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Food safety and quality
Meat is an important foodstuff. Food safety should never be a matter for discussion and VION pursues a very strict policy in this regard. Quality and safety are key at VION Food Netherlands - and at every point in the production chain.
Quality systems
VION does its utmost to supply good and safe meat. That is our task and that is why VION is involved in every link of the production chain. Quality assurance has been implemented for every link in the chain as an integral part of the chain's overall quality system which is based on international standards.
VION Food Netherlands works to the following quality assurance systems and standards.
Quality systems
- ISO 9001
- ISO 14001
- IKB
- HACCP
- GMP
- GFSI
- BRC
- USDA
VION works to assure safe animal feed
Together with other parties in the chain, we support the assurance of the safety of animal feed in the chain. Feed producers now work to recognised codes of practice and nowadays they have insurance to cover their liability. These pre-conditions help to considerably reduce animal feed-related risks for livestock farmers, and enable the animal feed industry to show that it is working according to professionally recognised standards.
The animal feed is delivered to livestock farmers by specialised feed suppliers with Good Manufacturing Practice Plus (GMP Plus) accreditation. The GMP Plus code is based on ISO-9001 and fulfils the requirements of the HACCP quality assurance system. All antibiotics in pig feed are prohibited, and the inclusion of any veterinary medicine into feed requires special accreditation and a certificate issued by a veterinary surgeon.
Quality schemes for transport
There are strict requirements for the transport of pigs and cattle to a slaughterhouse. All carriers and intermediaries work in keeping with the requirements of the Quality scheme for the transport of livestock (GTP code) and the Quality scheme for trading livestock (GHP code). These schemes comply with European directives and are based on the ISO-9002 system. They are also part of the IKB quality assurance system.
Cleaning and disinfecting
The lorries are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected as soon as the animals have been delivered. This is recorded, and although the VWA (Dutch Food & Consumer Product Safety Authority) checks this regularly, VION performs its own inspections as well.
Slaughterhouse and processing
Strict hygienic rules apply in all of our operations. These cover both personal hygiene and hygienic working methods. Hygiene regulations apply to all our employees.
The various procedures, schemes and regulations enable everyone at VION to work safely and hygienically. This is audited by our customers and by independent bodies, and VION itself also closely monitors compliance with the rules.
© VION Food Group 2013