The Construction of Origin Certification: Knowledge and Local Food

This chapter describes the perspective adopted is that of an underdeveloped area of southern Italy, the territory of the Aspromonte National Park in Calabria, where a traditional food culture and a local market for food still survive, but are threatened by marginalisation of the local economy and depopulation of the local community. The (IGEA) Ispezioni e controlli per la Garanzia Ecologica dei processi Agroalimentari, a local agency for ethical and organic certification in the field of agro-food production, Promoted by the Calabria section of Associazione Italian per Agricoltura Biologica (AIAB), the IGEA also functions as a control agency in the field of agro-food production certification. Relatively few products from Calabria and Aspromonte are protected by designation of origin certification in accordance with European regulations. In the Calabrian context, the ANP initiative of creating a label for local products was challenging in many respects.