Hygiene

Good health for humans and animals begins with good hygiene. Hygiene is a pre-requisite for a healthy and safe product. There are strict statutory requirements governing hygiene in the production of meat and meat products in the Netherlands. At VION Food Netherlands we also enforce a range of self-imposed measures.

Pig farms
Hygiene care in our production process starts at our suppliers, pig farmers. They thoroughly clean and disinfect their farms, and make sure that animal feed is stored properly. They also take precautionary measures to prevent vermin on their farms. Farm access is restricted, and admission is controlled. They have special requirements for clothing and boots.

Cattle companies
Where hygiene at dairy farms and specialist cattle producers is concerned, we work in accordance with European guidelines. At dairy farms, the milking parlour is cleaned and disinfected after all cows have been milked. These procedures are set out in quality assurance systems, such as Quality Milk Chain (KKM the Netherlands).
Cattle farms must comply with European hygiene regulations. These define exactly the requirements ‘primary food producers’ must satisfy. Livestock farmers can decide for themselves how to satisfy these requirements.

Transport
Hauliers that transport the animals take all manner of hygiene measures. These are set out in the quality requirements for trade and transport. VION Food Netherlands checks whether hauliers are taking the right hygiene measures. The Food and Consumer Product Authority (VWA), in turn, monitors the inspections that we perform.

Production sites
VION Food Netherlands abattoirs are all compliant with the Hygiene Code for abattoirs. They work according to the principles of HACCP and BRC. We carry out continuous hygiene checks ourselves. The VWA also regularly checks hygiene levels at our sites. For example, they check hygiene levels on our premises and in the installations, but also inspect the hygiene of the animals and the meat.
All VION Food Netherlands subsidiaries have a special hygiene station. Everyone wanting to enter the production area must go through this entry area. The wearing of special clothing, hairnets and shoes or boots is obligatory in this area, and in the plants. Hands have to be washed and disinfected. Employees must not wear any jewellery whilst in the production area.

In-company hygiene regulations
At VION Food Netherlands we have instated special regulations to ensure in-company hygiene. These cover both personal hygiene and hygienic working methods. We take action if anybody fails to comply with these hygiene rules. We are very strict about that.