Traditional products are an interesting purchase option for the consumers confronted with the standardization of industrial products and the manufacture of these traditional products allows the producers to have more incomes in order to perpetuate their farm. The aim of this study is to identify and to characterise the diversity of traditional pure pork dry sausages of Massif Central, to know the perception of the consumers towards these products and to measure the impact of the sensory information on their perception. Firstly, the typology of manufacturing know-how on the overall traditional small scale facilities of Massif Central led to 6 groups of know-how which differed mainly by the choice of the raw materials used and by the techniques of drying. The link between the know-how and the organoleptic characteristics of the dry sausages was set up by canonical correlation analysis. Secondly, the organoleptic diversity of the dry sausages was characterised by sensory tools. The results confirmed that the factors driving the diversity are the raw materials used and the techniques of drying. The homogeneity and the regularity of the traditional dry sausages were demonstrated by the study of the composition of intra-dry sausage, of the batch of production and of the products through the year. These results allowed to check that the diversity observed on the small scale facilities is generally stable. Finally, the dry sausages representatives of the 6 know-how groups were presented to the consumers during an hedonic test in blind condition then with the information describing their sensory profile. The results showed that the traditional dry sausages are globally liked by the consumers. Moreover, the sensory information provided to the consumers oriented their preference. In fact, the sensory information allows the consumer to better analyse the organoleptic characteristics of the products. Thus, some producers with an innovative process offer to the consumers a larger diversity of traditional dry sausages. Contrary to the generally accepted idea, the traditional manufacturing is homogeneous and regular. Finally, these dry sausages have generally a good quality and are liked by the consumers of traditional products.
