“Sustainable ideas and actions”

Health and hygiene policy

Compaxo is certified according to the International Featured Standards (IFS) for food, and we continue to regard this as the main quality standard we must maintain. Investment in the improvement of our hygiene policy is also of the utmost importance to us. We extensively check the quality of our products and raw materials in our own organoleptic and microbiological lab, which offers us great flexibility.

Compaxo is certified and is assessed annually according to International Featured Standards (IFS) for food. We consider this to be the main quality standard we must maintain, as it encompasses far more than just hygiene. It also includes elements such as documentation, assurance, integrity and traceability. And as we have so much confidence in our own hygiene policy, we have also agreed to unannounced IFS food inspections. This means that an inspector can enter our factory to check our compliance with the IFS standards at any time of the day. Checks are part of the production process. Our own labs carry out microbiological and chemical research that is highly customer-oriented.

Investment in the improvement of our hygiene policy is very important to us. Our staff was recently given additional hygiene training with an e-learning module. The quality of our products and raw materials is partly checked by our own laboratory. This makes us very flexible and allows us to make immediate changes if the results are not satisfactory. We also try to proactively help our customers to make products healthier by reducing the amount of salt, E numbers and allergens.

Animal welfare

Because our fresh pork meat division in Zevenaar supplies the meat products factory in Gouda, we have a clear insight into the animals’ welfare. We also take various measures to keep our working methods as animal-friendly as possible, for example our cooperation with certified livestock transporters.

The fresh pork meat division in Zevenaar is one of our biggest suppliers, so we have a clear insight into the animals’ welfare. Zevenaar takes into account various measures. Firstly, it only uses certified livestock transporters. Secondly, it collaborates with the organisation Eyes on Animals, which monitors the welfare of the animals. We also greatly value the tips and advice this organisation gives to make things as agreeable as possible for the pigs. Compaxo only slaughters pigs that have been bred and raised by Dutch farmers with the Dutch quality label for integrated chain management (IKB). We closely monitor any developments with regard to the stunning of livestock before they are slaughtered and we compare these with our current stunning method to see if even more animal-friendly methods can be used. Our company carries out many animal welfare checks and continues to make improvements wherever possible.

All our staff working with live animals have gained a certificate from SVO, the Dutch national training provider for professionals in the food industry. We also have two animal welfare officers trained at the University of Bristol. We have camera surveillance at the stables and the unloading point. And finally, our Gouda branch has a Beter Leven label and a certificate from the control authority for organic production SKAL.

In 2020, Compaxo started a large-scale project to redesign the entire stunning procedure in Zevenaar from an animal welfare perspective. This procedure consists of unloading the animals, putting them in reception areas, guiding them and stunning them. We have worked with external animal welfare advisers to optimise all the following aspects:

A Process
B Technique and equipment
C Human-animal interaction
D Monitoring and data logging

Social responsibility

Compaxo is a family business that employs a very diverse group of people. Besides diversity, we also pay a lot of attention to safe working conditions. That is why our staff take courses and training programmes about first aid and the promotion of safe and hygienic working practices. We also have a staff association and company membership group that help to ensure the best working conditions.

Compaxo pays attention to the working conditions and safe working practices in the workplace. That is why our staff have the opportunity to take courses and training programmes about first aid and the promotion of safe and hygienic working practices. We also have a physiotherapist available to offer guidance and treatment to our staff.

The staff association organises various company outings employees can participate in. A Compaxo company membership group has been appointed to represent the interests of the employees, particularly with regard to the terms and conditions of employment. Compaxo encourages internal career development opportunities for our employees. One example is an internal secondary vocational course at a renowned training institute within the meat industry: SVO Food.

Compaxo’s staff have many ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. In that respect, our family business employs people who reflect the whole of society. We work together with the local council to give job opportunities to unemployed young people (WAJO) and people over 56. We try to get people to work all year round with a wide range of social employment measures. The agricultural sector often has plenty of job opportunities in the summer, but we experience a peak in winter, when we need additional flexible staff.

In addition to company emergency and first aid training, we also offer our teams Compaxo-specific courses. They help to make sure that we have enough company emergency officers and first aid officers on the shop floor and therefore increase everyone’s safety. We also have an occupational health and safety service on site every week, that our employees can turn to any time. The service can also help them take alternative pathways in case of illness or reintegration. We also offer a periodic medical examination on a regular basis.

Climate and environment

When we invest in new developments, we always look for methods with as little impact on the environment as possible. We also take into account the impact of our employees, the work environment and the products throughout the chain.

When we invest in new developments, we always look for methods with less impact on the environment. This can range from energy savings and energy recovery, water purification, the reduction of waste streams, the organisation of transport to routing factories, the introduction of better packaging materials and many other initiatives throughout our business operations.

For example, our sites invest in materials and facilities that are better for the environment. As a consequence we use automatic fast closing doors and fully seal the ceilings with insulated stainless steel materials that offer better insulation so that less power needs to be used for refrigeration. Environmentally unfriendly systems have now made way for better refrigerants and a sustainable ammonia system: the amount of ammonia is so small that it poses no direct danger to the environment.

Because we have our own water purification plant , about 85% of all the water we use is purified internally. Compaxo joined the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO and therefore meets the arrangements of the Dutch policy on energy efficiency (MJA3). An energy efficiency plan is used for this. We also collect about 20 waste streams separately for waste processing.

Compaxo has signed a covenant of the waste fund in order to make packaging materials more sustainable. For example, almost all cardboard and paper labels bear the FSC label and many plastic packaging materials we use bear the Plastic Hero logo. Our packaging is also PVC/PVDC free. PVC/PVDC was used as an oxygen barrier in the past, but releases toxic substances when it is recycled. We use Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), a more environmentally friendly alternative. We also bear sustainability in mind when we give advice to our customers. We are always pushing the limits by using the thinnest possible film without ever compromising on usability and preservation.

In order to comply with the environmental permit and to make sure the neighbourhood does not experience any inconvenience, we have found a way to make the transport of our staff greener. We use buses to transport our staff from the Rotterdam region to reduce the number of cars. This solution is also a fringe benefit for our employees.

Since we have our own fleet of trucks, the pressure on distribution efficiency is increasing. We use a track & trace system to try to reduce the mileage and the associated fuel consumption as much as possible.

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Certificaten Zevenaar




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