Guaranteed flawless products

More and more customers place great importance on high-quality products. But it’s not always easy to recognize quality at first glance. Detailed laws and regulations ensure that retailers offer only flawless products. European Union hygiene directives include regulations requiring companies to install self-monitoring systems and provide extensive training to their staff.

Criteria

The quality of a product is judged according to various criteria. These include the outward condition of the goods – referred to as its recognizable quality. In addition, its chemical composition or serviceability is tested – its hidden quality. The METRO Group not only tests each product in depth. The company also ensures that all processes of manufacturers and producers function perfectly, in order to rule out shortcomings in advance.

Food:
the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept applies for food. It requires that companies install self-monitoring systems. For this purpose, all potential hazards are analyzed based on a description of the product, production process and other conditions. It is thus possible to identify and monitor critical aspects, ensuring the safety of food products.

Nonfood products:
in Germany, the Equipment and Product Safety Law (GPSG) (www.gesetze-im-internet.de) applies for nonfood items like electronics and textiles. It requires that wholesalers and retailers offer only those products for sale that pose no hazard to consumers. The permitted materials and processes are defined in the German regulations on articles of daily use (www.gesetze-im-internet.de).

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