Mountain food products: A broad spectrum of market potential to be exploited

Background: Mountain Food Products (MFP) have received an increasing interest in the last years. These food products have multiple benefits and unique qualities that cannot be found in other products. Their quality is also strongly marked by the specific environmental and processing conditions of their mountainous regions of production and transformation. Scope and approach: This study aims to provide an overview of MFP across Europe, highlighting their contribution to the recent evolutions of the so-called modern lifestyle and of the increasing consumer demand for healthy and natural food products, and focusing on the role of certification. A special emphasis has been given on agroindustry's towards MFP development. Key findings and conclusions: A wide range of mountain foods are certified in the European Union (EU) as Protected Designation of Origin (P00), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) labels, or even with an optional quality term "mountain food". They belong to different categories of food, such as meat, fish and shellfish products; oils and fats, cheeses and other food products from animal origin; fruits, vegetables, cereals and their derivatives, and also other food products (i.e. spices, beers, plants, etc.). Italy, France, Spain and Portugal are the main EU countries using PDO/PGI/TSG certification on their products. Although several mountain products are already using some certification schemes, the use of the optional quality term could encourage a better recognition of MFP by consumers and, thus, unlock the market potential and support sustainable development of mountain areas. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.