Denominations of Origin and Collective Marks in Latin America
The protection of local products in Latin America under the schemes of Denominations of Origin (DO) and Collective Marks (CM) became common almost a century later than in Europe. The implementation of these labels in the New Continent has not been easy, as many actors with different interests are involved (e.g. producers, government, traders, etc.) and the strategies followed are not always the most appropriates.
The CM have been a useful tool for groups of small producers to differentiate their products and communicate their quality and originality. The strategy of forming groups of small producers allow them to afford the cost of CM, establish a well-organized production process and access to different markets.
By contrast, the implementation of DOs in Latin America has faced difficulties due to poor legislation, poor technical and administrative structure and the lack of knowledge/experience. These has resulted, in some cases, in the delay or denegation of the certification. In other cases, just a small group of producers obtained the benefits of the certification, leaving some producers out of the protection.
The case of traditional cheese
As a result of the issues mentioned earlier, the process of granting the DO for chesses has been challenging in Latin America, in addition to the difficulties associated with legal restrictions in the production of cheese from raw milk. However, there are good examples of successful DO chesses in Brazil, “Queijo do Serro” and “Queijo Canastra”. In Colombia, there are two chesses under DO: “Queso Paipa” and “Queso Caquetá”; and in Costa Rica there is one: “Queso Turrialba”.
Mexico produces different varieties of traditional cheeses, but despite being considered as one of the countries in Latin America with more advances in the adoption of DOs, none of the Mexican traditional cheeses has been protected under the DO. An example of a failed attempt for a DO for cheese in Mexico is the “Queso Cotija”. The process faced obstacles in organizing the producers, the standardization of the process and most importantly in the assignment of a commercial name (Queso Cotija). This failed DO process for “Queso Cotija” ended in a CM, which actually is a very useful tool to add value and promote traditional cheeses in Mexico. So far, in addition to “Queso Cotija”, there are three traditional Mexican chesses with a CM which include: “Queso Poro de Tabasco”, “Queso Crema de Chiapas” and “Queso Bola de Ocosingo”.
Even when this is only a small example from Latin América, is a good picture to see how origin labels can be adopted in different ways. Being with a Denomination of Origin or a Collective Mark, the most important is always to get benefits for the producers and of course…. to preserve and communicate tradition of local food products.
