A label for mountain products? Let’s turn it over to producers and retailers

he development of mountain farming and the promotion of mountain food production are a way to encourage sustainable development of mountain areas, which are generally considered places with specific geographic and climatic constraints. In order to promote strategies for mountain products, the European Union recently approved the Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 reserving the use of the term “Mountain Product” to food products produced and processed in mountain areas. This regulation was supplemented by the Delegated Act (EU) No 665/2014, which specifies the conditions of use of the optional quality term “Mountain Product”. The purpose of this paper is to assess the interest in the application of the new mountain label and the perception of the food mountain products in an Italian Region (Marche). To achieve this goal, two different surveys, a producer survey and a retailer survey, were conducted in the summer 2016. The results highlight the insufficient communication around this new quality system. However, the creation of a label to protect and certify mountain food, which is positively accepted, could constitute a foundation for improving the promotion of mountain quality food products and the sustainability of these areas