(Latest information from all areas of the supply chain, as well as related industries.)

Improving quality, food safety, and product integrity is the mission of IFS Food 8, a standard officially launched in April 2023.

In December 2022, IFS HPC 3 was published, aiming to evaluate the safety and quality management system, production processes, household and personal care products.

The two standards were the main topics at the IFS 2023 Conference, which took place on May 25, 2023, in Bucharest. Together with our traditional partner, IFS (International Featured Standards), we were delighted to bring together numerous companies from the food, FMCG, and retail industries, as well as a large number of speakers with extensive experience and a wide range of industry information.

Ionuț Nache, General Director of INAQ Consulting and IFS Representative in Romania, officially opened the ninth edition of the IFS Conference in Romania. He was followed by Stephan Tromp, CEO of IFS Management GmbH, who discussed development, trends, and forecasts in the retail sector, and Dr. Ioan Oleleu, Vice President of ANSVSA.

Managers, directors, and representatives from IFS, both from Romania and abroad, addressed the topics of IFS Food 8, IFS ESG Check, IFS Logistics 3, and IFS HPC 3.

All these standards are issued by International Featured Standards and focus on food safety and quality, environmental and social aspects of governance, logistics and storage of food and non-food products, as well as personal care products such as cosmetics, detergents, or cleaning products.

In his presentation, Marek Marzec, representative of IFS CEE, chose to address IFS Logistics certifications in Poland as a case study.

INAQ Consulting aims to build intrinsic quality for its clients through the new products launched by INAQ Consulting.

Alexandru Bajenaru, Online Marketing Director, together with Mihai Coliban, Brand Communication Expert, Creative & Design Director, delivered a presentation at the IFS 2023 Conference on INAQ Branding - the branding and communication extension of INAQ Consulting, which promises strategy, visual identity, long-term communication, performance marketing, and marketing-sales alignment for an acceleration of visibility and development of Romanian companies' products.

Among the conference participants were agricultural producers, processors, representatives of employer associations in Romania, certification bodies, accredited laboratories, researchers, government members, and non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives from the food industry.

During the discussions, important topics regarding process optimization through risk reduction, cost reduction, and financing solutions were addressed. Mihai Olaru, Managing Partner of Benefiq; Radu Prodan, founding member of the Medcorp Association; Sorin Petcu, General Director of Santinela; Horațiu Bașa, Managing Director of Testo Romania; Angelos Spiliotis, Managing Director of Axiven Pest Control; Adrian Balaoi, General Director of AB Tehnic; Cristian Lungu, CEO of ACDA; Marius Maier, General Director of CMC GRUP Broker, were the participants at the Conference who based their discussions on recommendations, solutions, and opportunities.

In the third part of the Conference, a raffle was organized, where INAQ Consulting offered 75 freebies. It was a first for IFS conferences but a delightful moment that captured the attention and interest of the participants in the room.

"How prepared are we for implementing ESG principles in our businesses?" was the theme around which the Round Table discussions were created, with the presence of Oana Groșanu, Executive Director of the Sustainability Embassy in Romania; Miroslav Tașcu-Stavre, Professor at the Department of European Studies, University of Bucharest; Bogdana Gheorghe, Managing Director of Retail Zoom; Adela Jansen, Vice President of CCIFER; Dan Ceaușescu, CEO of GreenPoint Management; Ionuț Nache, General Director of INAQ Consulting – IFS Training Center.

The event was organized with the support of the following partners:

PLATINUM: Cris-Tim, CMC GRUP, Testo Romania, Business Development Consulting Agency

GOLD: GS1 Romania, Imark System, Salesiane, AB Frigo Consult Tehnic, AB Tehnic Profesional, Santinela, Mirdatod, Benefiq HR, Biotrend Plus, Merry Berry, Eisberg, Calipso, RetailZoom Romania

SILVER: Axiven, Eurofins Food Testing, Transilvania Nuts, Daniela's, IQ Lab Service, Grande Gloria Production, Doly-Com Distribution, Europack Media

SUPPORTERS: Belgian Luxembourg Romanian Moldovan Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, Netherlands Romanian Chamber of Commerce - NRCC, ASEMER. Association of Spanish Companies in Romania, British Romanian Chamber of Commerce (BRCC), Embassy of Sustainability in Romania, AMRCR, Association for the Promotion of Romanian Food - APAR, ROMALIMENTA, Coalition for Circular Economy - CERC, RUCODEM, Romanian Meat Association, Supreme Council of European Business, Association of Sibiu Salami Producers, Romania Green Building Council

MEDIA: Transilvania Business, Modern Buyer, MEAT & MILK Expo-Conference and Magazine, Business Voice Romania, Nomade Communication, ROaliment.