Quality standardization and certification of traditional food products

Abstract

The results presented in this study were obtained during the implementation of the Interreg-IPA CBC project Traditional and Standard Quality - TASQ (HUSRB/1602/41/0146). The main goal of this project was quality standardization and certification of traditional food products in order to expand their market presence within the Serbia and Hungary cross-border region, using innovative processing and marketing techniques. In order to achieve that, the TASQ quality assurance system was developed, and the common certification mark Q was registered by Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in both cooperating countries. Numerous traditional food products were collected and analysed for nutritional and sensory quality as well as for safety. In total, 158 products across nine groups of traditional foodstuffs (meat products, dairy products, honey, vegetable oils, processed fruits and vegetables, juices/beverages, pasta and baker’s wares, confectionery, spices and teas) were certified with gold, silver or green Q mark, representing the quality level. A new internet platform (www.tasq.rs) was developed with the purpose to help traditional food producers to promote and sell their products on a wider market. The assigned trademark is clearly indicated for each certified product within the producers’ profiles on TASQ internet platform, and represents a guarantee of product quality intended to raise customer confidence.