Metro’s program offers an entirely new way to shop for groceries! A first for a Canadian grocery store, our new attributes guide will help you find products that suit your lifestyle, tastes, and dietary restrictions so that you can make the right choices. In collaboration with Metro nutritionists and SPINS, your grocer has identified close to 50 attributes to help you choose the best products for you and your family.

Specializing in market and customer data analytics, SPINS is a leading North American company that provides consulting services in the health and wellness industry. SPINS uses information from nutrition facts tables and ingredients lists to determine the specific attributes of a product. A few of SPINS’s clients: Target, Walmart, Kroger, and Sprouts.

Attributes are characteristics of the products you choose. They’re designed to help you find grocery items that suit your lifestyle, dietary restrictions, and needs. For example, the gluten-free attribute can be found on certain gluten-free products. Metro has identified close to 50 attributes that will help guide your grocery shopping experience. Check out the full list here.

Only products with a UPC code, an ingredients list, and a nutrition facts table can have attributes. Variable-weight products, store-made products, bulk products, non-food products, and alcohol are not analyzed.

Most of the products in the produce, meat, fish, and bulk departments do not have attributes. This is because the My Health My Choices guide is based on, among other things, nutrition facts tables and ingredients lists, which are often unavailable in those categories.

Every product in the My Health My Choices guide can have up to 50 available attributes. To make shopping faster and easier, only the 3 most relevant attributes are displayed on in-store labels. However, up to 10 attributes will be displayed on Metro’s online grocery product pages. Certain rules have been established to ensure that product attributes are varied and relevant. For example, iron-related attributes will not be applied to chocolate products, even though they contain iron. Plus, a product with the vegan attribute cannot also have the vegetarian attribute.

Attributes can be found on in-store labels, which can display up to 3 attributes if no other promotion is running at the same time.

Metro nutritionists and SPINS developed classification criteria based on Canada’s food guide, information published by regulatory bodies like Health Canada, and the standards for other dietary lifestyles (keto, paleo, vegan, etc.). For each attribute, maximum and minimum amounts of nutrients have been established, as well as specific criteria for the list of ingredients.

If you’re shopping in-store and want to learn more about certain products, you can go to the My Health My Choices tab on metro.ca or download the My Metro app to see up to 10 attributes per product. It’s not currently possible to view a full list of attributes if a product has more than 10.

The following attribute labels can only be found on products from Metro’s private brands (Irresistibles, Irresistibles Organics, Naturalia, and Selection): No added sugar, Very high source of fibre, High source of fibre, Source of fibre, Sodium-free, Source of protein, Low in cholesterol, and Fat-free. This choice was made to maintain the integrity and validity of the data, and to ensure regulation of these specific attributes.

The attributes make it easy for consumers to identify the best options for their dietary needs in each grocery category. Being able to quickly identify products that fit their lifestyle will simplify their shopping experience.

You can find the My Health My Choices labels throughout the store. Their distinctive green colour makes them easy to spot! To be added when the app feature is ready: If you want to learn more about a product, scan it using the My Metro app for a more complete list of attributes.

Attribute labels are meant to help you make the best choices for your needs. It’s important to remember that you should always read the nutrition facts table and the ingredients list to select the best healthy products for you and your family.

The following attribute labels can only be found on products from Metro’s private brands (Irresistibles, Irresistibles Organics, Naturalia, and Selection): No added sugar, Very high source of fibre, High source of fibre, Source of fibre, Sodium-free, Source of protein, Low in cholesterol, and Fat-free. This choice was made to guarantee the integrity and validity of the data, and to ensure regulation of these specific attributes.