Reducing Chemicals

To meet growing consumer demand for organic products, Continente has expanded its Continente Bio brand, now offering over 100 certified organic products across fresh, grocery, and dairy categories. Produced to high quality standards and under rigorous certification processes, Continente Bio products are free from synthetic chemicals and GMOs. The range encourages a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle by promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables, seasonal produce, and products from responsible farming practices, while also helping to reduce food waste.

Cooperation between SPAR and innovative farmers is a win-win situation: farmers are given growth opportunities and customers benefit from the qualitatively extended range of products at SPAR. In total, SPAR cooperates with about 7,000 organic farmers in Austria. One of them is Erich Stekovics, Austria’s most innovative farmer and a pioneer in the field of maintaining biodiversity. Stekovics cultivates approx. 3,200 traditional varieties from mulberries to onions to tomatoes and chilies, you will find everything a connoisseur’s heart desires in their natural paradise in Burgenland. Many products from Stekovics’ Farm are sold as SPAR private label and the range keeps on expanding.

Specialty Brokers, a member of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services, is a company specialised in the supply of a dedicated range of seeds and dried fruits. In 2014, the company has proactively registered the EUIPO trademark “Integrated Pesticide Monitoring” for its Turkish sultana cultivation project. IPM allows sultanas to be cultivated with a maximum of 4 pro-active EU-compliant pesticides. In addition to financial compensations, farmers receive additional training (pesticides management, social & ethical requirements). Today, Specialty Brokers is partnering with numerous Turkish farmers and with the food and bakery industry in Germany and Austria, supplying sustainable sultana raisins containing a max. of 4 proactive pesticides.

Short distances from field to shelf, fresh taste and, last but not least, the support for the local economy: There are many reasons for working with regional producers. Raising awareness for the work of beekeepers and the preservation of the honey bee: Those are the intentions behind the initiative ‘PROJEKT 2028’ which METRO supports in Austria. The initiative is committed to increasing the number of bee colonies in Austria and Germany. PROJEKT 2028 honey is available – in addition to other regional honey varieties – in the assortment of all 12 Austrian METRO stores.

PENNY, a brand of REWE Group, has introduced the Naturgut Junior-Helden. These are “in-conversion products” from producers who do not yet have an official organic certificate due to the required transitioning time but who already produce organically and, consequently, more expensively. With this initiative, PENNY offers producers additional financial incentives during conversion time and a new opportunity to market their products: Participating suppliers receive a price that his higher than for regular conventional produce. This is only to a small fraction passed on to consumers. Together with a marketing campaign, Penny aims at educating consumers about conversion and the additional standards fulfilled by the suppliers during this time. This gives farmers a greater incentive to switch to organic farming.

Organic food is growing in popularity both in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. The sales of organic products at K Group’s grocery stores have been growing at an annual rate of 10-20% in recent years. Milk, eggs, bananas and coffee are the most popular organic items in K-food stores and families with children are the most likely to favour organic products. K Group’s selections comprise more than 2,100 organic products, and the number is constantly growing. The group has responded to the growing demand by updating and expanding its own brand Pirkka’s organic range. By the end of 2019, the Pirkka range already did comprise nearly 200 everyday organic products.

Since its founding in 2014, Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar has grown steadily across dairy, beef, sheep, chicken, aquaculture, fruits and vegetables – always embedding high standards of animal welfare and sustainable practices.
By 2024, all Angus beef and sheep units as well as the dairy plant retained Welfair™ certification, based on the European Welfare Quality® and AWIN® protocols. The company also maintained its “Responsible Use of Antibiotics” certification, with 100% of Angus beef and milk production animals using antibiotics strictly for therapeutic purposes. Growth promoters and mutilations are strictly banned, and housing exceeds legal requirements, providing animals with space and stress-reducing features like music and climate control.
Staff receives continuous training, and animal welfare is monitored through key indicators – supporting a preventive and sustainable model for animal health. In aquaculture, all sea bass and sea bream are vaccinated and raised in offshore systems with strong water circulation to ensure optimal water quality. Additionally, in 2023, the company reinforced its equity stake in a Norwegian firm developing an innovative system for sustainable salmon production, reinforcing its commitment to responsible aquaculture.

Herbalife Nutrition sells a dietary supplement composed of Omega-3 essential fatty-acids, (EPA and DHA) which contribute to a normal function of the heart and maintain normal blood pressure. To manufacture this product, Herbalife Nutrition uses only sustainably sourced fish oil accredited by Friend of the Sea. Friend of the Sea is currently a project of the World Sustainability Organization, an international trademark registered with humanitarian and environmental conservation mission. Friend of the Sea has become the leading certification standard for products and services which respects and protects the marine environment. The certification awards sustainable practices in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Fishmeal and Omega 3 Fish Oil.

For its conventionally grown products, Coop aims at reducing the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. The retailer has adopted the Pesticides Guideline, which requires the responsible use of pesticides, and it actively supports suppliers with the implementation of improvement measures. In this vein, Coop has begun several projects to promote the use of compost and organic pest control. This is conducive to biodiversity and exposes flora and fauna to fewer pesticides. One important standard for the responsible use of resources is GLOBALG.A.P. which, as well as food safety aspects, also promotes good agricultural practice. All Coop producers are required to have GLOBALG.A.P. or Swiss G.A.P. certification.

In 2022, Pingo Doce, Jerónimo Martins’ supermarket banner in Portugal, removed artificial colourings from its private brand products and flavour enhancers from specialised perishables. By 2023, the Group had gone further, eliminating both additives from all private brand products and perishables – thus making Pingo Doce the first retailer in Portugal to offer 100% additive-free products.
In Poland, Biedronka also surpassed expectations. By 2023, 98% of its private brand products were free from artificial colourings and 97% from flavour enhancers, exceeding the banner’s 90% target. In specialised perishables – such as bakery, pastry, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables – 100% of products were free from both additives.

Coop is a member of the Danube Soya Association which promotes the sustainable and GM-free production of soya in the Danube region and has developed a corresponding standard. The region’s climate is very well suited to growing high-quality soya. However, there was also considerable interest in producing soya outside the region in line with the Danube Soya Standard. The Danube Soya Association therefore set up the Europe Soya Standard at the end of 2015. Coop uses only GM-free and certified soya from Europe in feed for its’ Naturafarm laying hens and chickens ensuring that no South American rainforests are cut down to make way for soya monocultures.

The ‘Zero Pesticide Residue’ Certification results from Continente’s growing concern in offering its customers fresh, environmentally friendly products. Developed in partnership between the Continente Producers Club (CPC) and Zerya, this programme ensures that fruits and vegetables are produced using sustainable agricultural practices and waste-free products, with a positive impact on nature — reinforcing biodiversity, protecting soils, and safeguarding food safety.