ICA Gruppen AB: ICA Conducts Extra Quality Checks in Stores

Regulatory News:

Over a short period it has been found that three ICA (STO:ICA) stores have handled meat minced on their premises incorrectly. Due to these incidents ICA, in addition to its ongoing extensive quality work, is taking extra action with quality checks in stores which mince meat on the premises.

Mincing meat places high requirements on correct handling and labelling with clear routines and trained employees. During the spring, two ICA Supermarkets and one ICA Nära store have received violation notices from the municipal environmental and health inspectors regarding how they handle meat in the stores. Two stores have also been referred for prosecution by the municipalities. "Normally ICA stores which mince meat do so in a totally correct manner. But since over a short period of time we have had three cases where stores have received violation notices, we have chosen to make an extra effort with checks in order to ensure compliance with all routines,” says Mats Ovegård, Quality Manager at ICA Sweden. Immediately ICA became aware of these incidents, quality audits were performed in the stores concerned. ICA Sweden also placed its quality coaches in the stores in order to support the retailers with quality work in the weeks after these events. The stores have also ceased to mince meat on their premises.

So far, one of these matters has been examined by ICA’s Disciplinary Board which resulted in a warning to the retailer and continued membership being conditional on the store being quality certified by an independent certification body. The other two stores will shortly be examined by the Disciplinary Board.

ICA Gruppen AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 12:45 CET on Tuesday, 29 April 2014.

ICA Gruppen AB (publ) is one of the Nordic region’s leading retail companies, with around 2,400 of its own and retailer-owned stores in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Group includes the retail companies ICA Sweden, ICA Norway and Rimi Baltic, ICA Real Estate, which owns and manages properties and ICA Bank, which offers financial services to Swedish customers. The Group also includes the wholly owned portfolio companies Forma Publishing Group and inkClub and partly owned portfolio companies Cervera, Hemtex and Kjell & Company. For more information see www.icagruppen.se

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