Media

Press Releases 2012

 

June 28, 2012 - Responsible procurement of seafood products: Metro continues to move forward     

Montreal, June 28, 2012 - Metro continues its efforts aimed at offering its customers fresh and frozen wild and farmed seafood products in line with its Sustainable Fisheries Policy, and reports positive results from the work that it has done over the past year. In fact, along with its industry partners and its suppliers, Metro has:

Healthy Species:

  • Updated its analysis according to the most recent scientific reports and independent opinions that it seeks out on a continuous basis, which led to the recent withdrawal of seven species that did not respect the criteria of its Sustainable Fisheries Policy, and to the addition of 16 new species to the Continuous Improvement Program;

Sustainable Operating Methods:

  • Continued to cooperate with suppliers, the scientific community as well as the government;
  • Contributed financially to the UNESCO Research Chair at UQAR devoted to the integrated analysis of marine systems in the amount of $30,000;

Product Traceability:

  • Increased its efforts with respect to traceability, not only of fresh products but also by developing a traceability information sheet for private label frozen seafood packaging;
  • Supported Quebec inter-institutional oceanography research group, Québec Océan, in order to mark World Oceans Day;

Local Economy and Labor Law:

  • Supported the Quebec lobster promotional campaign and its new traceability system.

“In less than three years, we have taken giant steps with respect to the responsible procurement of seafood products. This concern is now an integral part of our purchasing process at every level of the company. We have established specific criteria for the species that we commercialize and we provide a great deal of information to consumers about the traceability of our products”, said Claude Jauvin, Vice-President, National Procurement – Perishables at Metro.

We should point out that in May of 2010, Metro announced the adoption of a Sustainable Fisheries Policy, based on four main criteria: healthy species, sustainable operating methods, product traceability and local economy and labor law. The goal was to offer all customers of its supermarket and discount stores across Quebec and Ontario fresh or frozen wild and farmed seafood products in line with its Sustainable Fisheries Policy. The implementation of the policy in September of 2010 was marked by the withdrawal of seven threatened species.

Since then, several initiatives have been implemented by Metro, particularly the setting up of informative labelling for fresh products packaged in-store (2010), an evaluation of the commercialized species diagnoses based on the most recent facts and scientific reports (2011), the development of a traceability information sheet for the packaging of private label frozen products (2012), training of the personnel concerned (continuous), as well as several communications concerning various platforms aimed at informing consumers about the issues associated with sustainable fisheries (continuous).

The efforts made with respect to the responsible procurement of seafood products are a result of the commitment made by Metro in keeping with its Corporate Responsibility approach and its Delighted Customers pillar, aimed at responsible product offerings and sourcing responsibly.

Visit metro.ca/sustainablefisheries for all the details.

Metro Inc.
With annual sales of over $11 billion and over 65,000 employees, Metro Inc. is a leader in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Québec and Ontario, where it operates a network of more than 600 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics, as well as over 250 drugstores under the Brunet, The Pharmacy and Drug Basics banners.

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Information

Marie-Claude Bacon
Senior Director, Corporate Affairs Department
514 643-1086
mbacon@metro.ca
 


Source: Metro Inc.