Transparency and product integrity

Consumers want information about the origin of their food and about any social, economic, or environmental issues involved in its production. By providing this insight, consumers are helped to make an informed choice in favour of our products.

We contribute to transparent communication regarding the origin of our products. This concerns the entire chain, from farm to fork.

As a chain director, we strive to promote transparency in our chain. Together with our suppliers, we ensure our products are fully traceable and that this information is readily available to consumers. Product integrity must always be 100% correct.

CEO

We have connected all VOB pig farmers to a new blockchain system which records data on genetics, feed, medicine usage, transport, and slaughter recorded in a uniform way. This data is used to calculate the exact CO₂ footprint per pig farmer in an externally validated manner. From 2025 onwards, the CO₂ footprint will be calculated annually.

Our production sites that process pork from our own supply chains are required to be audited according to the IFS-PIA (Product Integrity Audits) system. If a site scores 80% or higher, the audit is carried out once every two years. If the score is below 80%, the audit takes place annually. The objective is for every site to achieve a score of at least 80%.

In the past year, three audits were conducted. One site achieved a score of 79.7%, while the other two scored above 80%. Of all sites with IFS-PIA status, 75% currently meet the standard of 80% or higher.

At the end of 2025, the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will come into effect. This is relevant to the beef we process at Van Loon Group.

We are working hard to get our systems, as well as those of our suppliers, ready to comply with this new legislation.

At the beginning of 2025, we will start calculating the CO₂ footprint per pig farmer using blockchain technology, based on data from 2023 and 2024.

In 2025, we will begin onboarding our suppliers onto Sedex. Our goal is to connect 80% of our key suppliers this year. This process will be gradually extended across the entire supply chain. From 2026 onwards, we will include Sedex scores as a criterion in our supplier evaluations. With this, we aim to work towards a transparent and responsible supply chain.