Food safety
Producing safe and wholesome food is one of Vion’s top priorities. Food safety and quality assurance are embedded in the codes of practice at all Vion production sites. Vion is committed to the ISO 9001 standard for quality-oriented organisations, and all Vion establishments are ISO 9001 certified.
Our work on food safety covers diverse areas and processes:
- High standards of hygiene during daily operations.
- Training of personnel.
- Equipment used.
- Daily cleaning and disinfection of production areas.
- Raising the bar for food safety standards by being board members of standard-setting organisations.
- Conducting scientific research to obtain the latest information and to study possibilities for improvement.
All our sites have incorporated the Vion-HACCP system, When it comes to slaughtering, there are two key principles for assuring food safety and which therefore form the priority objectives in daily operations:
- Assurance of hygienic processing, with zero-tolerance on contamination from digesta.
- Prevention of micro-organisms multiplying by controlling the temperature at every stage of production.
To verify compliance with food safety and customer requirements, all production sites are certified according to the rules of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The two food safety private standards we use us are the International Featured Standards Food (IFS Food) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) standard. We publish these and other audit reports, as well as the results of quarterly inspections, on our Dutch and German public websites www.vion-transparantie.nl and www.vion-transparenz.de.
Food safety and quality assurance are embedded in the codes of practice at all Vion production sites
Products made from live animals inevitably have micro-organisms present. This is not a risk in itself; it is part of nature. However, monitoring the number of micro-organisms as a KPI does provide a useful indication of our hygienic working practices. Vion based the internal microbiological standard on the number of bacteria from the bacterium-family Enterobacteriacea during the final stages of production; this is the stage at which products have been handled the most. Given the natural variation in bacterial counts and origin of products, it is unlikely for all samples to always comply to our internal standard. However, by committing ourselves to as high a percentage as possible, we can continuously improve our way of working and reduce any microbiological food safety risks. In 2022, we aim for 90% of pork and beef to comply with the Vion internal standard.
To control risks in the supply chain, we require our suppliers to adhere to and certify their activities under a Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) scheme, such as GlobalGAP, the German QS (Qualität und Sicherheit), the Dutch Integrale Keten Beheersing (IKB), or Holland Varken. These schemes have been organised independently and on-farm audits are carried out by independent certification bodies. As a major stakeholder, Vion is committed to contributing to the design and organising of these schemes.
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Listeria
We took several measures to control COVID-19 in our production premises
COVID-19
We took several measures to control COVID-19 in our production premises. Next to all labour related measures, we also carried out product controls. Vion took multiple samples of packaged products and outer packaging materials in order to check for the absence of COVID-19. The results of this extensive sampling showed that Vion products did not contribute to the spread of COVID-19.
Together with Dutch Universities and the national public health institute, research was carried out to determine the possible spread of COVID-19 through farmed pigs. This research resulted in a scientific paper showing that pigs do not contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in humans (Sikkema et al, 2021. Emerging Microbes & Infections, 11:1, 91-94, DOI:10.1080/22221751.2021.2011625).
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Clarification of the results
Our target on sales from GFSI approved plants is 100%. There was a decline in the percentage because we still have one production site that is not GFSI approved. Their sales volume share increased in 2021 compared to 2020, for which the percentage declined slightly.
The norms applied within the Vion internal microbiological standards for product hygiene are substantially stricter than those required by legislation. This means that legal compliance is guaranteed at all times. Given the natural variation in bacterial counts, it is unlikely that all samplings will always comply to our strict internal standards. However, by striving for a percentage that is as high as possible, we can achieve a continuous improvement in levels of food safety. For both pork and beef, we see a slight negative trend at specific locations. Improvement in this KPI is urged at these locations and will be monitored closely in 2022.