Quality is a mutifactorial concept and, in relation to pigmeat, encompasses both objective carcass and organoleptic measures and subjective perceptions about production methods. Outdoor pig production can also take different forms, ranging from intensive systems using improved moder genotypes, in Northen Europe to more traditionnal systems using indogeneous breeds in Southern Europe. In both situations, it is increasingly being used in the specifications of a range of quality marks. Objective measures of carcass and pigmeat quality from Northern European systems, which largely produce fresh meat, have generaly failed to demonstrate any superiority of products from outdoors. Indeed carcass conformation and variability may be poorer because of differences in genotype and finishing management. Awareness of the origin of meat can bias sensory perceptions in favour of product deemed to be from systems with higher animal welfare and greater environmental concern. However, these perceptions of outdoor production are not necessarily correct when such systems are objectivly considered. Traditional Southern European systems, producing cured product of high economic value, still encompass extensive husbandry practices where genotype-environment interactions do result in measurable effects on pigmeat quality.