Food Safety and Quality Systems in the Tunisian Olive Oil and Dates Sector: An Exporter View

Food safety regulations are becoming increasingly important in international trade, and therefore exporting countries, particularly developing countries, need to demonstrate their capacity to comply with the demands for food safety and quality of international customers. This paper presents an overview of the food safety and quality systems in Tunisia, particularly in the case of olive oil and dates given their leading role in Tunisia agricultural exports and regional development and social cohesion. The analysis considers the need for firms to comply with international products standards. There is a general view among operators regarding the need for financial support to improve quality control infrastructure as a means to guarantee success in export markets. However, there are several means and incentives offered by the government, so food industries and particularly exporters have to take advantage of such actions and opportunities to improve their quality systems, and thereby their competitiveness.