Who is ASSIFONTE?
ASSIFONTE is the association of European producers of processed cheese and the natural platform and roundtable for the professional people within this industry.
The secretariat of ASSIFONTE is situated in Berlin.
It is a small, cost-efficient organization with no permanent working groups or representation permanently relying on the expertise of the people in the industry.
2. What does ASSIFONTE do?
ASSIFONTE works on the external side as well as on the internal lines within the processed cheese industry.
On the external side,
- ASSIFONTE is the natural partner of the European Commission in discussions on issues of crucial relevance for the processed cheese industry.
- ASSIFONTE is a permanent member of the Advisory Committee and thus officially presenting its viewpoints regularly in a wider circle.
- ASSIFONTE has contacts to international organizations, first and foremost the WTO to promote the interests of the European processed cheese sector.
- ASSIFONTE has contacts to foreign embassies and authorities in order to solve specific problems for the export of European processed cheese.
- ASSIFONTE co-operates with the European Dairy Association (EDA) and represents the specific points of the processed cheese industry within this organization, just as it follows the work of the European Food Association (CIAA – Confédération des industries agro-alimentaires).
On the internal side,
- ASSIFONTE organizes ad hoc working groups and small actions parties to which company experts from the processed cheese industry are invited.
- ASSIFONTE has a small board of directors, the Comité Directeur, which meet two to three times a year or when needed to defend the interests of the processed cheese industry in case an emergency action is needed vis à vis the EU Commission or other parties.
- The efficiency of the organization is secured by short lines of communication and a readiness of the members of the Comité Directeur to meet and take action whenever needed.
3. ASSIFONTE promotes export
ASSIFONTE is very much related to market situation and development of raw material, processed cheese market, exports.
ASSIFONTE has been in constant communication with the European Commission on the level of export subsidies for processed cheese and the technical definition of the processed cheese to obtain export subsidies.
In order to facilitate and regulate the export of processed cheese from the EU in an orderly way, ASSIFONTE has created the "ISSA system” (Internal Self Supervising, ASSIFONTE) which enables companies wanting to export to secure the level of export subsidies.
Further, ASSIFONTE has proposed to the European Commission - and with the Commission elaborated - the special inward processing scheme for processed cheese which enables the sector to maintain restitutions on larger quantities of processed cheese than originally would be possible under the WTO restrictions.
4. Legal framework for processed cheese
ASSIFONTE has elaborated a list of additives which may be utilized in the production of processed cheese. This list of additives has been taken over by the EU- Commission and has been made the rule for the European processed cheese industry.
ASSIFONTE works in order to prepare a new standard for processed cheese with the aim of having this incorporated in the Codex Alimentarius.
ASSIFONTE decided in September 2006 to establish a special working group on good manufacturing practices (GMP) for processed cheese, which will end its work in 2008, afterwards the results will be presented to the Commission and taken up by this in the EU regulations.
Together with EDA and EUCOLAIT, ASSIFONTE is working as a leading part on a manual for cheese recovery.
5. Promotion of the sector´s image
ASSIFONTE is constantly supporting the awareness of processed cheese vis-à-vis the European Commission and other official bodies.
In order to present and explain the importance of the sector to the public, decision makers and the EU Commission two studies of the European processed cheese sector have been elaborated, one by the consultancy company Arthur Anderson and in 2004 an updating by the German ZMP.
Finally ASSIFONTE each year elaborates a comprehensive report on the European processed cheese sector providing valuable statistics and an overlook of happenings important to the sector.
6. Who are ASSIFONTEs members?
Members of ASSIFONTE are the national trade associations representing the processed cheese business in their country, or if there is no national processed cheese federation in a country, an individual processed cheese company may become a member.
7. How is ASSIFONTE structured?
The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body in which all members are represented. It meets once a year and determines the positions common to the processed cheese industry as a whole.
The Comité Directeur is ASSIFONTEs governing body, composed of representatives of the processed cheese industry. The Comité Directeur defines the strategic directions of the association and prepares all proposals to be submitted for formal approval to the General Assembly."
Members of the Comité Directeur are:
October 2011