Food safety and quality are a top concern for our stakeholders. To guarantee the high standards of food safety and quality of the products we sell, we have guidelines in place in all the countries where we do business:
- the Product Quality and Safety Policy1, as a guide for improving the development and monitoring of Private Brand products and perishables;
- the Nutrition Policy2, concerning nutrition profile, preferred ingredients to use, labelling, serving sizes, continuous improvement, and communication;
- the Guidelines for the Development of Private Brand Products and Perishables, specifying quality and food safety requirements for stores and distribution centres, restrictions on the use of food colouring, preservatives and other artificial additives, defining the recommended quantities of ingredients such as salt, sugar and fats, including other principles of nutritional labelling.
In 2023, as a result of improving our procedures and updating both knowledge and technical information on food safety and quality, we revised the guidelines for developing Private Brand and perishable products and shared these guidelines with our suppliers. The main changes were:
- the total ban on the use of acesulfame potassium (E950) and the gradual elimination of sucralose (E955), two sweeteners, whilst giving preference to the use of sweeteners extracted from plants, from 2024 onwards;
- the acceptance of suppliers certified to the FSSC 22000 standard (a food safety management scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative).
1 This policy is available at Corporate Responsibility Documents on the corporate website.
2 This policy is available at Corporate Responsibility Documents on the corporate website.