The Ivorian government wants the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization to protect attiéké, (pronounced atchekay) — a traditional couscous-like dish made from fermented ground cassava roots that Ivorians eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, BBC reported.
Japan did it with Kobe beef; Italy with Parma ham and France with Champagne, so Ivory Coast’s desire to protect the status of one of its most popular foods isn’t far fetched, according to AFP.
Originating centuries ago in the coastal areas of Ivory Coast, attiéké has traveled far beyond the country’s borders to become a well-loved food in francophone Africa and the diaspora.
Attiéké looks like couscous. Prepared right, it takes a couple of days to make from scratch. Making it involves peeling and grating cassava to make a paste that is mixed with a small portion of already fermented paste. This is left to sit for a day or two and ferment. In the process, the tuber’s natural acidity dissipates, according to AFP. The paste is then dried in the sun and steamed for a few minutes before serving.
There’s a severe shortage of attiéké in Ivory Coast’s markets this year, BBC reported. President Alassane Ouattara blames “cartels” and asked police to investigate and dismantle them, according to BBC.
Many people outside Ivory Coast in Africa and even Southeast Asia claim to be making and selling attiéké. They use the Ivorian name to brand and sell a uniquely Ivorian product but they are using only a part of the process, said government spokesman Bruno Kone.
“Because of its renown, this food is increasingly being produced outside the country and marketed using the same name by countries which only partly follow the (correct) production process,” Kone said.
Attiéké is popular in neighboring countries. Several tons are exported every month to Burkina Faso, Mali, France and the U.S., according to AFP.
It is cooked several different ways. The most popular is attiéké poisson grillee — fried fish prepared with sliced tomato, onion and green pepper. There’s also “attieke sauce tomate” — fresh or dry fish cooked with tomato sauce.
And attiéké huile rouge — the couscous is mixed with palm oil, turning it from an almond color to orange, accompanied with a hot pepper soup. It is also eaten with smoked fish or grilled chicken, BBC reported.
Traditionally, attiéké is made by women in villages and on the outskirts of Ivorian cities, especially in Southern and Central Ivory Coast.
The Ivory Coast Ministry of Industry has been instructed to “take the necessary measures to ensure legal international protection of the appellation ‘attiéké’ as well as the production method of this foodstuff,” Kone said. The goal is to establish an “international products and services marque.”
In 2016 so far, five attiéké factories have sprung up around the Ivory Coast capital, AFP reported.
Legal protection will take into account both the name of the product and the manufacturing process that it involves, according to FinancialAfrik. It should also speed up the industrialization process of production and create a true value chain around cassava.
But the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization does not have a compliance policing unit so it is not clear how it would be enforced on the continent, let alone elsewhere, BBC reported.
