ICA meat repackaging controversy

Last updated
Kottfars i en ICA-butik.jpg

A controversy surrounding the illegal repackaging of out-of-date meat led the Swedish grocery store chain ICA to take actions towards a better quality work in the stores. Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into four stores in the ICA supermarket chain, after a television documentary aired on December 5, 2007, revealed that they had repackaged out-of-date ground meat and put it back on the shelves in four of the largest hypermarkets in Sweden. ICA apologised, suspended all of its Christmas commercials and summoned all 1,400 store managers to an emergency meeting in Stockholm.

Contents

Background

A typical Maxi ICA Hypermarket. ICA Maxi i Kungalv, den 27 juni 2006.JPG
A typical Maxi ICA Hypermarket.

ICA food stores in Sweden are all owned and operated independently, although operations are co-ordinated and wholesale operations are run centrally. ICA is 60% owned by the Dutch retailer Ahold, with the remaining 40% owned by Hakon Invest, which is majority owned by local store managers who are also franchisers of the ICA brand. In 2006, The Swedish division, ICA Sverige AB (literally: ICA Sweden Ltd), operated 1,397 retail stores, run by some 1,400 store managers. The largest stores are operated under the store brand Maxi ICA Stormarknad; these are hypermarkets with a full range of groceries as well as fashions, homewares, entertainment and electrical goods. [2] Before the food safety irregularities were revealed, the ICA brand was regarded as one of the most trusted retail brands in Sweden, [3] and the most trusted retail brand among the grocery store chains. [4]

There has been a general prohibition of relabeling packed meat for many years in Sweden. [5] The current legislation and a major part of the Swedish National Food Administration Regulations are based on European Union law. [6] According to the National Food Administration, some 1,000 food safety inspectors make annually between 25,000 and 30,000 inspections in the country. As regards to the retail market, the local municipalities are responsible for controlling and acting against food safety irregularities. [5]

Irregularities revealed

On December 5, 2007, Sveriges Television in its weekly investigatory documentary program Uppdrag granskning (literally: Mission: Investigation) aired a number of secretly recorded video tapes of employees at four featured Maxi ICA Hypermarkets relabeling out-of-date ground meat, as well as grinding down other forms of meat past their 'best before' date to make ground meat (mince). In a video sequence viewers could watch an ICA employee picking up out-of-date pork chops from the floor, repacking and relabeling them. This could lead to infections such as Escherichia coli, Trichinellosis or Streptococcus suis. [7]

According to the rating institute MMS MediaMätning, the documentary was one of the most watched television programs in Sweden that day, rating some 930,000 viewers. [8]

Hans Hallén, a former quality control manager for ICA, revealed that the company knew that meat was being illegally repackaged as early as 2003. Hallén, who monitored ICA stores in southern Sweden from 2003–2005, said he had informed the company's managers of the exact practices that were exposed in the documentary program. According to Hallén, many stores engaged in practices such as repackaging meat in order to change the 'best before' date, saying that "they even re-minced meat that had already been out on the shelves, before repackaging it and putting it back out on the shelves". Sausage meats that had become old and sticky were also repackaged after rinsing, he said. [9]

Hans Hallén, who was one of eight quality control managers employed by ICA until 2005, when the position was discontinued, said that "(his) main job was to train staff in order to ensure that scandals of this kind would not occur". [10] [11]

Store managers

The store managers who were confronted with the footage defended themselves, saying that "failures in routines and ignorance" were behind the practice, and that employees must have done this "on their own initiative" after being told not to do so by management. According to Uppdrag Granskning, Markus Lönnroth had also said that "everybody is doing this". [16] Although confronted with compelling evidence, Jonas Berg said that "there is no evidence that [he had] done anything wrong". [16] On December 13, it was announced that Markus Lönnroth had resigned and transferred ownership of his hypermarket to ICA Sverige. [17] [18]

Reaction

Television viewers reacted strongly to the footage and the following day state prosecutors launched a criminal investigation. [19] There have also been reports from at least two local food safety inspectors taking action. "After yesterday's program there are clear suspicions that a crime has been committed," said Daniel Selin, health inspector at Nacka municipality, one of the four municipalities to report stores. [20]

ICA chief press officer Staffan Ekengren said the company had provided all the information that it possessed about the stores to the National Food Administration. "This is unacceptable, and I am surprised that it is so common and happens on such a systematic basis," he said, adding that it was "a clear breach" of the law. Ekengren said that ICA quality control managers are to visit the relevant stores at the weekend to hold meetings with those in charge. He also said that ICA's 1,400 independent store managers were to be summoned to an emergency conference with focus on food safety and ethics. Although the independent status of the ICA stores means that there is no possibility of sanctions, Ekengren said the incidents "make it relevant to discuss" whether a system of sanctions could be introduced. [21] "These are large, successful stores which have acted in a completely irresponsible manner," he added. "We have had serious conversations with the merchants involved. They are naturally aware that a very major error has occurred," said Ekengren. [20]

On December 6, ICA decided to suspend all its Christmas commercials, and only focus on the meat packing scandal. [22] [23] After criminal charges were brought against four of its stores, ICA issued an extended apology to its customers on its website. [24] On December 10 there were reports of similar food safety irregularities also at ICA's main competing grocery store chains; Coop Norden and Axfood (with its store brands Hemköp and Willy's). [25] According to Axfood, at least two of the chain's store managers have been fired due to illegal repacking of meat. [26] On December 11, the Swedish National Food Administration filed criminal charges against the four Maxi ICA Hypermarkets where the irregularities had been revealed by the documentary for breach against the Food Safety Act and fraud. [27]

On December 11, more than 1,000 of ICA's 1,400 Swedish store managers summoned at the emergency meeting in Stockholm, where CEO Kenneth Bengtsson said that the food safety irregularities had occurred also outside the four stores covered by the investigatory documentary. It was reported that ICA decided on "zero-tolerance" against food safety irregularities, as well as the introduction of an annual 3,000 un-announced self inspections throughout the network of ICA stores. [27]

After the food safety irregularities were revealed, sales of ground meat fell by up to 50% at some ICA stores. [28] At the same time, a survey showed that 50% of the consumers have no trust in the food safety in the retail market. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypermarket</span> Big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store

A hypermarket is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In theory, hypermarkets allow customers to satisfy all their routine shopping needs in one trip. The term hypermarket was coined in 1968 by French trade expert Jacques Pictet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lars Ohly</span> Swedish politician

Lars-Magnus Harald Christoffer Ohly is a Swedish politician, and the former party chairman of the Swedish Left Party. He was a member of the Swedish parliament from 1998 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICA Gruppen</span> Swedish retail franchise

ICA Gruppen AB (publ) (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈîːka]; "ICA Group"; from Inköpscentralernas aktiebolag, lit.'"the Purchasing Centres' Corporation"') (formerly Hakon Invest AB) is a Swedish retailer franchise with a focus on food and health. The group also owns a bank, real estate division and a pharmacy chain.

Netto is a Danish discount supermarket operating in Denmark, Germany, Poland, and previously in Sweden and the United Kingdom, both as a stand-alone venture, until its sale in 2010 to Asda, and via a joint venture with Sainsbury's between 2014 and 2016. Netto is owned by Salling Group.

Salling Group A/S is Denmark's largest retailer, with a market share of 34.9%. It owns several chains of stores - Netto, Basalt, Føtex, Bilka and Salling. All of these chains operate exclusively in Denmark except Netto, which has expanded into Germany, and Poland, and has made two unsuccessful attempts at operating in the United Kingdom. Its stores in Sweden were sold off in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Defence Radio Establishment</span> Swedish signals intelligence agency

The National Defence Radio Establishment is a Swedish government agency organised under the Ministry of Defence. The two main tasks of FRA are signals intelligence (SIGINT), and support to government authorities and state-owned companies regarding computer security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axfood</span> Swedish company

Axfood AB is a Swedish company that operates in Sweden. It was formed in May 2000 through a merger between the Swedish grocery store chains Hemköp, D&D Dagligvaror, Spar Sverige, and Spar Inn Snabbgross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auchan</span> French multinational retail company

Auchan is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% stake in the company, it is the 35th largest employer in the world.

PrisXtra was a Swedish low-price supermarket, founded by Rudolf Lundin in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimi Baltic</span> Company based in Riga, Latvia

Rimi Baltic is a major retail operator in the Baltic states based in Riga, Latvia. It is a subsidiary of Swedish group ICA. Rimi Baltic operates 291 retail stores in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and has distribution centres in each country. The stores have different profiles, depending on range of products and size:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellevue Mosque</span> Mosque in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, Sweden

The Bellevue Mosque is a mosque in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is located at Generalsgatan 2A in the "Bellevue" district of Gothenburg. The mosque is administered by the Somali-dominated Islamic Sunni Centre Denomination and advocates the Salafi movement of Islam. It was created with funds from Saudi Arabia.

Uppdrag granskning is a Swedish television program focusing on investigative journalism. The program is produced by and aired on SVT and has become known for the use of concealed cameras and microphones. In April 2016, after an interview with Uppdrag granskning, the Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned, after a controversy concerning the Panama Papers.

Karim Mohammedzadeh was a Kurdish dissident who was assassinated in Sweden in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredrik Laurin</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sven Bergman</span>

Sven Bergman is a Swedish investigative reporter/producer for the current affairs show "Uppdrag granskning" on SVT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Dyfvermark</span>

Joachim Dyfvermark is a Swedish investigative reporter/producer working for the current affairs program Uppdrag granskning broadcast on Sveriges Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janne Josefsson</span> Swedish investigative journalist (born 1952)

Jan Christer Ragnar Josefsson is a Swedish investigative journalist who has had numerous shows on Sveriges Television such as Fittja Paradiso, Uppdrag Granskning and Debatt. Uppdrag Granskning has uncovered some of Sweden's most noted scandals such as the ICA meat repackaging controversy, and have both received journalistic prizes and attracted criticism for e.g. biased reporting.

"Surfing the Web of Hate" is a Swedish documentary by Nicke Nordmark and Hasse Johansson that was broadcast as an episode of Uppdrag granskning on Sveriges Television on 6 March 2013. The program focuses on online harassment and threats against women in Sweden.

References

  1. Pictured is a Maxi ICA Hypermarket in Kungälv that was not among the four stores implicated in the investigative documentary.
  2. ICA Sverige AB Archived 2007-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ICA Sverige AB : Annual report 2006 [ permanent dead link ]
  4. Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 Märking av kött, Livsmedelsveket (National food administration) official website.
  6. See in particular: The Food Act (No. 804) of June 8, 2006; and The Food Decree (No. 813) of June 8, 2006.
  7. Trichinellosis Fact Sheet | Division of Parasitic Diseases | CDC
  8. Senaste veckan Archived 2007-12-13 at the Wayback Machine , MMS MediaMätning i Skandinavien.
  9. "ICA 'knew about meat cheats for years". 7 December 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. "Ica varnades för fyra år sedan" (in Swedish). Sydsvenska Dagbladet. 2007-12-07. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08.
  11. "Krismöte på Ica". Expressen (in Swedish). 2007-12-07. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  12. ICA Maxi, Nacka
  13. "ICA Maxi, Botkyrka". Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  14. ICA Maxi, Södertälje
  15. ICA Maxi, Haninge
  16. 1 2 Systematiskt köttfusk på ICA, Uppdrag Granskning, Sveriges Television, December 5, 2007.
  17. Ica Supermarket Manager Resigns Archived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine , Sveriges Radio, December 14, 2007.
  18. Ica-handlare lämnar butik, Dagens Nyheter, December 13, 2007.
  19. Åklagare inleder förundersökning Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , Stockholm City, December 7, 2007.
  20. 1 2 Ica till full reträtt efter köttfusk Archived 2007-12-25 at the Wayback Machine , TT via Sydsvenska Dagbladet, December 7, 2007.
  21. Handlarnas medlemsskap omprövas Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , TT via Stockholm City, December 8, 2007
  22. ICA stoppar reklamfilmerna Archived 2007-12-18 at the Wayback Machine , Resume, December 7, 2007.
  23. Ica drar tillbaka reklamfilmer Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , Expressen, December 7, 2007.
  24. Felaktig datummärkning av kött i ICA-butiker Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine , ICA Sverige AB, official website.
  25. Coop och Axfood avslöjade som fuskare, Aftonbladet, December 11, 2007.
  26. Flera butikskedjor har märkt om köttfärs, Aktuellt, Sveriges Television, December 10, 2007.
  27. 1 2 Köttfusk även hos andra kedjor, TT via Svenska Dagbladet, December 11, 2007.
  28. Fall för färsen hos Ica, Dagens Nyheter, December 11, 2007.
  29. Förtroendekris för butikernas hantering, Dagens Nyheter, December 11, 2007. Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

Media