The Need to Protect Traditional Food
In a recent case in the European Court of Justice, support to protect the name Parmesan has been given an official thumbs up. Germany had argued that in their country the word Parmesan should mean any hard cheese from any source than can be grated on food. This was rejected. Hooray!
Parmesan, or more properly Parmigiano Reggiano, is produced in one small area of Italy – if it isn’t produced there, it should not, indeed cannot, be called Parmesan.
This has been an ongoing battle for years, prompting the EU to produce a list of protected foods to stop them being imitated, normally badly, by someone else Click here for the full list). Famous bad imitations over the years have been “Danish Mozzarella,” suitable for use as a safety mat, but not as a cheese, Parmesan that tasted like sawdust, and that revolting leathery stuff that our supermarkets and various American owned takeouts insist on calling Pizza.
But why should we protect our great foods from imitations?
Surely, if a large manufacturer produces and promotes an imitation this brings the product to people who would not normally be able to get hold of it or afford it?
That would be fine if it were true, but of course it is not. When a large manufacturer starts to produce a product, they do not do so to protect the product, or its artisan routes, they produce it so as to undermine those small manufacturers, put them out of business and grab the entire market for themselves. And if they can do that by producing a pile of inedible rubbish at the fraction of the cost, then they will do so.
The trouble is, it is not only the small manufacturers of the specific cheese, or wine or whatever that are affected. It knocks on to all other small local producers. I recently noted a comment about a local small producer of beautiful lime pickle that was featured, I believe, on Rick Stein’s Food Heroes. Following the broadcast she got a phone call ordering several tons – she pointed out that she could only produce a small quantity. Obviously, she didn’t get that business.
While are supermarkets and chain buyers are only interested in mass buying, and are happy to take second rate alternatives, these small suppliers will have a tough time surviving.
This has not been easy. Back in 2003, Asda were furious that they could not continue to label as Parma ham, Parma ham they bought, then sliced and pre-packed here in the UK. But in Italy, to help protect the brand, they ruled that where prepacked, it had to be done in the area it was produced. This also helps stimulate and protect the local economy, jobs, and so on. Asda argued that this was an Italian law, and in the UK they should be free to do as they wished and to hell with the local economy.
Europe ruled against them – they had to respect the local producers and the way the wished to operate. A fantastic result.
It is not easy to get on the list. Bob Sprinks has famously managed to get Arbroath Smokies on the list, and they now can only be produced within and 5 mile radius of Arbroath. But it took him 3 years or arguing – he has my full respect for his tenacity, I have to admit.
We should do more, however. I would love to see the true Italian pizza protected and Pizza Hut forced to change either their name or their product. I would like my daughter’s cookery teacher in school prevented from putting a potato pie top over a bit of stewed chicken and calling it chicken fricassee.
Protecting these traditional foods, protecting when, how and where they are produced, does far more than simply get reliable and beautiful food into the larders of foodies like me. It protects local jobs, traditional ways of life, whole regional economies in the case of Champagne and Parma Ham, and it keeps a strong link with our long food heritage throughout Europe.
One note, worthy of thought however: On the list France has over 153 products, courtesy with their long internal tradition of protecting their products and producers. The UK has just 29. And poor Ireland has but 4. Surely we have more than that worth saving and nurturing?
Related posts:
- Italian Pizza
- Junk Food Advertising
- What the heck is Tuscani Pizza and Pasta?
- What the food manufacturers DONT tell you
- Do we want more Supermarkets?
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...