AEON First Asian Retailer to Label GGN

The Japanese AEON Group will become the first retailer to sell products in Asia with the GGN consumer label, thus showing that the products are supplied from farms that have obtained GLOBALG.A.P. certification for good agricultural practices.

As of October 2018, AEON and AEON STYLE general merchandise stores, MaxValu supermarkets, and other AEON Group stores across Japan have begun selling GGN-labeled bananas, potatoes, and onions under AEON’s private brand “Topvalu”. Some AEON Group stores located in Kanto and Tohoku have begun to use the GGN label on komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinaches) and tomatoes harvested in nearby AEON farms and sold at their stores.

GLOBALG.A.P. certification is an international certification for farms that are committed to food safety and sustainable production management while also giving consideration to the environment and occupational safety. The GGN label-based “visualization” of products supplied from such farms helps consumers to easily identify and select agricultural products made by producers who comply with the international standards for good agricultural practices. Moreover, purchasers of GGN-labeled products will be able to check where in the world a product was made and by whom it was made by checking the product’s GGN certification number on the special website launched for this purpose.

AEON formulated the 2020 Sustainable Procurement Goals based on the AEON Sustainable Procurement Policy in April 2017. The purpose is to make the sustainability of natural resources compatible with the sustainable development of its business activities. All the 21 AEON farms, which are operated by AGRI CREATE Co., Ltd., are already GLOBALG.A.P. certified, and the company is also providing support to producers who are aiming to obtain GLOBALG.A.P. certification.

AEON will continue conducting a range of measures in addition to those mentioned above, so that the labeling of GGN on products will help not only producers but also customers of AEON to raise their awareness of good agricultural practices and provide additional support to the initiative for the further expansion of sustainable agriculture.

https://aeon.ggn.org/
www.globalgap.org/ggn-label