Diversity and quality symbols UNIQUE TASTS
The great tradition of French food derives from its tremendous diversity of products, soils, climates and expertise—in short, from the land itself. French approaches to quality have long been based on this great natural wealth; it was France who invented the concept of labels denoting products' origins. Synonymous with taste, land, pleasure and conviviality, symbols denoting quality and product origins are an integral part of the French food culture and gastronomic tradition that is so popular worldwide.
A wide variety of products, the result of the diversity of our land
France is blessed with remarkable geographic and climatic diversity. A range of incredibly varied climates and soils within a single country make up a unique patchwork of land types so diverse that travelling them all would be a life's work! People have always worked the land: adapting their practices to given places and vice versa. This traditional know-how has been accumulated and handed down from generation to generation, exploiting each individual context and developing products whose tastes are specific and unique.
Wines, aperitifs and liqueurs, milk and cheese, fruits and vegetables, meat and cooked pork, bakery and biscuits, confectionery... French professionals from the agricultural and agribusiness sector are constantly enriching this range of products, in order to offer consumers worldwide a range of products to suit every taste, at all prices and for all occasions!
Symbols Identifying Quality and Origin
Capsicum from Espelette, honey from Corsica, potatoes from Ile de Ré, chicken from Bresse, butter from Isigny, Comté, Cognac, Chablis are all products which conjure up specific regions and places. Stretching back over a century in France, the policy of respect for the quality and origins of agricultural and agribusiness products has enabled producers and economic actors to protect the diversity and distinctiveness of their products.
Abbreviations:
AOC: Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée
Guaranteeing a product's provenance from a particular region
AOP: Appellation d’Origine Protégée
European equivalent of the AOC
IGP: Indication Géographique Protégée
Guaranteeing a link between a product and its region
STG: Spécialité Traditionnelle Garantie
Guarantee of traditional products
AB: Agriculture Biologique
Guaranteeing methods of production which respect the environment and animal welfare
Label Rouge
Guaranteeing the superior quality of a product
These symbols of quality and origin are hallmarks of French food products. They enable consumers to select quality products which are distinctive, with their own taste, produced with respect for the environment and endorsed by the government, including the INAO (National Institute for Origins and Quality). The concept of protecting product origins is becoming increasingly popular worldwide.