An open conversation

Orange bunting blows in the cold wind, the sun breaks through the clouds only to be followed by a hailstorm and pouring rain: it’s King’s Day 2016 in the Netherlands. In an attempt to keep warm, my children bake bread rolls on sticks over a crackling fire. After all, what could be tastier than your own freshly baked bread (even if it is a little blackened here and there) topped with a smear of butter and a sprinkling of sugar? They love it. As we wander through the town centre there’s no time to get bored: we bump into old friends, have good conversations and – in search of a little warmth – treat ourselves to a burger from one of the market stalls. Enthusiastic students are rushing around like crazy to keep up with demand. Nobody asks them where the meat, buns or onions have come from. We place our utmost trust in them. Luckily, I don’t suffer from any kind of stomach upset the next day…although I fear that not everyone can say the same. 

The quality of some of the food on offer on King’s Day left a lot to be desired. Inspectors from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) conducted almost 200 checks, at both professional outlets and market stalls run by private individuals. By far the majority of breaches of the rules concerned the food not being cooked to or maintained at the right temperature. The strong wind meant that the food products cooled down too quickly or the gas burners keeping them warm blew out. Various stall holders were forbidden from continuing to sell their burgers, hot dogs, fish and hot sandwiches. Of course, the NVWA can’t be present everywhere at all times.  

Apart from on King’s Day (when we all tend to be a little less critical – except for the NVWA), it seems that Dutch consumers are reasonably satisfied with the quality of their food. However, they are concerned about additives: just 23% believe that food processing companies are honest about which ingredients their products contain. Other areas in which the food industry should make improvements, in the consumer’s opinion, are the environment and animal welfare. Those are the findings from the first ‘Waarderingsmeter Levensmiddelenindustrie’ report: a study of level of the satisfaction with and trust in the food processing industry, conducted on behalf of the Federation for the Netherlands Food Industry (FNLI). 

Under the motto of ‘An open conversation about food’, the industry is pulling together to intensify the dialogue about food production and consumption with consumers and to increase society’s confidence in the sector. Because even if consumers sometimes get things wrong at home or at festivals (I mean in terms of hygiene; I wouldn’t care to comment on their culinary skills!), there is no room for mistakes in the food processing industry. The quality must be good, better, the best even. To win and retain the consumer’s trust, it helps to communicate openly and honestly about what you do, what’s in your product and where those ingredients come from. One thing is for sure: quality managers have no time to get bored.

Judith Witte
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