Online shopping is easy. The orders can be placed from the sofa or at the kitchen table - no bags need to be carried, no lines and no fixed store hours. More and more people order their groceries online, and first advances in large German cities, such as Amazon Fresh, show how much grocery shopping will change in the future. While the blue QS-symbol is signaling quality and safety of fresh foods, many customers wonder whether they can trust the quality and safety of their online purchases. To be able to give some guidance in this regard too, QS is developing a testing system with requirements for the online trade. This way, foodstuffs sold online can get to the customer safely.
Controlled quality from the web
Compliance with the cool chain, transportation safety, management of returns and claims - those are just some of the aspects which are challenging for the online trade, especially when it comes to fresh meats, fruit and vegetables. This means: Temperature detection and logging during the full transport, appropriate transportation containers as well as validated cooling measures for the distribution. Also, risk factors such as hot summer days, have to be handled reliably, so the consumer cannot only buy the goods comfortably but also use them safely at home.
To be able to supply more than 24,500 supermarkets as well as discounters and customers, and a growing number of online customers with a gapless system of checked foods, online traders can participate in the QS-testing system as well by adhering to specific requirements.
Customers ordering fresh meats, deli meats or fruits and vegetables with a QS-certified online trader, can be sure that every little part of the supply chain was monitored thoroughly. Until the ordered QS-goods are arriving at the front door, all the steps and processes along the supply chain have been monitored and documented without any gaps - for example the producers of animal feed and the farmers, as well as the butcher, all the way to the online trader and the distribution. The compliance with the extensive QS-requirements are verified on site by independent specialists.
