Zootecnia biologica e qualità agroalimentare

Quality in animal food products, given its complexity, it is often measured by multi-dimensional constructs. Consumers expectations mainly refer to extrinsic attribute, and often a mismatch is observed between intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics, the former being mostly the target of producers. This paper reviews the determinants of quality as viewed by different authors. Both the demand and the supply side of animal food product quality are considered. The pros and cons of current methodologies used in quality assessment of animal food products are presented, with special attention to organic products. Finally, a new holistic approach to evaluate and measure food quality is proposed, together with suggestions for future research.