Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LVII, 2013Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653STUDIES REGARDING THE E.U. STRATEGY IN THE FIELDOF AGRO-FOOD PRODUCT’ S QUALITYLenua CHIRA 1 , Adrian CHIRA 1 , Elena DELIAN 1 , Constana ALEXE 21 University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,59 Mrti Blvd, Sector 1, 011464, Bucharest, Romania2 Institutul de Cercetare Dezvoltare pentru Industrializarea i Marketingul Produselor HorticoleHorting, Intrarea Binelui nr. 1 A, sector 4, Bucharest, RomaniaAbstractCorresponding author email: lenutachira@yahoo.comBoth basic agricultural products and those with an added value are confronted with an ever increasing competition onthe E.U. market due to the pressure carried out by the products originated in non- E.U. countries, where productioncharges are lower. Therefore, this being the case, the main success recipe for farmers and processors remains thepromotion of quality. The E.U.’s agricultural policy aims at bear up their efforts through community systems andregulations along two main guidelines: basic standards and measures for quality promotion. Over the last years theconsumers’ demand for ecological products has increased. To this effect since 1991 the E.U. has been applying astandard which provides laws regarding the ecological agriculture both for European producers and processors andfor the exporters which come from non-E.U. countries and who want to commercialize ecological products on the E.U.market. The basic principles of the ecological agro-food production have to comply with the requirements of the834/2007 E.U Regulation which also makes mention of the method of labeling and certifying used for ecologicalproducts. Obtaining qualitative products which also correspond to the requirements of the retail chains presupposes theconformation to a set of standards, known worldwide under the name of Global G.A.P. rules, according to whichfarmers and processors can become certified , thus obtaining the statute of the market’s preferred provider.Key words: certification, farmers, labelling, quality, requirements.INTRODUCTIONTaking into consideration the fact that at themoment Earth’s population consists of over 7billion inhabitants and in the near future a moresubstantial increase is foreseen it can beinferred that the demand for agro-food productswill raise rapidly. Vegetables, fruit, grapes,wine and all the other horticultural by-productshave always been highly valued by consumersall over the globe, playing an important role innutrition (Dejeu et al., 1997). The considerableincrease of the horticultural production has tocomply with the ever rising standards anddemands imposed by the consumers.The E.U.’s agricultural policy has to bear up thefarmers’ efforts in occupying the first positionsin the quest for quality. The first steps for thatpurpose have already been taken throughcommunity systems and regulations along twomain guidelines: basic standards and measuresfor quality promotion.E.U’s merchandising standards are regulationswhich imply definitions of products, basic/403minimal standards and labeling requirementsfor customers’ information for a large numberof agricultural products and for some finitefood products. Their aim is that of helpingfarmers deliver qualitative products that meetthe consumers’ expectations, avoiddisappointing the latter and facilitate thecomparison of prices regarding different classesof product quality (Banu et al., 2007).Merchandising standards have been adopted inorder to replace the various national standardsand to thus facilitate the commercial trades onthe exclusive market.Consumers’ request for ecological foodproducts has risen constantly over the lastyears, demand exceeding supply. Thecommunity market of agro-food ecologicalproducts continues to be fragmented at anational level.Since 1991 the E.U. has been applying astandard that implies rules concerningecological agriculture for European producersand processors and for the exporters from the