1. The document provides three examples of inventories of regional food products: products from Aquitaine, France; Swiss culinary heritage; and Produits du Jura vaudois in Switzerland. 2. The inventory of products from Aquitaine, France involved collecting data on 134 traditional products over one year with a budget of 20,000 euros. However, there was no follow up project to support product development. 3. The inventory of Swiss culinary heritage was a larger three year project with a 2.2 million euro budget that collected data on 400 traditional Swiss foods. It aimed to increase awareness of Swiss culinary heritage.

1. EXAMPLES OF
INVENTORIES

2. 3 examples
• Aquitaine in France
• Swiss culinary heritage
• Produits du Jura vaudois

3. Possible objectives and contexts
• Development of the tourist image of the region
based on the food heritage
• Evaluation of potential with a view to defining
and implementing a specific policy for GIs
• Registration and protection of GI products
• Preservation of local resources based on the
labelling of products from a “nature reserve”

4. Inventory of regional products in
Aquitaine Region in France
• APRA: Committee of Promotion of the products PDO-PGI
of the Aquitaine Region in France
• Political organisation, depending of the Regional Council
• Objective
• Get information about the traditional products which are not yet
registered as PDO-PGI
• Realisation 2009-2010
• Results
• A data base with 134 products
• Including also some recipes from traditional products (ex.
Cassoulet)

5. Realisation
• 2 persons (young scientists - interships)
• Costs: 20’000 euros
• 1 year work altogether
• Grid of data collection
• 4 parts (presentation of the products with geographical area /
economic data / communication / development issues as
formulated by the producers / contacts)
• Collection of data based on desk research / Meetings with
the producers

6. Limits
• Data-base completed but... No following project of
development for the products
• Producers have just received a file with the data
concerning their product, but do not have had a final
presentation of the whole results of the inventory
• Objectives at the beginning were not clear
• No clear mission for the 2 consultants
• Some products are facing severe problems and expect a
support

7. Lessons learnt
• If the inventory is made without any project linked
with a potential development, there is a huge risk
of complete loss of concrete follow-up actions
• Producers who give information on their products
expect a feed-back and concrete support after the
completion of the inventory
• There are a lot of origin-linked products, also not
traditional, and a lot of good and successful
products

8. Swiss culinary heritage
• Project was initiated by a member of the Swiss
Parliament, who initiated the „Week of taste“ in
Switzerland
• 2 years after, the Swiss Government agreed to build-up a
project together with funding of the Swiss Cantons and
some private sponsors (mainly foundations)
• Objectives
• Make the Swiss closer to their culinary heritage
• Awareness of the value and the diversity of the traditional Swiss
products

10. Realisation
• An ad-hoc association was created to steer the project
• A scientific committee was set-up and gave feed-backs, especially on the
methodology of selection and of the type of data and the method of data-
gathering
• Central project team (7 people) + local correspondents (26) + network of
professional bodies
• Method was desk-research and interviews with key-people
• Budget: 2.2 millions euros
• 75% public subsidies + 25% private sector grants (partly to be found)
• 3 years project
• 7 persons were involved, mostly scientists
• Results
• Data-base available on-line with 400 products
• A print-out of all the files for the cantonal authorities

11. Switzerland :
1. Traditional (> 40 years)
• Tradition as a central element of “culinary heritage”
• “New” products are not “collective, local” products : many of them are
created by firms and protected through a trademark. Is it still a “collective
heritage” ?
• 40 years means that the product is likely to remain alive in the future
2. Currently available
Which products belong to the
inventory?

12. Switzerland :
3. Close link to Switzerland (as a whole or
in its regions)
• Specific production know-how (e.g. Gruyère or Emmentaler
cheese)
Which products belong to the
inventory?

13. 3. Close link to Switzerland (as a whole or in its
regions)
• Specific consumption habits (e.g. “Biberli” ≈ gingerbread of Appenzell)
Which products belong to the
inventory?

14. 3. Close link to
Switzerland
(as a whole or
in its regions)
• Identity (e.g. Rye Bread from
Valais)
Which products belong to the
inventory?

15. 3. Close link to Switzerland (as a whole or in its
regions)
• Local varieties with social significance ( e.g. “Cardon” = cardoon of
Geneva)
Which products belong to the
inventory?

16. Produits du Jura vaudois
• Small Valley in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland
• Inventory was initiated by an association of municipalities „Parc
du Jura Vaudois“
• Objectives
• Identify the products
• Evaluate their potential
• Identify the willingness to participate to a collective promotion strategy
• Funding was very little, inventory was made by a student
• It has taken 6 months
• As a result, a complete document was elaborated, with a list of
products, evaluation of economic significance and willingness
to take part of a collective action

17. Follow-up project
• An association was created among the farmers, cheese-
makers and butchers
• Funding was fees paid by the members and public
subsidy
• Actions were at the beginning to organise promotion
events in the region and in the neighbouring towns
• 8 years after, the public authorities made a condition to
continue the financial support for the association to join a
bigger association formed at cantonal level
• Web-site was elaborated at cantonal level

18. New projects (2012)
• A shop will be set-up in the Lausanne-Ouchy place
(tourists are targeted), with a restaurant
• A logistic plate-form will be built in the centre of Lausanne,
to gather the products and sell it to the urban consumers
• Funding is partly private (farmers union) and partly public
(regional authorities)