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1. Protein type in meat products
2. Press Release
3. The 1st Annual Meeting of the FP7 Network of Excellence
HighTech Europe
4. HighTech Europe launches the European Food Processing
Implementation Award
5. Knowledge
Auction on Food Packaging innovations
Implementation of a national system of monitorization and promotion
of protein origin in meat products
Main objective is quality improvement, first of all of nutritional value
of meat products, along with information campaigns towards the consumers
in order to push Romanian industry to the requests of the European market.
Romanian Meat Association (RMA), as sole representative of meat industry,
made quality a constant preoccupation, being now at the third project
dedicated to it.
Thus, between 2000 and 2002, through American funds from USAID, we implemented
the Project „RMA Quality Seal”, whose essence was voluntarily
assuming superior quality standards, in order to regain population trust
in quality of Romanian sausages. At the end of the project there were
included in the program 10 important processors and almost 200 meat products
and we had our own authorised laboratory for chemical analysis where we
tested those products.
We had afterwards the project „Developing RMA Quality Programme”,
financed by World Bank, between 2003 and 2005. Its main objective was
elaboration of quality standards for each category of meat products, through
collaboration of experts from meat industry and from different authorities,
finally generating a common ministerial Order of Agri Ministry, Food Safety
Authority, Consumer Protection Authority and Health Ministry
Present Project Objectives and Benefits
RMA wants to monitor mainly (but not exclusively) observation of legal
quality norms regarding protein origin in meat products. Without contesting
the use of vegetal protein or MSM, we wish to guarantee consumer respect,
if a label states „poultry meat, or pork, or beef”, consumer
must know that that is the composition of the product (s)he buys.
Project Benefits regards:
Consumers: through the project, we assure them that product label speaks
the truth, that product nutritional value is real. We will have also educational
campaigns for adequate consumer information regarding the importance of
protein quality.
Processors: they will benefit financially through increased margins generated
by better quality of their finished products.
Industry: as a normal follow up of previous projects, the final result
will be improved quality of Romanian meat products.
Agriculture: meat industry positive evolution means bigger market for
livestock industry and, at the end of the day, positive effects in the
entire food chain.
General economic and social situation-: having in mind the importance
of rural population in Romanian society, any support for better functioning
of food chain will determine alleviation of rural environment problems,
allowing a gradual evolution towards European standards of life.
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