The Ivorian attiéké has just obtained its label. This fermented cassava semolina can now only be sold under the name “attiéké” if it was produced in Ivory Coast. Responding to the request of the Ivorian government, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) has just made public the registration certificate for attiéké as a “collective brand”.
It is cassava semolina eaten wet, with a slightly sour taste, served as an accompaniment to fried fish or dishes with sauce. For Paul Assandé, director general of the Ivorian Office for Intellectual Protection (OIPI), attiéké occupies a central place in the national cultural heritage. It was therefore necessary for the State of Côte d’Ivoire to protect its appellation.
“It is a determining element of the identity of Côte d’Ivoire. We cannot separate the attiéké from Côte d’Ivoire. So it was important to find a way to prevent other countries, outside of Côte d’Ivoire, from being able to use this name to market their cassava semolina. So today by registering attiéké as a collective brand, Côte d’Ivoire can prevent, has the legal means to prevent the use of this designation by other countries,” he explains.
Reinforced product image
This measure should both strengthen the image of the product on the market and its commercial value, hope attiéké producers like Aramatou Coulibaly, general director of the company Ramacereal.
“I think that the attiéké label will offer official recognition of the quality and origin of the product. This will protect Ivorian producers against counterfeiting and imitation so as to strengthen the very reputation of attiéké on international markets and to offer consumers the guarantee of buying the real attiéké,” she underlines.
For the moment, the measure is only valid in West Africa, but the OIPI has already taken steps to extend the collective brand in Europe and the United States… and aims, ultimately, to protect its attiéké all over the world.
RFI
