The Significant of Food Heritage Endorsement in Building Food Identity

Abstract

Many countries reported having experienced external pressures on their culture and tradition, including losing their food heritage and identity. With that, Malaysia, as a multi-cultural country, is also much concerned in preserving its food heritage and identity. This paper aimed to determine the impact of food heritage endorsement towards building food identity from a food experts perspective. A qualitative approach used to gather information, specifically by using a semi-structured interview with eight informants from government agencies and the food industry. The results revealed that the panel of experts corresponded to the impact of the endorsement of food heritage towards national food heritage in four themes, which were: creating an image; documentation of food heritage; preserving the traditional food; and national identity. The impact of endorsement towards national food heritage would help the nation in building food heritage in the direction of the country’s identity, which contributed towards national food identity or national food image. It is not only appreciated among the Malaysians but also in the international arena.Keywords: Impact of endorsement; food heritage; food identity; expert paneleISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.189