On September 20-22, the Forum Origin, Diversity and Territories 2016 was held in Turin, in the context of Terra Madre – Salone del Gusto (Slow Food).
The Forum ODT is an international community of practices and knowledge dealing with the interactions between cultural and biological diversities, dynamics of territories and quality-linked products. This year edition was focused on “Innovation in the Territory and Resilience of the Food Systems”.
In this occasion, AREPO and Master Food Identity co-organised a workshop on “Tradition of technical and technological innovation: Opportunities, way of evolution and limits to create resilient GIs”.
Tradition conveys specific expertise from territories that are characterized by particular geographical, climatic, political and social conditions. This expertise is usually more or less codified, for example in product specifications, terms of reference or charters.
During the workshop, the discussion has been focused on the permanent challenge of reconciling tradition and innovation in order to preserve the typical characteristics of products linked to their origin and being able to adapt products to the changing tastes and needs of consumers.
The topic was addressed through five concrete examples, with the aim to analyse the existing limits in changing the codes of practice without distorting the specificities and the expertise that define the GI product’s characteristics.
Click on the box on the right to consult the five presentations of the workshop:
- Aubin Amanzou, Alassane Ouattara Abidjan University, Ivory Coast. Presentation of a case study on vacuum packaging of the “Attiéké PGI”, its impact on the sensory characteristics of the product and its potential in maintaining the authenticity of attiéké.
- Kaouther Ben Hassine, Higher School of Agriculture, Mograne, Tunisia. Presentation on the impact of different transformation and extraction methods on the biochemical and aromatic properties of Tunisian olive oil.
- Jean-Louis Le Guerroué, CIRAD (France) and University of Brasilia (Brasil). The presentation highlighted the importance of defining “critical points” in GI product specifications through the discussion of three case studies: Wine «Vales da Uva Goethe» (Brazil), Onion of Roscoff and buckwheat flour from Brittany (France).
- Tobias Eisenring, FiBL, Switzerland. Presentation of the collective trademark “Taste of the Ukrainian Carpathians” and strategic discussion concerning the trademark commercial strategy and its linkages with the selection criteria for products sold under the label.
- Dessislava Dimitrova, Slow Food Bulgaria. The geographical indications, a challenge for Bulgaria: Initiatives and divergences to develop a comprehensive strategy for the valorisation of Bulgarian territories and traditions.
