QUALITY MANAGEMENT FOR SAFETY FOOD AND HEALTHY CONSUMERS

A.C. Grădinaru, şt. Creangă, S.I. Săplăcan, Gh. Solcan

Abstract
    The aim of this paper is to review some literature data with respect to quality management for a safety food and healthy consumers. The foodstuffs' quality is a particular concept, due to the food consumption at its first use, and to the increased exigencies to ensure their nutritional, hygienically, or toxicological quality. The nutritional approach of foodstuffs' quality might be facile as long the consumers are well-informed about the composition and nutritional value of each foodstuff type, these ones having free-will to choose the desired product. The hygienically and toxicological approach of foodstuffs' quality is complex and involve qualified staff for food quality control. In addition to human resources, this approach could also require financial resources in order to use specific methods for biological or toxicological risks assessment. In order to ensure a proper quality of processed foods, HACCP system was proposed and applied in many countries as a systematic preventive approach, and an efficient path to design measurements to reduce hazards to a safety level. Such a certification gives an extra value to the foodstuffs, and could open and simplify many commercial relationships, increasing the trust between participants. The commercial relationships between manufacturers and consumers could be sometimes conflicting, but may become a partnership in conditions of adequate profits to the quality of offered foodstuffs, and safety foodstuffs at accessible prices. In Romania, the main organization with specific directions in consumers' protection is the National Authority for Consumers Protections. Besides this, the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority perfectly meet all the objectives in food safety and quality strategy. In addition, the activities of subordinated laboratories offer suitable solutions in food and feed quality control, and laboratory diagnosis.

Key words: foodstuffs quality, standards, certification, consumers' protection