Waste and food waste

Food production generates by-products and waste, particularly in the form of packaging materials. As raw materials and auxiliary materials are finite resources, we strive to minimise both waste and by-products.

Waste generated at Van Loon Group’s production sites and material loss during the production process.

Van Loon Group focuses on minimising waste and food wastage within its production processes. We produce as efficiently as possible and strive to make the best possible use of all raw materials and consumables. We achieve this, amongst other things, by using innovative packaging and by curing or freezing products to extend their shelf life.
 
Meat is a valuable and costly product. From a business perspective, our operations are therefore geared towards minimising losses. Due to fluctuations in demand, it can happen that more finished products are produced than can be sold immediately. We then donate these products to regional food banks.
 
In addition to combating food waste, we are also actively working to reduce non-recyclable waste in our production process – naturally without compromising on food safety.

CSO

By 2025, we had implemented an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001, ensuring that our environmental policy, objectives and commitment to continuous improvement are firmly embedded in our business operations.

Waste audits were carried out at our sites in Beilen and Best. These audits provided insight into the composition of our waste streams and the opportunities for further separation and reduction. As a result, we have implemented a plan at the Best site’s logistics department to collect wrapping film separately, so that this stream can be recycled to a high standard.

At the Beilen site, separate collection of Topseal film has been set up. Thanks to this separate collection, we are able to supply approximately 10 tonnes of additional material annually for high-quality recycling.

Last year, we also continued our partnership with Food Banks Netherlands. Partly to prevent food waste and partly because, as a food producer, we see it as our social responsibility to support the food bank and thereby help people.
 
As a result of further optimisation of our processes, we delivered less to the food banks in 2025 than in previous years. In total, we delivered almost 152,000 kilograms to Food Banks Netherlands. Converted, this amounts to 1.9 million portions based on a standard portion weight of 80 grams. Over a third of this (52,800 kilograms) is not waste but products that we produced and donated specifically for the food banks.

In collaboration with the Together Against Food Waste Foundation, we joined the Circular Pig Feed Coalition in 2025. Together with our supply chain partners, we are committed to a circular approach that minimises food waste. As part of this, we are investigating the effect of a higher proportion of residual and by-products in pig feed, with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions. We are carrying out this initiative jointly with other retailers, producers and animal feed companies. In 2026, we will continue this collaboration and will provide more detailed information on the results and next steps at a later date.

Over the coming year, we will also be carrying out the waste scan at our sites in Nuth, Eersel, Denekamp and Oude-Tonge. This will form the basis for further reducing the proportion of residual waste to 50%.

Part of this plan is to establish a new, uniform waste standard in line with the 5S principle for the entire Van Loon Group. This will provide us with a clear procedure for the correct separation of film and residual waste.

At our site in Best, we will dispose of the label backing paper separately, and a cost-benefit analysis will be carried out for a baler for clean residual film.