"With knife and cheese in the hands"? Analysis of the projected image of the Brazilian cheese regions.

The present work aimed at analyze the image promoted by the official websites of the Brazilian cheese producing regions that are holders of geographical indication (GI) registration. This registration is essentially a tool for commercial promotion of products, characterizing them by the place from which they originate. However, it can be used for a variety of purposes, including the promotion of the producing territory and the particular environmental, historical and sociocultural issues that led to the GI registration. To that end, we chose to study the sites of the municipalities that compose the regions demarcated in the registry of the existent geographical indications of cheese in the country (Canastra and Serro regions, in the state of Minas Gerais). In the exploratory study, the texts and images of sixteen websites were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the research indicate that cheese is part of the projected image in only six of them. There is valorization of the product and its recognition as intangible heritage, but the regions do not take advantage of the registration of geographical indication in the online communications analyzed in the study.