CSQA presents three voluntary standards never made in Italy

CSQA today presented three absolutely innovative voluntary standards, 'Pork without Antibiotics', 'Gluten-free' and 'Vegetarian Quality' on the occasion of the conference 'Sustainability meets new styles of consumption. The Free From and Valore Condiviso certifications', organized in Bologna as part of 'The week of Sustainability' promoted by ACI-Alliance of Italian Cooperatives and the Emilia Romagna Region.

Bologna, 06 March 2014 - Italian and international consumers are increasingly sensitive to the choice of high quality foods that favor a sustainable approach. Food productions for celiacs, vegetarians and vegans are becoming increasingly accurate and demanding. The sensitivity of consumers is oriented towards the purchase of products of plant origin without pesticides or foods of animal origin from farms without antibiotics. CSQA, leader for over twenty years in the agri-food sector, has presented the following voluntary certifications to protect the needs of consumers and enhance the quality of the products and standards adopted in the production chain.

'Pork without antibiotics': the first standard in Italy for pork raised without the use of antibiotics
'Pork without antibiotics', with the Technical Regulations (DTP n. 109), is the standard prepared by CSQA to guarantee the Italian origin of the meat, the high quality and wholesomeness of the products as well as their correct traceability and the absence of antibiotics starting from the phase immediately following the weaning of animals that are fed with foods of plant origin only. The supply chain certified by CSQA requires respect for the right space for the animals, correct nutrition and a balanced growth rate, fundamental prerequisites for preventing pigs from falling ill and needing antibiotic treatments. The first Italian company to obtain this certification is “Senza Srl”. The standard was born from the alarm raised by national and international organizations, including the World Health Organization, on the dangerous increase in resistance to antibiotics by various pathogens, caused by their abuse in medicine and veterinary medicine. In fact, it is estimated that 80% of the global production of antibiotics is used in livestock farms.

'Gluten Free': the voluntary standard to combat celiac disease
CSQA has developed the voluntary 'Gluten Free' standard, DTP n. 108, which further restricts the legal limits for gluten-free products, providing an additional guarantee to the celiac consumer. The certification ensures a gluten content of less than 10 ppm (10 mg/kg), less than the current legal limit of 20 ppm (EC Regulation No. 41/2009), in food products and in the catering companies that apply it. The first companies in Italy that have achieved this certification are Zero+4 and Euroristorazione.

'Vegetarian Quality': the first national standard for vegetarian and vegan products
The AVI-Italian Vegetarian Association has decided to entrust CSQA with the certification of vegetarian and vegan products to guarantee consumers and companies high quality in compliance with the relevant European legislation. 'Qualità Vegetariana' is, in fact, the standard at the service of the competitiveness of businesses and the vegetarian and vegan market chain. Italy is in second place in the world after India in terms of percentage of practicing vegetarians, with a share of about 10% of the population.

“ The new styles of consumption - says Maria Chiara Ferrarese, Head of the Design & Innovation sector of CSQA - are oriented towards sustainable and healthy products, which are enhanced by the assumption of clear and restrictive parameters in their production chain. Certification is increasingly a guarantee of the consumer and his needs, whether they are linked to purely health reasons, such as intolerances or allergies, or dictated by ethical choices, in the case of vegetarians or vegans. The indications coming from the market and from consumer choices have therefore prompted companies to respond to these needs, certifying and strengthening their quality levels. CSQA takes up these new challenges by accompanying companies in defining the standards and requirements of the products and their supply chains".