Research on Characteristics of Traditionalism of Buffalo Cheese from Marin Village and Indicators for Organic Certification

Abstract

Certified organic food production aims at creating sustainable agricultural systems, balanced and diversified through the protection of natural resources but also to human health. The quality of agricultural production represents a competitive advantage for agricultural producers from Marin village, Salaj County, Romania, contributing to the cultural and gastronomic heritage of the area. This paper aims to investigate the socio-territorial indicators, economic indicators and indicators of traditionalism of Marin buffalo cheese certification allowing the area to get a group of organic and local certification products, in order to increase the agricultural potential of the area through a quality approach. In this study is used the IDEA method, a method suitable for organic certifications and traditional attestation, individual or for a group of farmers. After a complex analysis of the specific indicators, results show that the product Buffalo cheese of Marin, brings together the criteria relating to organic certification respectively traditional attestation, according to the European Regulations. The overview conclusion of this study is that local certification could major contribute to the sustainable development of rural area, preserves the last hundreds of years of tradition and protects the Romanian native values, these being often the only way to increase the rural areas.