100%
CSR Pillar
Safe products
Why is this a theme for Van Loon Group?
Every day, millions of consumers consume our products and expect these to be safe and healthy. Ensuring food safety is, therefore, an essential part of our work.
Scope
Our quality management system covers our suppliers, service providers, production processes, employees and the way in which consumers interact with our products.
Our policy
As a leading producer of fresh food in the Netherlands, our policy is aimed at ensuring our products are safe, reliable, and meet the quality standards specified by our customers. We adhere to all relevant laws, regulations, and customer requirements.
The quality standard for our production sites is certification in accordance with IFS (International Featured Standards) at Higher Level, and for our suppliers, at a minimum, GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) certification. This demonstrates our compliance with the highest food safety standards.
When dealing with animal products, the presence of micro-organisms is inevitable. That is why we extensively monitor the bacteriological condition of our raw materials and our end products. We strive to ensure that our end products fully meet the standards we have set.
Person ultimately responsible for policy implementation
COO
Results
Suppliers with GFSI certification (%)
Total number of microbiological analyses performed
Analyses on finished products which comply with the legal standard (%)
Total number of audits conducted by external parties
Total number of internal audits conducted
78%
Number of own production sites that are IFS Higher Level certified
65
Total number of quality certifications across all sites
Executed and planned actions
Activities 2024
The percentage of suppliers with a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) certification rose to 98.8% in 2024. All meat suppliers are now 100% GFSI certified.
The integration of the Oude-Tonge site with Van Loon Group’s central quality system and framework has not been fully completed. This will be finalised in 2025.
In 2024, all policy documents and underlying procedures were reviewed. Purchasing conditions for suppliers and service providers in the areas of quality and sustainability were also revised and shared.
The review of the supplier and service provider assessment was not carried out and has been postponed to 2025.
Following several critical internal and external audits, a plan was developed during the summer to raise quality standards within Van Loon Group. Key elements of this plan include implementation of a uniform higher standard for buildings and facilities, as well as thorough improvement of the Quality and Food Safety culture.
As the starting point of the quality culture programme, three kickoff sessions were held with all management team members and site teams. During these sessions, a starting point and improvement requirements were established together, and the first steps towards building a strong quality culture were taken.
All locations were assessed against the new construction standards, and corrective actions were taken where necessary.
At the Denekamp site, the focus in 2024 was on obtaining approval for the Listeria studies. An approved study ensures that Listeria monocytogenes cannot grow during the product's shelf life. These studies have now been approved by the NVWA for all product groups.
The quality dashboard for beef slaughterhouses at the Nuth site has been established, and at the Eersel site, a special care room has been completed.
Looking ahead to next year
In 2025, further steps will be taken in the Safety and Quality Culture programme. A central support team is assisting sites in various ways to enhance Safety and Quality Culture within their own organisations ‘bottom up’.
Digital registration of a variety of quality data will be piloted at one site in 2025. The aim is to make our quality processes more efficient and reliable.
After introducing a system for reporting safety incidents in 2024, we will also configure and use this system in 2025 to enable easy reporting of quality incidents.
Following development of a quality dashboard for beef slaughterhouses, we will improve the reliability and quality of the purchased beef supply chain in 2025 by establishing stricter selection criteria, which will be used to further assess our suppliers.
Regarding the quality manual, several improvements will be made in 2025 to enhance user-friendliness and readability. Additionally, the Oude-Tonge site will be included in the quality manual and fully align with central procedures.
The setup of supplier and service provider evaluation will be revised this year in consultation with the Procurement department.