ROMANIA'S ORGANIC FOOD MARKET. GOOD PRACTICES IN FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Contemporary global markets face an intensive development that is correlated with higher demands from the modern consumer. This is leading to a new complex approach regarding the food sector and its' niche markets. The simple three-point process that once characterized the food market: "to produce - to sell - to buy" has now evolved into elaborated models based on more determinants that have one common challenge: safety and quality. Thus, the present study aims to highlight the importance of food safety management systems in producing quality food, when their principles are not limited to safety issues only. In this context, producers' accountability in ensuring quality food products can be achieved by implementing standardize methods of production that promote a common approach on safety and quality, and also that promotes transparency, more exactly by informing consumers in a correctly and completely manner in order to set their expectations. In other words, the research focuses on quality management systems as defining instruments that can assure high-quality food products are being delivered at competitive prices to domestic and international markets. Another key aspect aims to identify a set of good practices from Romanian companies that activated in the organic food industry and use HACCP to control both food safety and organic requirements and that can represent motivation for other businesses to adopt the food safety management system in accordance with the organic legislation.