Quality Regime for Agricultural Products in Malta
Currently
in Malta, there are few registered quality-labelled products; however
there is a widespread opinion that the Maltese Islands have vast
potential to tap the markets presented by quality labelled products. It
is essential for the Agricultural and Food processing sectors to
reconnect with Maltese consumers to meet the unsatisfied demand for
fresh and quality assured products, in order to service demand including
the tourism sector.
In February 2014, an agreement has been signed
between the Agricultural Directorate, within the Ministry for
Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change and the
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, to provide Technical
Assistance for the Setting Up of a Quality Regime for Agricultural
Products in Malta.
This agreement will lead to the establishment of a
Quality Regime that will allow for the development of a Quality Mark
for Agricultural Products in Malta.
The Quality Regime consists of the following elements:
-
binding product specifications for each product which identify the
production method and the elements that characterise the “superior
quality” of the product or of the farming/production method;
- an origin label;
- a control system of the product/method specification;
-
a compulsory traceability system of the chain which guarantee the
transparency of the scheme and assures complete traceability of
products.