Quality management system in METRO
METRO has developed a quality and food safety management system that covers the entire supply chain: from interaction with manufacturers and suppliers to the selling process and interaction with customers. Such approach guarantees safety of food products, and therefore the health of the customers.
Standards in METRO
During the acceptance of goods, the incoming control of the products is carried out, which is performed by the store employees who have undergone trainings. If the products are of animal origin, then state veterinarians also participate in the process of acceptance and incoming control, they check the correctness of filling in all veterinary and shipping documents for a batch of incoming products and conduct a visual veterinary examination.
The volume and turnover of products require compliance with the FIFO principle (First IN - First OUT). METRO uses a color coding of the days of the week, which allows the employees to determine by the color which products should be sold first. The maximum time from the beginning of acceptance to the receipt of products for storage or directly for sale takes no more than 30 minutes.
All refrigerators and store showcases are equipped to maintain the required temperature. Additionally, twice a day, indicators of temperature and humidity are monitored and registered in registration cards.
In the process of laying out the products and their sale, expiration dates and labeling of the products are checked. In case of discrepancies, products are not allowed on the shelves of METRO stores.
Every day and at the end of each work shift, a complete sanitization of production premises, equipment and inventory is carried out, using detergents and disinfectants, as well as washing and disinfection of refrigerators, the data about it are entered into the registration card.
All store employees undergo regular trainings and have a personal medical book, where the results of medical examinations and information about hygiene trainings and certification are entered. Employees daily undergo examination and only after that they are allowed to work.
Results
In 2020/2021, the relevance and effectiveness of this quality management system was confirmed during the certification of the head office and 23 stores. The company has successfully passed certification audits and confirmed compliance with the requirements of the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative), a recognized standard FSSC 22000 v.5.1.
According to the results of the annual Customer Satisfaction Pulse survey, the quality indicators of METRO's own brand products have been in the leading positions for several years in a row.