Hypermarket to sell certified organic items

LuLu chain will only stock produce approved by standardisation body

UAE hypermarket chain LuLu will only sell certified local organic produce under a new agreement.

It will sell local organic produce that is certified by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma).

The agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Water was signed yesterday at its Al Barsha branch.

It came alongside the launch of a 10-day Go Organic promotion at all LuLu outlets, which is offering discounts on 2,000 organic products.

The agreement will remove any apprehension customers may have harboured regarding the authenticity of organic produce.

Support farmers’ societies

It will also support UAE farmers’ societies by providing a platform for their Esmacertified organic produce. LuLu currently has around 20 suppliers for certified local organic produce.

The certified organic produce from the UAE will be placed prominently in own dedicated space in its stores.

“A lot of people were not aware of local organic options, they were used to imported produce. Availability was a key factor, so we said why don’t we give we them a platform to promote those products,” said Salim M.A., Director, LuLu Group.

He added that not all suppliers who claim to provide organic food are certified as such.

“In the market, there are two ways of sourcing organic food. Advanced countries have their own strict guidelines. However, there are other producers who claim to be organic but there is no certification from anybody.

“As a policy, we will adhere to local [UAE] government rules, which is to be Esma-certified.

“It will offer extreme value for money, people will get what they pay for,” he said.

If the local product is not certified by Esma, or if the imported product is not certified by a reputable certification body, LuLu will not offer it in the store, he added.

Largest range

“A lot of products just claim to be organic. Those will be tested by Esma here and then they will be certified. If not, we will not be selling it.”

The director added that LuLu “has been selling organic products for a long time now, but from today we will be selling the largest range of certified organic produce through all our stores”.

Organic products are generally costlier than their non-organic counterparts.

However, the “slightly more expensive” price is offset by “the health reasons” customers are attracted to, Salim said.

During the promotion, customers can expect discounts of around 30 per cent in some cases.