Objective:
The best option for highly atomised sectors is to have a common positioning that brings together as many products as possible, by creating an umbrella brand that provides added value. PEFC Spain enables forest certification for wild products by means of grouping all producers and forest products managed under sustainability criteria under a recognized brand. This enhances an economic activities compatible with forest conservation and undertaken by thousands of people in Spanish rural areas.
The PEFC certification for wild food chains of custody (CoC) can help to improve the regulation of their use and commercialisation and the recognition of sectors that at present are still partly non-formal.
Context:
Forests have always provided food for human. Wild products allow us to enjoy authentic natural flavours. Mediterranean gourmet foods, such as mushrooms, truffles, pine nuts, chestnuts, berries, honey, aromatic plants, and even acorns for feeding Iberian pigs, are forest products often present in our kitchens.
Many agricultural products carry a certifation of origin, quality, and cultivation method on their label. However, wild products often lack this information. Hence, forest certification provides a guarantee of traceability from origin, and also endorses this origin as a sustainably managed forest (SFM).
Contacts:
Arantza Pérez Oleaga, ArantzaOleaga@pefc.es, PEFC España
Ana Belén Noriega Bravo, AnaNoriega@pefc.es, PEFC España