Grocery store workers were being urged Thursday to pay attention to the fresh fruit and vegetables they handle, after a customer at a Coop store in Sarpsborg found a needle in a banana. It’s the first time such an incident has been reported in Norway. “All of our stores are under video surveillance, so we […]
Minister gets tough on grocery chains
November 30, 2018
The Norwegian government is finally cracking down on grocery retailers and wholesalers who dominate the market and thus, it’s believed, limit competition. Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, the government minister in charge of business and trade, formally presented 39 measures to Parliament on Friday aimed at making sure the dominant players comply with competition law. Isaksen’s “Report […]
Wolf supporters join meat boycott
August 17, 2018
The ongoing battle between those trying to preserve Norway’s wolf population and farmers wanting to preserve free-grazing traditions for their sheep and lambs has moved into grocery stores. Wolf supporters are joining a boycott rooted in social media against the purchase of all meat caught in conflicts. Sausage made from sheep meat in Norway (called […]
Grocery chains under probe
May 7, 2018
Norway’s three major grocery store conglomerates have long been suspected of playing a major role in keeping food prices high. Competition authorities finally decided to pay them an unexpected visit last month, when they seized large amounts of data and now are looking for signs of illegal price-setting. The raids, reported by newspaper Aftenposten, were […]
New effort launched to open stores on Sunday
January 26, 2018
Norway’s new government minister Trine Skei Grande of the Liberal Party has sent a proposal out for hearing that would further ease restrictions on stores keen to open on Sundays. Current law only allows stores to open if they’re less than 100 square meters in size, located near transport hubs or in tourist areas, and […]
Meat and egg producer to cut staff, costs
January 19, 2018
Nortura, Norway’s dominant farmer-owned cooperative for meat, poultry and eggs, has launched a cost-cutting program that also will cut 300 jobs over the next three years. Nortura issued a warning this week that it expects weaker results for 2017. A looming restructuring program at Nortura, which has around 5,500 employees nationwide, “will affect so many […]
Food prices suddenly fall
September 15, 2017
Norway’s notoriously high food prices have become a bit easier to swallow. State statistics bureau SSB (Statistics Norway) has confirmed that they declined rather suddenly during the summer, to a degree that also has brought declines in both the country’s consumer price index (CPI) and its inflation rate. Newspaper Dagsavisen reported this week that food […]
Grocery stores lose out to border trade
July 11, 2017
It shouldn’t come as any surprise, but large grocery stores located just over the border in Sweden are cutting into the revenues of Norway’s smaller, more expensive grocery stores. New figures from the retail employers’ national organization Virke show that Norwegian consumers will likely spend NOK 2 billion in Swedish grocery stores this summer alone. Virke […]
REMA 1000 recalls chicken
May 12, 2017
Norwegian grocery store chain REMA 1000 was recalling all chicken sold in its stores from May 4-10, because of fears it may be infected with the E-coli bacteria. Anyone who has eaten chicken from REMA 1000 and fallen ill during the past week was urged to contact a doctor. Alarms rang when a routine control of 48,000 chickens produced […]
Glut of lamb meat won’t lower prices
February 6, 2017
Norway’s allowance of strict market regulation in its agricultural sector has suddenly left the country with a glut of its lamb meat, often hyped as being of high quality to justify high prices. Warehouses of frozen lamb are now so stuffed with lamb that even farmers and Norway’s highly regulated meat industry are worried, but consumers can’t expect […]
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