Right to know
The Co-operative's Right to Know policy is a commitment to provide the facts people need to make informed purchasing choices.
Facts about products are supplied to consumers on labels, in leaflets, on our Website and in response to individual letters, emails or phone calls.
1994 - Freephone Careline
The Co-operative is the first retailer to provide a Freephone number and a Freepost address on Co-operative
Brand products to make it easy for customers to make enquiries.
1994 - Genetics
The Co-operative announces a policy on Genetic Modification, taking the lead by labelling foods which have been
produced using genetic modification. The Co-operative remains the only retailer to label cheese when it has been produced using
genetic modification and is therefore suitable for vegetarians. As technology develops and debate continues, the Co-operative
policy will be adapted to respond to changing circumstances and reflect consumer opinion.
1995 - Vegan Labels
'Suitable for Vegans' (as well as Vegetarians) is labelled on appropriate products.
1995 - Clear Labelling
The Co-operative makes a commitment to ensure labels give as much clear information as possible. For
example, the percentage of each key ingredient and the country of origin is declared on all Co-operative Brand products, although
not always required by law. The Co-operative declares ingredients listings on toiletries in plain English instead of official Latin
ingredient names which are not easily understood.
1995 - Right to know
Co-operative Brand suppliers The Co-operative will tell you the producer of its own label products. This information
is available by calling our Freephone Careline.
1996 - Animal Ingredients
The presence or absence of animal ingredients is made clear on all Co-operative Brand non-food products.
1997 - Honest Labelling
The Co-operative identifies labelling 'tricks of the trade' which are used to make products sound bigger
and better than they really are. The Co-operative produces a code of practice and calls for industry to adhere to it. Consumer
groups welcome the move.
1998 - Consumer Jury
The Co-operative is the first retailer to give a jury of members and customers the power to change its labels
if they feel consumers are being misled. This becomes a fundamental part of the Co-operative's Honest Labelling campaign. Its
existence ensures that consumer complaints are genuinely acted upon.
1999 - Genetics
The Co-operative shares its customers' concerns over GM Food and changes its GM policy to reflect customer
opinion. Co-operative Brand Suppliers are told not to use genetically modified ingredients, therefore NO CO-OPERATIVE BRAND FOOD PRODUCTS
WILL BE MADE FROM ANY GENETICALLY MODIFIED INGREDIENTS OR INGREDIENTS DERIVED FROM A GM SOURCE.
1999 - Wine Ingredients Labelling
The Co-operative is the only retailer to label the ingredients in wine in support of its
commitment to be open and honest. This move is technically illegal, but in the consumer's interest. The Co-operative lobbies the
Government to change the law and calls upon the food industry to follow suit but continues to be the only retailer to put
the consumer's interests before the law.
2000 - Food Crimes - Honest Food
The Co-operative lifts the lid on Seven food crimes. While today's shoppers are spoiled for
choice and can buy staple foods at affordable prices and seek out the exotic all year round, the pursuit of plenty has
yielded some shameful side-effects. Health scares, environmental violations and animal welfare outrages have shocked the
public. So much so that today's consumers are broadly mistrustful of the industry which fills their plates.
Consumers welcome the choice but want to take back the power they have lost as food becomes increasingly mechanised, processed, packaged and commercialised. As a consequence the Co-operative is launching a series of radical inquiries into the 'food crimes' being committed in the name of progress. And a number of initiatives will start the process of redressing the balance of power between consumers and big business.
2000 - Blackmail
The first inquiry launched after the Food Crimes report highlighted parental concern about the impact of
TV advertising of food and drink products on their children's diets. As a result the Co-operative commits itself to a voluntary ban
on advertising, during children's TV hours, of all food and drink products high in fat, sugar or salt. The Co-operative calls on
others in the food chain to follow its lead and campaigns for the Independent Television Commission (ITC) to impose a ban.
2000 - Cannibalism
The Co-operative calls for a Europe-wide ban on the feeding of animal waste to farm animals. In the wake of the
BSE crisis, which we now know can be largely blamed on animal waste being fed back to farm animals, our customers are
dismayed at the way the regulations still pick and choose between acceptable and unacceptable feed ingredients like blood
and bone meal.
The Co-operative believes that this is tantamount to cannibalism and must be stamped out if governments want to eliminate potential safety risks and restore consumer confidence in meat.
2000 - British Farm Standard
The Co-operative supports the British Farm Standard and where appropriate incorporates the red
tractor logo on its packaging.
2000 - Organics
The Co-operative launches a comprehensive range of organic products in all its food stores, ensuring that even
shoppers in its convenience stores can choose an organic alternative at prices that are down to earth.
2001 - Co-operative Eggs - Non GM and No colourants
Co-operative Brand free range and barn eggs are laid by hens whose diet contains
maize and soya which is non GM origin. The diet does not contain any ingredients designed solely to enhance yolk colour.
2001 - Green and Pleasant Land
As part of its 'Food Crimes' inquiries the Co-operative turns the spotlight on consumers mistrust
of agrochemicals. As a result of the inquiry the Co-operative bans over 20 pesticides used for food production worldwide amid
rising consumer concerns about the impact on human health and the environment of chemical residues. The ground-breaking move
comes with a challenge to governments, the EU, the agrochemical industry and other retailers to embark on a radical rethink
of pesticide safety and regulatory controls.
2001 - Non GM Feed to Livestock
The Co-operative is the first major retailer to ensure that all its fresh pork comes from pigs fed
on a diet which contains no genetically modified Soya. The move comes amid continuing consumer unease about GM material in
animal feed.
2002 - Lie of the Label 2
Following on from its successful report that uncovered the seven deadly sins of dishonest food
labelling in 1997, the Co-operative revisits food labelling on behalf of consumers to see how things have improved and to move the
agenda forward.
2002 - Pillage - The Chocolate Report
A Food Crimes investigation into exploitation in the developing world. The report
focuses on the poverty of West African Cocoa growers and shows what a huge difference can be made by supporting Fairtrade.
At this time the Co-operative takes the momentous step in converting all its own brand block chocolate to Fairtrade and campaigns
to follow its lead.
In July 2005 the Co-operative became the first supermarket group to ban a range of commonly-used colours and monosodium glutamate (MSG) in all our own-label food, because of potential links to food intolerance and fresh concerns about children's diets.