Sustainability assessment of PDO value chains: The cases of Lâ??Etivaz and Le Gruyère in Switzerland
4th International Conference and Exhibition on Food Processing & Technology
August 10-12, 2015 London, UK

Dominique B, Emilia S, Virginia C and Anaelle T C

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Protected Designations of Origin are tools for protecting the geographical names of products but are considered as well by
EU-regulation 510/2006 as tools for supporting local development processes. Their impacts on sustainability have been
poorly documented in the literature so far. The objectives of this paper are: To present a method of constructing indicators of
sustainability adapted from the SAFA guidelines developed at FAO; to present the results for 2 PDO cheeses that have existed
for many decades in the Swiss Alps but have been legally registered as PDO for about 10 years only and to propose responses
in terms of policies’ adaptation or changes for improving the impact on sustainability of the concerned products. The research
is part of the GLAMUR European research project which has developed a methodological approach in order to identify the
possible policy interventions based on a performance assessment of local vs. global food value chains. The methodological
approach is applied to the performance assessment of two PDO cheeses in Switzerland. First, relevant attributes have been
identified as the main perceived fields of impacts and corresponding indicators have been defined based on literature and experts
opinions. Second, data have been collected in order to calculate the indicators. Third, the results and their policy implications
are discussed. The main policy recommendation is that the sustainability assessment of PDO could be useful for the purpose of
allocating public support to PDO initiatives in order to encourage sustainability improvement all along the chain.

Biography :

Author Name is a Biologist specialized in Biotechnology and Agri-Food; she continued her formation achieving the Master Erasmus Mundus Food Identity in 2014. The
latter allowed her acquiring deep knowledge of typical and local food around Europe strengthened by her participation at the European Project FP7 GLAMUR aiming
at integrating advancement in scientific knowledge about the impact of food chains to practice, to increase food chains sustainability through public policies and private
strategies.