French Baguette Has Been Given UNESCO Protection

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Baguette has officially been named an integral part of human culture.

The freshly baked long, crusty loaf of bread has been awarded special protection status.

UNESCO -- the UN's cultural body -- defines intangible cultural heritage as "traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants.”

Other foods that have been awarded this protection include the making of Neapolitan pizza, kimchi, Belgian beer culture, the "Mediterranean diet", and Arabic coffee.

Tradition and craftsmanship

UNESCO's director general, Audrey Azoulay, told CNN the baguette's protected status pays tribute to "tradition," "craftsmanship" and ensures the "artisanal way of baking" is "passed on to the next generation.”

"It's kind of a way of life," Azoulay said. "There is always a boulangerie nearby, you can go and buy fresh affordable bread and you meet people, meet with bakers, it's a very important element of social cohesion.”

Azoulay said it took six years for France to collect all the necessary documentation before it submitted its request to UNESCO.

"This will make people realize that this regular baguette that they know very well, is something precious," she said. "It comes from history and it has character and it's important to made the public aware of this, to be proud of it."