QUALITY ASSURANCE IN FOODSTUFF PRODUCTION - A CHALLENGE FOR VETERINARY PUBLIC-HEALTH

Production liability, safety regulations as well as marketing strategi es are important motivations for companies to establish in-house quali ty control measures which can be certified by an independent control b ody. Companies that advertise quality control measures place pressure on opposition companies to follow suite. It follows that certification in foodstuff production will lead to a chain reaction and spread quic kly to other companies. In the establishment of a quality assurance sy stem it is just as important to distinguish between quality control an d quality assurance as it is to consider the guidelines laid down in t he ISO-Standards 9000-9004. After certification according to the ISO-S tandards, which dictates certain forms of quality assurance, there is no guarantee that all important risks, such as hygiene risks introduce d with technology, can be excluded. In terms of public health monitori ng an important responsibility awaits veterinary public health. Strate gies and consequences for official monitoring of food-stuffs are prese nted and discussed.