METRO : Wholesale Health and Nutrition Position

METRO HEALTH & NUTRITION POSITION

1. INTRODUCTION

   Poor diet and eating habits are among the main causes of obesity worldwide. It is well known that diets high in saturated fatty acids, sodium and added sugars can harmfully touch consumer health. Contrary, higher consumption of organic/bio fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs*) and helps to ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre2.

   Furthermore, the content of trans fat, other than trans-fat naturally occurring in fat of animal origin, in food intended for the final consumer and food intendedforsupply to retail, shall not eXceed 2grams per 100 grams of fat, following EU Regulation (EU) 2019/649 of 24 April 20193. Following EU Commission report, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Union and a high intake of trans fats seriously increases the risk of heart disease 4.

   Processing and preserving of food are often linked with addition of substances aiming to increase or preserve properfood quality. Someofthosesubstances (additives) have been showing adverse effeQs on human health. For example: exposure to food Azo Colors' may result in increased hyperactivity in children (see table 1); the InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer(IARC)6noted that the presence of nitrite and some types of amines or amides in the acid environment of the stomach may result in the production of some cancer-causing N-nitroso compounds, therefore it is recommended to reduce the intake of certain preservatives (see table 1); EFSA's experts found that exposure estimates at glutamate largely exceed in several population groups the proposed ADI7and levels associated wzh some adverse effects in humans .

   An increase in consumption of alternative protein-based products will reduce consumption of animal origin-based products particularly referring to meat products. Some types of meats are high in fat,

   ' Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO expertconsultation,Geneva,28 January - 1 February 2002 Healthy diet (who.int)

   3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019R0649&from=EN

   ° https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/sp.efsa.2018.EN-1433 https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/091112

   " https://monographs.iarc.who.int/

   7 ADI:

   ^ https://efsa.onlineIibrary.wiIey.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4910

   especially saturated fat. Consuming high quantity of saturated fat can raise cholesterollevels in blood, and having high cholesterol raises risk of heart disease. Furthermore, consuming high quantity of red and processed meat probably increases risk of bowel colorectal cancer.

   METRO is adapting its own-brand product portfolio and providing appropriate information regarding the content and nutritional value of their products in accordance with its Health and Nutrition vision:

   "Everyday we aim to empower our customers to offerhealthierchoicesin their businesses by extending the range of sustainable, healthier, organic, alternative proteins and reformulated products, providing clear and easily accessible information about nutrients and ingredients and by leveraging digital solutions."

2. OBJECTIVE

   METRO designed its Health & Nutrition Position focusing on the following drivers:

   1. Increase of healthier food choices worldwide in the METRO assortment with focus on product reformulation, innovation, and product development mainly in own brand (mainstream and premium), expansion of the ultra-fresh assortment(namelyfruitsandvegetables)and extension of the organic/bio range.

      1. Increasing the offer of innovative (as well as alternative protein-based), healthier and reformulated products, especially focusing on the reduction of sugar, salt, saturated fatty acids, and trans fats.

      2. Offering more products "free from"additiveslike monosodium glutamate or"free from"food azo colours and others.

      3. METRO is constantly expanding its ultra-fresh assortment, specifically fruits and vegetables, with new, organic/bio and/or local produce with a view to market-specific requirements.

      4. Extending the organic/bio range of products and in own-brand products, focusing on mainstream quality tier. Organic/bio assortment will be defined according to customer and market relevance. Common sourcing is also actively developing selected organic/bio products based on country requests. Organic/bio products, with specific packaging design, are already included in our current OB portfolio.

      Own-brand: An article/product that carries a registered METRO brand

      Products qualify as "reformulated" under this position if they fulfil the below mentioned criteria:

      Work stream

      What

      How

      Less of	SUGAR	Reduction of sugar content: > 0.5 g per 100 g or mI'0: reduction of at least 0,1 g < 0.5 g per100 g or ml, no reformulation will be reported
      	SALT	Reduction of salt content: 11 g per 100 g or ml: reduction of at least 0,1 g <1 g per 100 g or ml, no reformulation will be reported
      	SATURATED FATTY ACIDS	Reduction of saturated fatty acids content: > 0.5 g per 100 g or ml: reduction of at least 0,1 g < 0.5 g per100 g or ml, no reformulation will be reported
      Free from Removal of all additives or reduction of the numbers of additives present in the r€'C'pE'-	TRANS FAT11	Not above 2g of trans fat per 100g of fat, other than trans-fat naturally occurring
      	FLAVOR ENHANCER'2 Monosodium Glutamate E621	Avoidmonosodium glutamate (MSG) on selected OB products
      	AZO FOOD COLOU RS13 Tartrazine E102 Quinoline yellow E104 Sunset yellow E110 Carmoisine E122 Ponceau 4R E124 Allura red E129	Replace here mentioned food azo colours in OB common sourced products and preferably in all OB products and especially OB mainstream products
      	PRESERVATIVES Potassium Nitrite E249	Find opportunities to lower the content or avoid these additives in OB products

      '" Always referring to the amount (in grams) of the nutrient in 100 grams of the concerning product

      '1 The content of trans fat, other than trans-fat naturally occurring in fat of animal origin, in food intended for the final consumer and food intended for supply to retail, shall not exceed 2 grams per 100grams of fat, following EU Regulation. (EU) 2019/649 of 24 April 2019. Following EU Commission report coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Union and a high intake of trans fats seriously increases the risk of heart disease. https://efsa.onIineIibrary.wiIey.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/sp.efsa.2018.EN -1433

      '2 EFSA's experts considered other dietary sources of glutamate besides food additives (including natural presence) and found th at exposure estimates largely exceed in several population groups the proposed ADI and levels associated with some adverse effects in humans. https://efsa.onIineIibrary.wiIey.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4910

      '" Exposure to here mentioned food Azo Colors may result in increased hyperactivity in children. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/091112

      	Sodium Nitrite14 E250 Sodium Nitrate E251 Potassium Nitrate E252
      nic/biO Range	Organic/bio certified products	Extending the organic/bio range of products
      Alternat v 1 P ins	Plant protein-based products; Cultured meat-based products	Increasing the offer of alternative protein-based products. Alternative protein product with higher number of additives compared with the same articles on the market.

   2. Improving external and internal communication on Health an

      N t i ion
      
      

      )

      t duce and promote more information in store, on label or country website to guide and educate our customers on healthier food options.
      
      

      (2) Develop internal guidelines, trainings, dedicated communication channels and informative material to support countries in fulfilling the globally approved strategy, while adapting to the local situation.

3. SCOPE

   The METRO Health & Nutrition Position applies to the following scopes:

   Operational scope

   All METRO legal entities globally. Brand scope

   Focus is on own-brand products sold by METRO. Product scope

   All own-brand food products excluding wine

   spirits
   
   
4. MONITORING AND REPORTING

The legal e

tities are responsible for the implementation of the posit on. METRO publishes this position on our website, making it accessible to all interested stakeholders. This position will be reviewed regularly in order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness and reflect up-to-date developments.

'° Nitrosamines should be minimized by appropriate technological practices such as lowering the levels of nitrate and nitrite ad ded to the minimum required to achieve the necessary preservative effect and to ensure microbiological safe

y.

"An increase in consumption of alternative protein-based products will reduce consumption of animal origin-based products particularly referring to meat products. Some types of meats are high infat, especially saturated fat. Eating a lot of saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels in blood, and having high cholesterol raises your risk of heart disease. Furthermore, eating a lot of red and processed meat probably increases risk of bowel colorectal cancer.