Updated: September 25, 2007

NEWS Final Transnational Project Meeting , Cluj-Napoca, 9-12 November 2006

The aim of the project: The purpose of the project is to establish a core group of CEECs’ food industries where capability can be built up to undertake safety and hygiene at EU standards in the improvement of current food technologies and to Introduce EU quality systems into the CEECs’ food industries during the enlargement and integration process.

Why?: these are essential for the survival and growth of the CEECs’ food industry in the EU environment following accession.

Target groups: Designers, quality managers, and quality assurance managers of SMEs and LEs; food industry employees; trainers, teachers, undergraduate and graduate students; governmental and national agencies; consumer protection associations.

Objectives: Set up a Network of Vocational Education and Training Centres (VETCs) for CEECs which will assess the following issues:

The main aim of QUAMANCEEC is a European-wide approach through exchange in FQMS (Food Quality Management Systems) of information about real needs of CEECs, visions, strategies, data collection, methods, instruments, analyses (cyclical, systemic, structural and analytical), development of new approaches for the VETCs and application of experiences of the EU partners, and attitudinal and cultural changes within the EU enlargement process. The VETC Network will organise reference materials, training programmes, short courses, open and distance vocational training, workshops, create CD-Roms for information dissemination, establish exchanges between professionals within the CEECs and the EU partners that will enhance and sustain a permanent improvement of quality assurance and quality control in the food industry in CEECs.
-It will disseminate the experiences and associated manual (Food Quality Management Network for CEECs/ Phare programme 028-028/71) to contribute to the transparency of Quality Management in VETCs;
-It will develop a QMN (Quality Management Network) responding to the real needs of workers, trainers, designers and managers of SMEs in the food industry which will bring together universities, research Institutes, producers in the food chain (SMEs) and consumer associations, comprising the infrastructure for further dissemination. Other CEECs would be encouraged to join freely in the outputs developed;
-It will incorporate exchange of professional expertise, training of food industry employees, trainers, teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, designers and quality managers of SMEs and LEs, exchange of undergraduate and graduate students, food industry employees, teachers, auditing and evaluation related to EU bodies;
-It will establish databases on food legislation and QMS (Quality Management Systems) implementation, accreditation and validation in CEECs, for analyses concerning the quality and safety of products and processes.

Most workshops will be given under guidance of professors of the Economics of Science and Technology (University of Sussex/SPRU/ UK), Food Industry Dipl. Engineers (Bundesanstalt fuer Milchwirtschaft/ Federal Dairy Institute/ Austria), and EMonument Belgium, University of Nevada-Reno USA, Bremerhavener Institut Fur Lebensmittechnologie Und Bioverfahrenstechnik Germany, Department of Phytotechnique and Ecophysiology Belgium, and Romanian professors in Biotechnologies, Animal Breeding, Fishering, Beekeeping, Food Sciences and Technology, Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, from USAMV-CN which are also invited to participate at the Summer Workshop.

The summer workshop is open too all managers, trainers, designers and workers of the foods' SMEs and Les, students from Food Science and Technology Faculties, USAMV consortium and too all-foreign students interested.

For details contact Mr. Iain C. Muse, CEO/Chairman, EMonument and USAMV-CN.