Dutch food and product safety board NVWA handed out 20% more fines in 2016 as a get tough policy introduced last July began to pay off.

‘Inspectors are now more likely to issue a fine than a warning,’ the organisation said in a statement. ‘In addition, more offences are now eligible for fines.’

In total, inspectors issued 7,766 fines to companies who broke a string of laws aimed at guaranteeing product and animal safety. In particular, there was a 62% rise in the number of fines handed out to companies which broke animal welfare rules.

The highest fine was issued to a company which broke the laws on the sale of tobacco, the NVWA said, without going into details.

In total, the inspectors issued fines to the tune of €9.5m.