"In Spain we are on the right track as far as food quality systems are concerned. There has been a lot of movement since 1996 and we are acting in more and more sectors. This is very good for our food to be present in Europe and the world. And we can say, more and more, that Spanish products are of quality". This is the opinion of Idoya Calvo, director of department Quality of the research center in Applied Pharmacobiology (CIFA) of the University of Navarra, who has intervened in the meeting Food Sectorial organized by the Foundation business-University of Navarra.

Dr. Calvo, who spoke about technical and regulatory developments in quality systems in the food sector, explained that "quality systems are essential because they are the only way to ensure that products are exported".

He added that the new rules and regulations ISSO 9000 (still at draft) will be "like a tailor-made suit for each organization, it will gain in efficiency and dynamism. It is intended to be compatible with other management systems, such as those related to the environment and occupational hazards, and takes customer satisfaction into account".

"The future success of the application of this rule - he explained - depends on the information, on the negotiating capacity of Username, on the technical skill of the assessor and on the use made of the certification in favor of quality".

On the other hand, the recent EN-ISSO-17025, which affects laboratories, "will differentiate the competencies of requirements from those of management and technicians," according to Dr. Calvo.

As Director of Quality at CIFA, she reported that one of the quality systems used at department "allows the information from the audits to be transferred to points on the European model of business excellence to quantify the status of the classic systems, i.e. to know whether a business is evolving or not in terms of quality. The application of these systems with Philosophy of total quality will build excellent companies that satisfy customers, workers, entrepreneurs and, in final, society".

For his part, the director of the Foundation business-University of Navarra, Jorge Larena, explained that "the 130 professionals who attended the meeting have learned how to make their companies more competitive in the medium term deadline, how to be more innovative and healthier with their products, all in partnership with our center".

"This subject of forums financial aid to get companies and the University of Navarra used to working together on technological cooperation projects, basing their relationship on common interest and mutual benefit. If the business wins, the University wins, and our University has technological centers and Departments related to the food sector: the CIFA, the high school of Applied Biology (IBA), the department of Bromatology, Food Technology and Toxicology, that of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Microbiology.... I believe that the Schools of Pharmacy, Science and Medicine have a lot to say in this respect", concluded Larena.