Food

Fruit & vegetables

Since 2016, Migros had been working towards selling only sustainably grown bananas in its branches. This objective was achieved in the reporting year: all bananas sold in Cooperative Retailing either comply with the guidelines of independent certification bodies (Fairtrade Max Havelaar, Bio or Rainforest Alliance) or originate from a WWF project.

In 2018, Bischofszell Nahrungsmittel AG added Fairtrade Max Havelaar-certified products to its range. Various fruit juices are now made from grapefruit and oranges sourced by the company directly from small-scale farmers in Mexico. The fruit used is therefore grown sustainably, traded fairly and can be traced back to its origin.

Meat, dairy products and eggs

Migros aims to introduce the Swiss animal welfare standards for all meat, dairy and egg products from abroad in Cooperative Retailing by the end of 2020. In 2018, important progress was made and forward-looking decisions taken.

Since 2018, all buffalo mozzarella sold by Migros has come from water buffalo kept in accordance with the strict Swiss animal welfare standards. For example, the animals must have access to littered resting areas and be able to cool off during the hot summer months.

A large portion of beef sold by Migros Zurich originates from Switzerland, but due to limited domestic quantities, almost 17% has to be imported mainly from the United States, Ireland, Australia and South America. Since 2016, Migros Zurich has sourced beef from a company in Romania that was certified in accordance with Swiss animal welfare standards in the reporting year. Moving beef production from overseas to Europe cut CO2 emissions by 147 t in 2018. The development of production in Romania is supported by the my-M climate fund.

From summer 2019, all Migros Citterio products will be made using pork produced in accordance with Swiss animal welfare standards, under which practices such as tail docking and teeth clipping are banned.

Migros will become the first Swiss retailer to offer only eggs from animal-friendly, free-range systems in future, and will also reduce the price of its eggs. By 2020 at the latest, all hens will have access to grass. In addition to enclosures with outdoor climate areas, each animal has 2.5 m2 of grazing area under the free-range system.

Migros has developed guidelines for more sustainable conventional milk production together with its milk producers. The "Sustainable Milk Migros" programme ensures benefits for animals, people and the environment. For example, it requires at least half the feed ration of dairy cows to consist of meadow and pasture forage.

Animal welfare

Diseases of the respiratory and digestive tracts of calves and piglets lead to greater use of medicinal products (e.g. antibiotics) that have a negative effect on the animals' well-being. The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) has studied the extent to which medicinal plants may present a viable alternative for treatment and prevention.

Natural crop protection

Not using insecticides poses problems for IP-Suisse and Bio rape cultivation, as rape is prone to infestation by a large number of pests. The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) investigated whether essential oils could be used to deter the pollen beetle. The study was successfully completed in 2018 and the results are now being applied in practice.

Migros pursues the objective of offering cut herbs (particularly basil) from Switzerland in organic quality all year round. As basil is often infected by downy mildew, the FiBL is looking for organic fungicides that may be at least partially effective against the disease.

Recipe improvements

In 2018, Migros agreed with actionsanté to reduce the sugar content by 10%-20% in all M-Classic quark and Petit Suisse products that do not yet meet the Migros nutritional guidelines. Its efforts have been successful: At the end of 2018, the sugar content of quark products was 17.7% lower on average than at the end of 2017. However, for sensory reasons, the sugar content of chocolate quark could not be reduced.

Between 2016 and 2018, Migros was able to reduce the average sugar content of the yoghurt range by 6.2%. In addition, the average amount of sugar contained in fruit cereals was cut by 14.9% between 2013 and 2018. The optimisations are based on Migros' own nutritional guidelines and comply with the declaration of intent made as part of the federal government's actionsanté initiative.

Edible insects trend

Migros supports innovative and sustainable food concepts that ensure sufficient food for future generations. Since 2018, Migros has been selling edible mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers. Feed, water and space requirements are significantly lower than for conventional meat production.