The Haute-Tarentaise milk cooperative : come together to better get higher value from your production

Context

At the beginning of the 20^th century, to protect some products from fraud, France decided to create a product protection mechanism:  “l’appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC)” (Designation of Origin). It was first put in place to protect the wine production, and it then spread to all kind of products in 1990. This AOC implies a set of specifications that need to be followed throughout each step of the value chain, in order to be able to get the AOC sticker and the protection from any kind of external fraud. This process then inspired the European Union, who established in 1992 the concept of Protected Designation of Origin (AOP), for the food products, and for the wine in 2009. This protection has been adopted by France, who included it in his rural and fishing Code: “The production and the processing must be done in a specific location, using specific know-how and a particular set of requirements” (INAO, Origin and quality NAtional Institute)

It protects the name of the product from fraud in the whole European Union. 

The Beaufort, a cheese speciality from Savoie, France, has received its AOC in 1968, and then an AOP in the 90s. The Haute-Tarentaise milk cooperative was born 4 years before that, in 1964.

Project

At the beginning of the 20^th century, to protect some products from fraud, France decided to create a product protection mechanism:  “l’appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC)” (Designation of Origin). It was first put in place to protect the wine production, and it then spread to all kind of products in 1990. This AOC implies a set of specifications that need to be followed throughout each step of the value chain, in order to be able to get the AOC sticker and the protection from any kind of external fraud. This process then inspired the European Union, who established in 1992 the concept of Protected Designation of Origin (AOP), for the food products, and for the wine in 2009. This protection has been adopted by France, who included it in his rural and fishing Code: “The production and the processing must be done in a specific location, using specific know-how and a particular set of requirements” (INAO, Origin and quality NAtional Institute)

It protects the name of the product from fraud in the whole European Union. 

The Beaufort, a cheese speciality from Savoie, France, has received its AOC in 1968, and then an AOP in the 90s. The Haute-Tarentaise milk cooperative was born 4 years before that, in 1964.

The Little Extra

The Haute-Tarentaise cooperative doesn’t only produce and sensitize. They also have a restaurant in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, where they cook their local products and serve it to customers. The receipts are made available on their website, and all the products, in the store next to the restaurant.

Besides, they have a online shop for the people who cannot come to the store, with cheeses, but also  “Beaufort saucisson” (a French salami).

Written by Perrine Azière, LFC volunteer, April 2020.

Last modification : 09 Apr 2020.