The PDO-IGP-STG Quality Seals
The European Union's Geographical Indications system protects the names of products that come from specific regions and possess distinctive qualities or enjoy a reputation linked to the production area.
The differences between PDO and PGI are mainly due to the amount of raw materials in the product that must come from the area or the extent to which the production process must take place in the specific region.
Geographical Indications include:
PDO - Protected Designation of Origin (agricultural products, foodstuffs and wines)
PGI - Protected Geographical Indication (agricultural products, food and wine)
STG - Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (food products)
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
The names of products registered as PDOs are those that have the strongest links with the place from which they originate.
- Products: agricultural products, food and wine.
- Specifications: every part of the production, processing and preparation process must take place in the specific region.
- Label: compulsory for food and agricultural products, optional for wines.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)
The PGI emphasises the relationship between the specific geographical region and the product name, where a specific quality, reputation or other particular characteristic is essentially attributable to the geographical origin.
- Products: agricultural products, food and wine.
- Specifications: for most products, at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation must take place in the region.
- Label: optional for all products.
Recently, with the entry into force (16 November 2023) of the Regulation on the protection of GIs for craft and industrial (non-agricultural) products, they too can benefit from the protection, and the PGI seal, European Union.
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)
To the protected names above, one must then add the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG), which emphasises traditional aspects, such as the way the product is obtained or its composition, without being linked to a specific geographical area.
A product registered as a TSG protects its name from falsification and abuse