ABSTRACT
Traditional foods products are often from a specific place which means that, besides their roots in history and tradition, they have quality, characteristics or reputation due to their geographical origin. Compared to products in the same category, they usually benefit from an added value in the market. However, as one goes back in history, one finds numerous products differing widely from each other that have gained in reputation thanks to their geographical origin. It might be minerals (marble), art objects (bronze or terracotta), cloth (silk), perfume (incense) or agricultural products (honey). Such a reputation results from the specific know-how, skills and practices of local communities, usually but not necessarily, combined with elements of the natural environment such as climate, soil, water etc., what is called the ‘terroir’ (Barham 2003). They reflect ‘historical echoes and collective practices’ grounded in a specific milieu (Bérard and Marchenay 2007). The geographical names used to designate those originbased products may be protected as geographical indications (GIs).
