British supermarket chain Morrisons is reportedly introducing new charges which will be levied on suppliers to cover the cost of approving own-label products.
British retail magazine The Grocer has reported that the supermarket's group trading director Casper Meijer circulated letters amongst suppliers informing them that trading standards professionals have been employed to ensure that own-label products comply with UK and EU legislation.
In the letter, Meijer stated that new charges will be introduced as of 30 July.
"This approval stage is intrinsic to our product development process and provides clear benefit to our suppliers in terms of identifying potential legal compliance issues," Meijer said.
According to the report, the charges will vary depending on the work needed and time taken in-house to asses products.
A Morrisons' spokesperson told the Grocer, "We make it clear to suppliers that we share the costs associated with the system we have to manage…We have given plenty of notice to our suppliers about the development and process changes we have made."
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
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