MONTREAL, March 19, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - To mark nutrition month, Metro implemented its identification program of "Good Choices" and "Great Choices" on price tags across the store in over 60 grocery product categories. That's over 12,300 products in total that have been analyzed by Metro's team of dietitians as part of the My Healthy Plate with Metro! program which launched last October and is now completed.
Since the launch, smiles can be found throughout the store - a small smile for good choices, a big smile for great choices - on the labels of four groups: breakfast, dairy products, beverages and frozen products. Together, they represent over 5,000 products that have been evaluated. Now, consumers who want to make healthier food choices have thousands of smiles - 2,240 "Good Choices" and 1,044 "Great Choices" - to look for in all Metro and Metro Plus stores in Quebec and in Ontario, as well as at metro.ca and on the My Metro mobile app in the Grocery List section.
The My Healthy Plate team, made up of 13 people spent over 475 hours analyzing the products - a very big undertaking!
"We analyzed the ingredient list and the nutritional value chart of the 12,345 products according to nutritional criteria specific to each of the 60 categories concerned. Close to 50% of Metro customers say that they refer to the nutritional value chart: we make their life easier by allowing them to quickly spot the products that set themselves apart with respect to nutrition." said Metro dietitian Linda Montpetit.
As new products make their way onto the shelves, Metro's team of dietitians will be called upon to evaluate them and decide whether or not to award them a smile.
Details concerning specific nutritional criteria are available at metro.ca, thus ensuring complete transparency when it comes to the methodology of product selection.
Throughout Nutrition Month, super-foods are featured in-store as well as on Metro's various platforms, with recipes from chef Caroline McCann and tips from Linda Montpetit.
My Healthy Plate with Metro!
The My Healthy Plate with Metro program rests on four commitments: improve our product range to promote healthy eating and provide consumers with even more choices; help our customers select healthy food products; provide access to healthy products at affordable prices; promote healthy eating habits in the community. Metro has set up a team of experts to help guide the company through the development of its program: a team of Registered Dieticians who developed nutritional criteria, a partnership with the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE), a Scientific Advisory Committee who will follow the application of the program and a chef who will guide customers on a daily basis by offering them recipes that include healthy foods. The progress and impact of the program will be measured and followed up on by Metro's teams and by the Scientific Advisory Committee.
My Healthy Plate with Metro is part of the Corporate Responsibility approach started by Metro in 2010, under the Delighted Customers and Strengthened Communities pillars. The new initiatives related to the My Healthy Plate with Metro program add to those already underway, such as the Metro Green Apple School Program and the line of Irresistibles Life Smart products.
Metro Inc.
With annual sales of over $11 billion, METRO INC. (TSX: MRU), founded in 1947, is the only major Canadian food distribution company to have its head office in Quebec. Along with its affiliates and franchisees, METRO INC. employs in Quebec and Ontario over 65,000 people, whose mission is to satisfy their customers every day and earn their-long term loyalty. METRO INC. operates a network of almost 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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Image with caption: "The approach chosen to select "good choices" and "great choices" products is distinctive because it rests on thorough nutritional criteria that are specific to each product category (CNW Group/METRO INC.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140319_C6003_PHOTO_EN_38132.jpg
SOURCE: METRO INC.
Florence Petit-Gagnon
Communications Infrarouge
[email protected]
About METRO Inc. With annual sales of more than $20 billion, METRO Inc. is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 97,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor,...
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