Geographical Indications And Traditional Specialities (EU)
Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialities known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs. They are based on the legal framework provided by the Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006. This law (enforced within the EU and being gradually expanded internationally via bilateral agreements between the EU and non-EU countries) ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed to be identified as such in commerce. The legislation first came into force in 1992. The purpose of the law is to protect the reputation of the regional foods, promote rural and agricultural activity, help producers obtain a premium price for their authentic products, and eliminate the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavour.
These laws protect the names of wines, cheeses, hams, sausages, seafood, olives, beers, Balsamic vinegar and even regional breads, fruits, raw meats and vegetables.
Foods such as Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Asiago cheese, Camembert, Somerset Cider Brandy and Champagne can only be labelled as such if they come from the designated region. To qualify as Roquefort, for example, cheese must be made from milk of a certain breed of sheep, and matured in the natural caves near the town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in the Aveyron region of France, where it is infected with the spores of a fungus (Penicillium roqueforti) that grows in these caves.
This system is similar to appellation systems used throughout the world, such as the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) used in France, the denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) used in Italy, the denominação de origem controlada (DOC) used in Portugal, and the denominación de origen (DO) system used in Spain. In many cases, the EU PDO/PGI system works parallel with the system used in the specified country, and in some cases is subordinated to the appellation system that was already instituted, particularly with wine, for example, and in France (in particular) with cheese, for example Maroilles (as most others) has both PDO (AOP in French) and AOC classifications, but generally only the AOC classification will be shown.
Read more about Geographical Indications And Traditional Specialities (EU): Protection and Enforcement, Objectives of The Protection, General Regime, Relationship To Trade Mark Law, Special Regimes, Within The European Union, Outside The European Union, List of Products With PDO/PGI/TSG Classifications, Criticisms of Protected Geographical Status Framework
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