It is no simple task to define food quality and depending on whether you ask a scientist or a consumer you could end up with two very different definitions. In the following chapter we will provide a definition and explanation of food quality in the context of local and regional food. The quality concept is divided in production quality, the way the food has been produced, and product quality, the quality of the produce itself. Most effort will be put on the latter, based on an illustration of four important product quality traits. Last, a short account for how consumers perceive the quality of local and regional food and their very varying reasons for purchasing it or not.