Quality improvement of fruit juices, soft drinks and mineral waters

The quality and marketability of fruit juices, soft drinks and mineral waters is very favourable on both domestic and foreign markets, which can be further improved by means of following comprehensive and individual measures: * An approximation of the consumption of fruit juices, soft drinks and mineral waters in Hungary to that in Western Europe must be attained by means of an intensive influencing of the behaviour of domestic consumers. This will mean a considerable increase in the consumption of fruit juices, nectares and mineral waters in the first place. * In the field of manufacture of the product groups in question it is necessary to further promote the use of quality assurance systems according to the ISO 9000 standard series, and subsequently the introduction and operation of total quality management (TQM) completed by a compulsory application of HACCP. * It deems necessary to expand HFQ, the system of industrial self-control well proved in the fruit juice industry, by means of including further manufacturers, and to reduce latent falsifications by means of controlling trade samples deriving from non-members. This would enable, along with a full membership in professional EU organizations, to further increase the exportability of fruit juices, and to create fair competition on domestic markets. * The goals laid down in the previous article would be greatly promoted by an adoption and intense application of EU fruit juice directives and Code of Partice Rules for products manufactured and put into circulation in this country as soon as possible. * The quality of soft drinks must be further improved by means of increasing the activites of manufacturers in this field, because it still leaves much to be desired in spite of the intensification of competition on the market. * Based on domestic requirements to the quality of mineral waters, which are higher than those valid in EU member states, it must be endeavoured to protect the geographical origin of valuable, Hungarian mineral waters and to certify their special characteristics. In the course of discussing the country's EU acession it will be an important tasks to have Brussels adopt Hungarian regulation, making it perhaps even a general rule. * The quality of the product groups in question is connected to a certain extent also with environmental protection in respect of the recovery, recycling of packaging materials and their repeated processing in an environment-friendly way. The solution of thse problems which do not really exist in Western Europe any more will probably not only protect environment but also increase consumption in a better direction