The question of who certifies quality is closely associated with the question of which part of the value chain becomes the most sticky, the most valuable, the most relevant for the ability to capture value.
While it is not necessary that a farmer be certified, quality farmers of true grass-fed beef will have some kind of certification.
Attempts at measuring or certifying quality usually use a set of quality markers, but their individual contribution to overall quality, and further to user perception and attitudes, is largely unknown.
On a Formica counter in Mr. Mikhalitsyn's lab lay a Ziploc bag of tiny ampoules, along with stamps and labels certifying quality.
Sellers get the advantage of near instantaneous payouts and used-car dealerships get certified, quality controlled stock for their lots.
Mr. De Riso said that the consortium, which certifies the quality of lemons in products like limoncello to protect them from low-quality imitations, is trying to help local producers raise production.
In 1678 Brandenburg's Great Elector gave Bielefeld the privilege of certifying the quality of local linen, cementing its position as a centre for the textile trade.
They called lawyers, their bankers, their real estate agency and the local Health Department, which they say had certified the quality of their water.
After the Home Office certified the quality of a provincial police department, the central government paid half the cost of local policing, and local taxes paid the rest.
The rules announced yesterday took into account legislation signed earlier this week by President Bush by eliminating requirements that executives personally certify the quality of financial disclosures and that auditors be hired by companies' audit committees rather than by management.
