Respect takes cleaning to the next level

“In the meat processing industry, cleaning is vital,” states Theo Dolleman, Production Manager at meat processing company Westfort in Oudewater. “Our board of directors expects the standard of cleaning to approach perfection. And now that we’re working with Utrecht-based cleaning company Respect, we come very close to achieving that!”

in June 2014, during a thorough hygiene scan at Dutch meat processing company Westfort in Oudewater, inspector Jan Vink from Eco2Clean, the supplier of the cleaning and disinfectant materials used there, concluded: “We’ve discovered just a couple of very tiny points which Westfort could still improve upon. It’s very rare to find so few points within a food company, making this definitely one of the cleanest meat processing companies I’ve ever inspected in The Netherlands.” That is good news for Westfort, because the NVWA – the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority – has indicated that it will be further intensifying its supervisory activities: unannounced, more frequent and tighter checks.

100% perfection

In 2008 Theo Dolleman reached the end of his patience: he was not satisfied with the cleaning. All too often, the internal monitoring system was revealing that the standard of hygiene left a lot to be desired. “The levels were still well within the legal requirements, but our board of directors isn’t interested in ‘what is and isn’t allowed’, so I take a very clear line: we strive for 100% perfection. We process around 3,000 pigs here every day and that means we have a huge responsibility towards consumers. And then Respect showed up. There was an immediate click, we were on the same wavelength straight away!”

Hygiene training

The two companies collaborate intensively on fundamental improvements. Michel Bout, Operations Director at Respect, explains: “We have been specialised in cleaning services for food manufacturers for 14 years. I have a food-industry background: I spent many years in various roles such as QA Manager and as an auditor in the food sector. Needless to say, the knowledge I gained there comes in useful today. Wherever necessary, I share that knowledge with our employees. They’re not merely hosing down a floor; instead, they’re working to prevent people falling ill.” Theo Dolleman agrees. “It is so important that people know what they’re doing and why it has to be done that way. Internally, we provide each new employee with extensive information and training on the hygiene rules, including a 50-question exam. They’re only allowed to get two answers wrong, and we discuss those wrong answers with them afterwards.”

Now just 10%

He is well aware of the potential consequences of carelessness on the part of the cleaning team. “Just look at the situation surrounding that salmon outbreak. The company is almost bankrupt – as the result of just one incident! Admittedly it was a serious incident, and it sadly cost some people their lives – but that could happen to any company in the food industry. By striving for 100% perfection we want to avoid similar incidents occurring at Westfort. Within one year of us working with Respect, the number of problems had fallen to 40% of the baseline measurement taken in 2009. And now, five years later, that has been further reduced to just 10%. The problems identified now include things such as: ‘The white crate for waste paper was not in precisely the right position’ and ‘There was a little limescale on the filter of the tap’. Those are definitely not issues which the NVWA would pick up on – we go well beyond their criteria. We are much stricter with ourselves than the inspection authority will ever be. We don’t mind if they visit us unannounced every day!”

Crucial cleaning

The three men, who have since become a regular team of experts, start at 15.00h and work their way along, following the departments as they close down for the day. The same routine everywhere, day in, day out: high-pressure rinsing, foaming with chemical detergents, high-pressure cleaning, disinfection using chlorine and a final rinse. “Because of course the detergents must not be found on the meat – we check that internally too. By the way, that’s also one of the reasons for outsourcing the crucial cleaning process: so that we will never be tempted to gloss over our own errors. Respect has built up a lot of goodwill and credit in our eyes, but Michel also knows that if there is ever a major mistake, Respect will immediately be out on its ear.” Michel Bout does not take issue with that: “That’s a fair consequence. We’ve signed a contract listing clear criteria for our work. And we set out to meet that standard every single day.”

www.respect.nl

Photo: Theo Dolleman, Production Manager at Westfort.