FOOD MARKETING - A STRATEGIC OPTION FOR FOOD SAFETY IN ROMANIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

In the last decades food consumption has intensified triggering an increase in demand for raw materials as well as a series of food crises. Against this background, uncertainty and distrust of consumers as to the quality of their diet were manifested. Thus, the food industry faces a new demand characteristic of the modern consumer: food safety, so healthier food. Food manufacturers are today facing increasing competition to meet the quality and health requirements of food, drawing on a number of innovative strategies that are trying to meet these needs. The European Union is one of the promoters of food safety, trying through its policies to provide healthy food throughout its territory, taking care of it from production processes to delivering the product to the final consumer. However, besides the EU's single market, the local food market also affects food safety. Taking these issues into consideration, the article aims to identify the perception of young consumers about healthy eating and to determine the degree of influence of international food producers, especially Europeans, towards the Romanian sector, taking into account the consumer's access to information and the confidence they have in existing companies on the market. A quantitative research method has been chosen, with the questionnaire as a tool. The data was collected by applying the questionnaire using an online platform, and their processing was done using tools such as: Microsoft Excel and SPSS 20. The main results revealed a series of approaches to food safety at the level of Romania and the European Union as well as a series of consistent and clear recommendations for increasing food quality and improving the food behavior of young people through the use of food marketing.