www.fao.org/ag/ags

Key elements to benefit from

voluntary standards

Examples : Geographical Indications and “Label Rouge”

Emilie Vandecandelaere

Outline

• What are voluntary standards? For what?

• Key factors for successful implementation

• Examples of public voluntary standards:

▫ GIs

▫ Label Rouge in France (Red label)

Voluntary standard • Voluntary :

▫ User’s choice (company, chain, association) = economic strategy • Specification :

▫ rules for the production/process/commercialization ▫ Conformity assessment

• Objectives: ▫ B2C: Differentiation, signal for consumers (label) premium price ▫ B2B : provide assurance that products and processes comply with

minimum requirements (food safety…) (risk management) • Attributes: combination of issues among:

▫ Food safety ▫ Environment, animal welfare, ▫ Working conditions, social, ethics ▫ Traditions and origin ▫ .... = public goods...

Differentiation = food safety to be ensured first

Standard-settings

Adoption

Use Conformity assessment

Enforcement

Ownership Governance Participation

Recruitment Adoption

Certification

Supervision Control point-of-sale Sanctions and penalties

Advisory system

Accreditation Certification

Investments Capacity upgrading

Advisory system Financial support

Private

Public

Roles of public and

private stakeholders Private

Public or

Adapted from: Henson and Humphrey, 2008

To go or not to go for VS and label…

Advantages

• Market access

• Premium price, signal for consumers

• Guarantees and traceability system

• Official guarantees when public seal

Costs

• Setting up

• Compliance

• Conformity assessment

Increasing number of standards in agrifood trade…

Geographical indication

example of GIs in the world

PGI Longkou Fen Si

AOP safran de Taliouine

Littoral Norte Gaucho rice AO

Banana of Costa Rica Apples of Sbiba, Tunisia

Public seals

Specific quality

Demonstration of the link to origin (evaluation, opposition)

Reputation,

Positioning on the market

Sound legal and institutional framework

Producer and consumer protection

Information, communication

Value chain - Marketing strategy

A market well identified

A market leader as a partner -backward linkages

Visibility, consumer recognition

“territorial” and sustainable strategy

Territorial linkages

Public and technical support as necessary

Sustainable use of local resources

Producers involvement

Participative approach(CoP )

Coordination, GI association (marketing, conformity)

Product Institutions

Local Market

People

Key success factors for GIs

Label Rouge (Red Label) • Public voluntary standard (France):

▫ Created in 1960 in the Agriculture Orientation Law, at the request of producers (Law No. 2006-11 )

▫ Each label is regulated (decree)

▫ For food and agricultural products (and non food)

More than 400 standards registered (more than 250 for animal products) (2013)

▫ From France or foreign countries, on national market

▫ 97% consumers recognize it

• Standard formulated by the producers group and approved by national authorities

• Scope:

▫ The Red Label certifies that a product has a specific set of characteristics establishing a higher quality level to that of a similar current product

need to demonstrate why it is higher quality compared to similar products in the market

▫ What are the methods to provide the higher quality (production, packaging, service, image…)

▫ Organoleptic quality assessed by a jury (in comparison to similar product)

• “technical notice”= minimum requirements established by

category of product : ▫ Lamb, beef, eggs and chickens, waterfowl stuffed, sausage, veal,

pork, poultry farm

Label Rouge

• Raw material = pork with Red Label, with requirements on: ▫ Traceability ▫ Feed ▫ Animal welfare (reproducers, birth, transport …) ▫ Slaughter Age

• No use of mechanical separation of meat • For each product must be precised: meat piece, physical and

chemical characteristics, time max after slaughtering (for fresh meat 4 days max)

• No use of frozen meat (some exception) • List of ingredients and additives to be used - no use of liquid

smoke • Conditions for cutting and packaging when it is the case • Quality requirements of final product (physical and chemical

composition) • + List of minimum requirements by type of processed product

Technical notice, ex: processed pork

Key success factors (VS with label) • Coordination (from setting up to conformity assessment):

▫ Value chain: vertical and horizontal coordination ▫ Public-private

• Market well identified: ▫ Consumers target? Willingness to pay? ▫ In relation with what specific attributes of the product?

• Consumer recognition : ▫ Visibility, label importance (limited vs largely used

label) ▫ Clear message: communication, information

• Credibility of the guarantees system (conformity assessment)

Conclusion • 2 examples of Public VS :

▫ importance of official guarantees for consumers (credibility, visibility)

• specification developed by producers/processors and approved by public authorities : ▫ LR: category of products / “higher quality” ▫ GI : a unique” product / “origin-linked quality” “higher” easier to communicate?

• key factors : ▫ coordination, market, visibility, credibility ▫ for GI, to take also into account the territorial dimension

• “ social construction”: ▫ It is not only about product, but also people… ▫ It takes time…

THANK YOU

More information: • quality linked to geographical origin:

www.fao.org/food-quality-origin

• Croatia project:

www.eastagri.org/meetings/index.asp?id=88 video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jLU9HPariQ

mandarin of Neretva : www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLBujCF6tMva spot:

baranski kulen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FLGhmcnCaY&feature=youtu.be