February 19, 2008

Dutch meatpacker to distance from imported slaughter pigs
 

Dutch food producer, Vion Food Group, wants to stop importing slaughter pigs, said Bas Alblas, the company's director.

Alblas said they have a problem in the business and if it were possible, the company would pull out of it. Alblas opined that risks associated with animal welfare are too big in view of the discussion over livestock transports in the last few months.

According to Vion's spokesperson, the company will continue importing pigs from Belgium and Germany.

Vion currently imports slaughter pigs from Denmark on a regular basis in order to keep up competition with Danish Crown, which is one of the largest pork processing company in Europe.

Past imports of slaughter pigs from France and Denmark have caused outcries among Dutch pig producers due to pricing and quality guarantees.

Although Vion always maintained that French and Danish pigs met the Dutch quality standards, pig producers have a very different opinion.