In response to the contemporary globalization ofthe economy, food markets are shifting toward differentiation of services and products based on theunique qualities and attributes of the products. Aparadigm called the “quality turn” corresponds to the increasing variety of food services. “Alternative foods”,including organic products or products qualified bytheir origin, and new methods of marketing the sefoods (farmer’s markets, local contracts, etc.) are developingthrough the mainstreaming of innovation. Protected designation of origin (PDO) is a certificationscheme that certifies products by their origin, and is one of several important tools to strengthen the competitiveness of rural areas, especially for smallscalefood processing in rural and less-developed areas in Europe. A PDO provides groups of producers with protection against unfair competition for products whose unique sensory characteristics essentially depend on the local geographic and cultural conditions as well as the local know-how of the productionsite. A PDO certification informs consumers that the product quality and its value depend on the geographic origin of the product. Despite the potential value of PDOs for producers, their use is unevenly distributed throughout the EU. The organization of the qualitycertification systems and corresponding legal provisions vary between countries. France, Italy, and Spainare models for the development of the PDO schemeand have more than 800 PDO-certified products. However, countries such as Sweden, Finland, andDenmark have a much smaller number of products that are certified. In Sweden, several products have applied for a PDO, but only one, Kalix Löjrom, has been certified under the scheme. The reason for this failure is mainly that Sweden’s current customs do not correspond to the rules and traditions used to createthe PDO scheme. To increase the likelihood of successfully obtaining PDOs, Sweden should work to reinvent local knowledge and local food and to recover its traditional food culture.