4th June 1411: King Charles VI of France grants the exclusive right to ripen Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon

The royal charter marked one of the earliest recorded examples of legal protection for a specific regional food product in Europe by ensuring that only cheese matured in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon could bear the name "Roquefort," preventing producers in other regions from marketing similar cheeses under the same ...