This work was 
    completed on behalf 
    of the European 
    Food Information 
    Resource (EuroFIR) 
    Consortium and 
    funded under the 
    EU 6th Framework 
                           Synthesis report No 6:
    Food Quality 
    and Safety              Traditional Foods
    thematic priority. 
    Contract FOOD –                  in Europe
    CT – 2005-513944.
                              Dr. Elisabeth Weichselbaum
                                   and Bridget Benelam
                                  British Nutrition Foundation
                                Dr. Helena Soares Costa
                         National Institute of Health (INSA), Portugal
                        Synthesis Report No 6
             Traditional Foods in Europe
              Dr. Elisabeth Weichselbaum and Bridget Benelam
                               British Nutrition Foundation
                             Dr. Helena Soares Costa
                      National Institute of Health (INSA), Portugal
        This work was completed on behalf of the European Food Information 
      Resource (EuroFIR) Consortium and funded under the EU 6th Framework 
      Food Quality and Safety thematic priority. Contract FOOD-CT-2005-513944.
                                                              Traditional Foods in Europe
          Contents
          1    Introduction                                                                2
          2    What are traditional foods?                                                 4
          3    Consumer perception of traditional foods                                    7
          4    Traditional foods across Europe                                             9
               Austria/Österreich                                                        14
               Belgium/België/Belgique                                                   17
               Bulgaria/БЪЛГАРИЯ                                                         21
               Denmark/Danmark                                                           24
               Germany/Deutschland                                                       27
               Greece/Ελλάδα                                                             30
               Iceland/Ísland                                                            33
               Italy/Italia                                                              37
               Lithuania/Lietuva                                                         41
               Poland/Polska                                                             44
               Portugal/Portugal                                                         47
               Spain/España                                                              51
               Turkey/Türkiye                                                            54
          5     Why include traditional foods in European food 
               composition databases?                                                    59
          6    Health aspects of traditional foods                                       60
          7    Open borders in nutrition habits?                                         62
          8    Traditional foods within the EuroFIR network                              64
          References                                                                     67
          Annex 1 ‘Definitions of traditional foods and products’                        71
                                                                                           1
     Traditional Foods in Europe
     1. Introduction
     Traditions are customs or beliefs taught by one generation to the next, often 
     by word of mouth, and they play an important role in cultural identification. 
     Each culture, ethnic group or region has specific traditions. Some traditions, 
     such  as  religious  customs,  overlap  different  cultures,  ethnic  groups  or 
     regions.
     Specific eating habits play an important role in the traditional habits of many 
     cultures.  The  use  of  particular  food  ingredients  and  food  preparation 
     methods has been passed on from one generation to the next, and are 
     nowadays referred to as ‘traditional foods’.
     Traditional foods have played a major role in traditions of different cultures 
     and regions for thousands of years. They include foods that have been 
     consumed locally and regionally for an extended time period. Preparation 
     methods of traditional foods are part of the folklore of a country or a region. 
     Unfortunately,  throughout  Europe,  some  traditional  foods  are  at  risk  of 
     disappearing due to altered lifestyles. Therefore, it is important to study and 
     document  traditional  foods  to  sustain  important  elements  of  European 
     cultures.
     Most people can probably name at least one traditional food of the region 
     they  come from. Searching the internet for ‘traditional  foods’  shows  that 
     numerous collections of traditional food recipes are available from countries 
     worldwide. However, defining traditional foods is not as easy as it might be 
     presumed. There are very few definitions available, and most of them have 
     been  developed  relatively  recently.  One  of  these  definitions  has  been 
     prepared by EuroFIR. This EuroFIR definition is presented in chapter 2 and 
     other definitions of ‘traditional foods’ can be found in annex 1. Chapter 3 
     summarises results of a consumer survey on the perception of traditional 
     foods carried out in European countries.
     2