Moscow, 15 September 2025 – X5 (MOEX: X5), a leading Russian food retailer, is introducing the X5 Quality System mark for ready-to-eat meals under its Pyaterochka Cafe and Perekrestok Select private labels. This mark confirms that products have passed the rigorous food safety requirements that X5 upholds through the quality control system developed by the Company’s experts, whose standards exceed industry standards across a number of parameters. Products bearing the X5 Quality System mark will be available in Pyaterochka and Perekrestok stores by the end of the year.
According to research carried out by X5*, one in three respondents avoids ready-to-eat meals due to concerns about quality (31%), ingredients (34%), and adherence to storage conditions (20%). About a quarter of respondents (25% of non-buyers and 22% of ready-to-eat meal buyers) indicated that quality marks could increase their trust and encourage more frequent purchases of ready-to-eat options. To address these concerns, X5 has introduced a mark to verify ready-to-eat meal quality assured through its extensive field-to-shelf control system.
The X5 quality control system encompasses six core elements:
- rigorous supplier selection;
- stringent ingredient control;
- regular production audits (including sanitary compliance assessment and employee skill evaluation);
- organoleptic testing and routine laboratory checks of finished products (with entire batches blocked in case of violations);
- packaging integrity verification and temperature control monitoring throughout the entire production-to-shelf journey;
- customer feedback processing and integration into operational processes.
X5 also maintains a Quality and Food Safety Policy establishing unified product and service requirements across all lifecycle stages – from raw material procurement to shelf placement or customer delivery. Its implementation is monitored through more than 200 annual audits of ready-to-eat meal producers.
X5’s manufacturing partners leverage technological solutions that help to ensure the quality and safety of ready-to-eat meals. The food mixing and packaging processes are automated to minimise human intervention, while high-pressure packaging preserves freshness for extended periods – up to 28 days – without the use of preservatives. If violations are detected during random checks of raw material or finished products, the entire product batch is automatically blocked. Additionally, all meals undergo metal detection screening after packaging.
X5 food safety department personnel oversee the entire logistics chain of meal delivery to consumers. Ready products travel in refrigerated transport with constant storage condition monitoring via specialised sensors and cameras. These transmit data to a centralised hub that preemptively blocks products if temperature violations occur. Each loading and unloading involves temperature verification, while store employees monitor sales floor storage conditions three times per day to ensure that ready-to-eat meals are maintained at the required temperature of +5 ℃. Customer feedback holds particular importance for X5, driving regular feedback collection and analysis across retail chains.
“We designated 2025 as the year of quality and food safety at X5, with special emphasis on the ready-to-eat category. Our customer research identified that shoppers prioritise clear product labelling and recipes with clean ingredients. We introduced the X5 Quality System mark to highlight the extensive controls and checks that our teams carry out every day. Dozens of professionals work continuously to monitor the entire lifecycle of our ready-to-eat products and ensure they meet high quality standards. The new mark will help customers to feel confident that a meal is delicious, safe to consume and made from quality ingredients. It will also help to raise industry standards and improve supplier production quality,” said Elena Krupskaya, Food Safety Director at X5.
“Ready-to-eat food is one of the fastest-growing retail categories – a young industry where production is currently governed only by general sanitary rules. The Association of Ready-to-Eat Food Producers and Suppliers is working to introduce specific legislative requirements for packaged ready-to-eat meals. As a founding member of the Association, X5 has launched its own quality mark that will help to advance the industry by increasing production transparency. This initiative will also support all market participants by strengthening consumer trust in ready-to-eat products,” said Sergey Belyakov, President of the Association of Ready-to-Eat Food Producers and Suppliers.
*Source: X5 Club study from August 2025, carried out on the Fastuna platform in cities across Russia with a population of at least 500,000. The study drew on a sample of 400 men and women aged 18–60 with medium and higher incomes.