Judith Jansen and Bas van Os are representing a slaughterhouse in various objection and appeal proceedings against fines imposed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Safety, and Nature (“the Minister”). According to the minister, the company violated various hygiene rules, such as insufficient cleaning of equipment and business premises, and failure to remove contamination from carcasses in a timely manner.
The NVWA found these alleged violations during inspections. Under Regulation 852/2004 and Regulation 853/2004, food must be protected from contamination at all stages of production. Visible contamination on carcasses, such as bile, hair, fecal matter, or blood, must be removed immediately.
The dispute concerns whether the findings of the NVWA inspector warrant the fines. The slaughterhouse maintains that it has always acted in accordance with the applicable hygiene regulations and that the alleged violations did not occur.
Maverick Advocaten regularly assists food companies in proceedings against the NVWA, see here, here, and here.
For 10 tips on what to do during a company visit or dawn raid by the NVWA, see this blog.
For more practical tips on NVWA supervision, see invalnvwa.nl.
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