Police intervene and close location Vion Apeldoorn

The police closed the Vion pig slaughter location in Apeldoorn this afternoon, because the employees were transported too close together. According to Ton Heerts, the chairman of the North and East Netherlands Security Region, Vion is not adhering to the agreements. 

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality said that the slaughterhouse employees sat too close together in a van during transport to the slaughterhouse.

Based on this, the North and East Gelderland security region has decided to intervene. There has been consultation with Minister Carola Schouten for this and she supports the decision. Just yesterday, Schouten announced that slaughterhouses may remain open, provided they comply with the regulations.

Agreements are being violated
"We were confident that Vion would adhere to all agreements. I then indicated that the trust lasts as long as Vion keeps to the agreements. That is not the case at the moment," Heerts said.

The safety region reports that trucks and cars are not allowed to enter or leave the site. Everyone who enters the site is registered. These data are then compared by the GGD with the personnel lists of the already closed Vion branch in Groenlo who must be in home quarantine by appointment.

That is a big job, because more than 500 people work in Apeldoorn on a daily basis. It is not yet known how long the location in Apeldoorn will remain closed. The Security Region will probably take a decision on this later today. 

Vion awaits investigation
Vion itself does not want to respond to the incident yet and is awaiting the investigation of the authorities. Moreover, the consequences are not yet clear. According to a spokesperson for the meat company, it is excellent that the personnel lists between the locations in Apeldoorn and Groenlo are compared, but at the same time it is incomprehensible that there is apparently a reason for this. 

Vion employees were also spotted in vans at the Vion location in Boxtel today, a journalist from the Brabants Dagblad said on Twitter. 

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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