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VRR Quality & Food Safety Quiz 2026

At the end of 2025, as part of the preparations for Van Rees Rotterdam’s IFS Broker certification, we held a joint training session on quality and food safety. Since then, these topics have come up in various meetings and processes, and we have continued to learn through our day-to-day work, from supplier assessments and approval to registering and handling complaints.

How is our 'food safety awareness'?

It is time to check in again and see where we stand as a team. To do that, here is a quiz with 15 multiple-choice questions, each with one correct answer (and 2 almost correct answers, to make it a bit challenging!). The aim is to pause, reflect and think consciously about how we should act when it comes to the food safety of the products we buy and sell.

Quiz with 15 questions (cheating is allowed!)

Please work through the questions and, before looking anything up, consider which answer you would give based on what you remember. If you are unsure, it is perfectly fine to consult last year’s presentation, look up the information in the relevant documents or systems, or discuss the question with your colleagues. After all, discussing questions and learning together is one of the best ways to strengthen our shared food safety culture.

Not everyone works in the same role or encounters all these situations in their daily work. However, it is important that everyone understands the basic principles of quality and food safety and can recognise the right course of action. For some questions, you may therefore need to put yourself in a colleague’s shoes and consider what the right decision would be in their situation.

Follow up

The quiz is not anonymous, as we need to be able to see who has and has not responded. Individual results will only be reviewed by the Quality Team and will not be shared openly within the team. If the answers show that a particular topic needs more attention, we will come back to it together. You will, of course, receive your submission after completing it, and we'll share your own score once all team members have completed the quiz.

Your name:

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1. Which statement best describes Van Rees Rotterdam's role in food safety?

Van Rees Rotterdam helps ensure that all tea it buys and sells is safe and compliant.

Van Rees Rotterdam guarantees that all tea producers consistently meet food safety requirements.

Van Rees Rotterdam audits all tea producers.

2. Why should Van Rees Rotterdam assess and approve suppliers before purchasing tea, herbal ingredients or tea-related services from them?

To select the supplier offering the best commercial conditions.

To help identify and manage food safety and compliance risks before doing business.

To determine the quality of the tea, herbal ingredients or services supplied by the supplier.

3. Which information should (as a minimum) be included in Van Rees Rotterdam's traceability records for every tea or herbal ingredient?

Where it came from, its batch number, and the shipment it belonged to.

Which colleague purchased it, its purchase price, and which colleague sold it.

Its quality grade, its appearance, and its flavour profile.

4. Why is it important that product information shared with customers is accurate and complete, from a food safety perspective?

So customers receive the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.

So customers can compare Van Rees products with those of other suppliers.

So fewer questions from customers need to be answered in the future.

5. You receive updated product information from a supplier. What should you do?

Forward it to the relevant colleagues and keep both versions available.

Make sure the updated information is available and that the previous version cannot be used by mistake.

Save the updated information in your inbox until someone asks for it.

6. You notice that information in a document does not match previous records. What should you do?

Continue processing the document because it is probably an administrative update.

Correct the information yourself using the previous version.

Report the discrepancy and have it verified before the document is used further.

7. A customer asks whether a product meets a specific legal requirement, but you are not sure. What should you do?

Confirm that it complies because the supplier has always met the requirements.

Tell the customer that it is probably compliant and check afterwards whether this is indeed the case.

Check the available information before giving the customer an answer.

8. A tea complies with food safety legislation but does not meet the customer's agreed specification. What should Van Rees Rotterdam do before supplying the tea?

Discuss the situation with the customer before deciding how to proceed.

Confirm to the customer that the tea complies with legislation and therefore supply it.

Ask the supplier to issue an updated specification.

9. Which situation is the best example of food fraud?

A tea contains pesticide residues because the crop was treated incorrectly.

A lower-value tea is sold as a premium tea to obtain a higher price.

A shipment is delayed because transport documents are incomplete.

10. Which situation should be reported as a potential food defence concern?

A supplier delivers tea that does not meet the agreed specification.

A laboratory reports an unexpected contaminant.

Several tea bags show signs of having been opened or resealed.

11. You become aware of information that may affect the food safety or compliance of a tea shipment. What should you do first?

First collect more information yourself to avoid unnecessarily bothering the Quality Team.

First share the information with the Quality Team so it can be assessed.

First contact the customer, and then the Quality Team.

12. A customer reports a possible quality or food safety issue with a product. What should happen first?

Contact the supplier to ask for an explanation and any available information.

Record the complaint and save all relevant information so it can be properly assessed.

Ask the customer which solution they prefer and arrange it as soon as possible.

13. Why is it important to identify the root cause of a complaint or food safety incident?

To determine who made the mistake.

To help prevent similar problems from happening again.

To decide whether the supplier should be removed from the approved supplier list.

14. Which situation is the most likely reason for Van Rees Rotterdam to inform the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA)?

A customer reports a possible food safety issue with a product.

A serious food safety issue may affect products already on the market.

A supplier reports that a legal limit may have been exceeded.

15. Which statement best reflects how food safety is managed at Van Rees Rotterdam?

Food safety is mainly the responsibility of the Quality Team.

Every employee contributes to food safety through their daily work and by reporting concerns.

Food safety is mainly the responsibility of colleagues who work directly with suppliers and customers.