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 2285-5653A PRACTICAL APPROACH OF TRACEABILITYIN THE WINE INDUSTRYAbstractGeorge A. COJOCARU, Arina Oana ANTOCEUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,59 Mrti Blvd., District 1, 011464, Bucharest, RomaniaCorresponding author email: aantoce@yahoo.comTraceability in the wine industry has an undeniable role in a quality assurance management system. It ensures that allmanipulations of raw materials, ingredients and final products are recorded on specific documents, created especiallyto allow a rapid retrieval of the product history. The wine supply chain requires traceability from grape production toprocessing and wine distribution. Maintaining traceability records on specific documents has many benefits for bothproducers and consumers. A practical traceability system ensures: efficient process logistics, rapid decision making bythe producers, but also provides the consumer confidence in the authenticity of wines and proper usage of approvedoenological practices and safety procedures during production. In spite of the legal requirements for traceabilitysystems, they are not widely applied in our wine industry and the documents involved are difficult to be maintained andupdated. This paper proposes a series of specific documents to be used for a more efficient and practical system oftraceability in the wine industry.Key words: traceability, wine, quality assurance management system.INTRODUCTIONHowever, “traceability means the ability totrace and follow a food, feed, food-producingTraceability is regulated by national law no.animal or substance intended to be, or expected150/2004 on food safety and feed, modifiedto be incorporated into a food or feed, throughand completed by law no. 412/2004 and byall stages of production, processing andRegulation (EC) no. 178/2002 of the EuropeanParliament and of the Council of 28 Januarydistribution” (Legea nr 150/2004 si Legea2002, laying down the general principles and412/2004). Article 18 of Regulation (EC) no.requirements of food law, establishing the 178/2002 refers explicitly to tasks of operatorsEuropean Food Safety Authority and laying regarding traceability. According to Article 18down the procedures regarding food safety. In of Regulation (EC) no. 178/2002, winemakingaccordance to legislation, operators must apply operators must comply with the followingthe food legal regulation at all stages of the rules:-traceability shall be established at allwine supply chain, from the production and stages of production, processing andprocessing to transportation and distribution distribution.-winemaking operators shall bestages. Thus, operators are responsible by law able to identify any person from whom theyfor ensuring the traceability of products at all have been supplied with grapes, must, wine, orstages of the production, processing and any oenological substance intended to be, ordistribution, including raw and auxiliary expected to be, incorporated into grapes, mustmaterials packaging materials and operating or wines. -winemaking operators shall have inmaterials. Moreover, materials and oenological place systems and procedures which allow forpractices are specified by Commission this information to be made available to theRegulation (EC) no. 606/2009 of 10 July 2009 competent authorities on demand.-winemakinglaying down certain detailed rules for operators shall have in place systems andimplementing Council Regulation (EC) no. procedures to identify the other businesses to479/2008 as regards the categories of grapevine which their products have been supplied. Thisproducts, oenological practices and the information shall be made available to theapplicable restrictions.competent authorities on demand.-winemakingproducts shall be adequately labeled or409