Marcel - Cutting Hall
The new and safe bolero vests show that the Belgian Pork Group continues to invest in our safety.
Geert - Truck driver
A new project within the Belgian Pork Group gave me the opportunity to do the work that I enjoy doing today.
Pig: happy environment
T&W pig farmers and Belgian Pork Group make every effort to reduce the animals’ stress levels. The route that a pig must follow to the loading bay is checked every three months. Any unnecessary stimuli such as draught, shadow, noise and sharp parts must be evaluated and adapted.
The T&W pig farmer can use a decibel meter on his smartphone to check whether the emitted sound remains below 85 dB(A).
Pig: happy environment
We have already taken several measures during the past decades to improve the housing climate in the pig industry. This has led to an improvement in production results, health and behaviour. But also to tasty and healthy meat as we know it today.
Striking the right balance between sufficient ventilation for a good housing climate and excessive energy costs and ammonia emissions is an art.
The T&W roadmap clearly endorses the current legal directives:
Pig: uniform pricing system
At Belgian Pork Group, we believe in the fair and correct remuneration of T&W pig farmers. To determine the value of the delivered pigs, we have developed a transparent system that is easy to understand and that is applied across all the sites of the Belgian Pork Group. The system is directive to ensure that the required weights, qualities, labels etc. are delivered and reimbursed to the greatest possible extent.
The pillars on which this is based:
Product: taste tests
At Belgian Pork Group, we are always searching for ways to make our products even tastier, healthier and environmentally-friendlier. Our R&D department is the driving force behind this never-ending urge to innovate.
We developed the Monday tests in order to think out-of-the-box. This is a great opportunity to subject our newest creations or already existing products to a critical test. Changes to existing products are also sampled and evaluated.
Pig: follow-up
The agricultural organisations and ILVO, the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, have developed an app to score animal welfare on a farm: the animal welfare scan.
This scan enables farmers to critically evaluate their business in a simple and efficient manner. It visualises animal welfare on the T&W pig farm at a glance, enabling the pig farmer to monitor the evolution of animal welfare on his farm and compare it with the rest of the industry.
People: community outreach
“Better a good neighbour than a distant friend”. Belgian Pork Group also believes in maintaining a good understanding with its neighbours. The company has a central hotline at every production site where neighbours can pass on comments or ask questions.
We give tips to limit odour, noise and visual nuisance as much as possible for neighbours.
Investing in the best possible integration of the pig barns in the environment pays off. A good relation with neighbourhood residents increases appreciation and is the best guarantee for a long-term understanding.
Product: safety and control
A wise man once said, “Confidence is good, safety is better”. By investing in safety and control, we can offer our customers the guarantees that they expect. Animal welfare and the well-being of our employees is more than just a legal requirement. Every T&W pig farmer, whether a small or large business, who wants to work in a cost-effective, efficient and socially-responsible way, has a duty of care.