Quality Management Schemes in Europe and Beyond

Quality management is of paramount importance in all stages of the Agri-Food production and process chain. The approach of quality management has been changed in the past years due to the effects of globalization, numerous deficits in food safety and the legislative such as the new European regulation 178/2002 concerning food safety. A challenge was and is the integration of these changes into the sector and the design and development of appropriate information and communication systems. A trend, which can be shown, is the development of several quality systems and norms in response to this challenge. Therefore programmes will be developed and improved in the Agri-Food-industry further on. There are general quality systems, which are applied in different countries and sectors, country and product specific systems and programmes, which were developed by retail initiatives. This paper will give an overview of the variety of quality systems in the agribusiness and food industry in Europe and beyond. The main aspect will be a detailed analysis of quality systems with regard to overlapping aspects. This is the basis for the design of appropriate information systems and system interfaces.