What is the Beter Leven 2-star Beef quality mark?
Some of our beef comes from farms with a 2-star Beter Leven quality mark. This means that they operate in accordance with clear animal welfare requirements set by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals.
These farms are inspected annually by an independent certification body. This ensures that all criteria are met and that quality is properly guaranteed.
What is the purpose of BLK 2-star Beef?
Van Loon Group offers a wide and accessible range of more sustainable beef. A large proportion of this comes from our established supply chain in France. The cattle farmers in this supply chain are certified with the 2-star ‘Beter Leven’ quality mark awarded by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals. To avoid unnecessarily long journeys and to ensure the animals’ well-being, slaughter takes place locally in France at a regular partner’s premises. The meat is then further processed in the Netherlands, with quality and traceability fully guaranteed. Four key principles underpin this supply chain: 1. Short cross-border supply chains 2. Living space and comfort 3. Care for the landscape 4. A reliable and consistent end product.
Pillar 1: Short lines of communication across borders
Even though this supply chain is based in France, we keep the lines of communication short. We work with a fixed group of reliable French cattle farmers and a single certified abattoir. Compliance with the requirements of the 2-star Beter Leven quality mark is also regularly and independently monitored there. This means we know exactly what we’re getting and can offer our partners the certainty they need to continue investing.
Pillar 2: Living space and comfort
The 2-star quality mark stands for visibly more space and a better quality of life for the animals. In the early stages of life, calves remain with their mothers for at least five months. They are then reared in barns with much more living space and comfortable, soft resting areas. This approach results in strong, robust animals with good resistance to disease, thereby keeping the use of medication to a minimum.
Pillar 3: Focus on the landscape
Our French livestock farmers look beyond the confines of the barn and take a responsible approach to their land and the surrounding environment. They make clever use of the vast grasslands to produce their own roughage. In this way, we keep our impact on the environment as low as possible.
Pillar 4: A reliable and consistent end product
When an animal is given the space and comfort to develop calmly and at its own pace, this is reflected in the quality of the meat. As the animals are slaughtered at a single, dedicated French abattoir, transport times remain short and stress is minimised as far as possible. This careful management and the tailored feed ration ensure consistent carcass quality. The result is reliable, tender and consistent beef that our customers can count on.