Schouten thinks that the slaughter line is running too fast

The production speed in Dutch slaughterhouses must be reduced, says agricultural minister Carola Schouten. Now the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) cannot properly monitor.

The minister believes that the emphasis at slaughterhouses is too much on cost savings, which means that the production speed is sometimes too high. A spokeswoman for Schouten says that there are currently open standards regarding the belt speed. As a result, NVWA employees do not have guidelines to send. To put it bluntly, the minister wants fewer animals to be slaughtered per hour.

System must be different
In addition to adjusting the belt speed, Schouten wants to integrate even more measures. "The minister wants to look at the system fundamentally, because there are currently too many incidents," said the spokeswoman. Sector parties, such as the COV (the sector organization of slaughterhouses), are involved in this process. A letter to parliament will be published shortly in which further details will be announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

When asked, the COV says it does not want to give a substantive response yet. They first want to talk to the members before taking positions. The minister's statements are seen as a call for discussion. 

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is Head of Meat & Dairy at BoerenbusinessAt DCA Market Intelligence, he focuses on dairy, pork, and meat markets. He also monitors (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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