fatty fish, like salmon. It is especially important that RDs know that not all salmon has the same levels of omega-3 fats that are impacted directly by how they are fed,” Ruhs said.

Superior Fresh plans to “continue to build relationships with health professionals in an ongoing effort to educate consumers about choosing nutritious foods as the best form of medicine,” the company said.

Photo courtesy of Superior Fresh