EU Protected Food Names: Introduction

1 Introduction

In 1993 the European Union (EU) introduced a scheme designed to protect the names of food products on a geographical or traditional recipe basis. Products and foodstuffs registered in accordance with the requirements of the regulations are entitled to use one of the following designations: protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI)¹ and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG).²

The present quality schemes are prescribed under Regulation (EU) 1151/2012³ which, in the case of PDO and PGI products, aims to help producers of agricultural products and foodstuffs to communicate product characteristics and farming attributes of those products to buyers and consumers and so ensure:⁴

1. Fair competition for farmers and producers of agricultural products which possess added-value characteristics and attributes.

2. The availability to consumers of reliable information about such products.

3. Respect for intellectual property rights.

4. The integrity of the internal market.

In the case of TSG products, the aim is to safeguard traditional methods of production and recipes by helping producers in marketing and communicating the added-value attributes of their traditional recipes and products to consumers.⁵

In addition, Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 introduces a new quality scheme for optional quality terms⁶ which satisfy the following criteria:

1. The term relates to a characteristic of one or more categories of products, or to a farming or processing attribute which applies in specific areas.

2. The use of the term adds value to the product as compared to products of a similar type.

3. The term has a European dimension.⁷

The term ‘mountain product’⁸ is established as a specific optional quality term to describe products where:

1. Both the raw materials and the feedstuffs for farm animals come essentially from mountain areas.

2. In the case of processed products, the processing also takes place in mountain areas.

The European Commission is charged with reporting to the European Parliament and the Council on the case for the new term ‘product of island farming’ to be used to describe products the raw materials of which come from islands and which, in the case of processed products, are processed on islands in cases where this substantially affects the particular characteristics of the final product.⁹

 

2 Categories and Logos

The quality schemes aim to guarantee the authenticity and origin of registered food products and provide legal protection against imitation throughout the EU. The scheme has the added benefit of raising the profile of registered food products across Europe at a time when consumers are increasingly looking for local, regional and speciality foods, and for which they are willing to pay more.

 

European Union PDO, PGI and TSG Logos
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Open to products which originate in a particular place, region or country, which possess qualities or characteristics which are essentially or exclusively due to the particular geographical area, and production, processing and preparation take place in the area.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Open to products which originate in a particular place, region or country, which possess a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic attributable to the particular geographical area, and production, processing or preparation take place in the area.
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) Open to products which have a feature or set of features which distinguish them from other similar products and are traditional or established by custom.

Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 covers agricultural products intended for human consumption listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and other agricultural products and foodstuffs listed in Annex I to the Regulation. The European Commission is empowered¹⁰ to supplement the list of products in Annex I but products must be closely linked to agricultural products or to the rural economy. The Regulation does not apply to spirit drinks, aromatised wines or grapevine products¹¹ with the exception of wine-vinegars.

 

3 The Application Process in Outline

The key stages in the application process are:

1. An application dossier is developed by the applicant group and assessed by Defra.

2. The application is subject to a national opposition procedure.

3. Once any issues arising from the opposition procedure are resolved, the application is submitted to the European Commission for scrutiny.

4. Publication in the EU Official Journal commences the EU-wide opposition procedure.

5. If no opposition is received, the product is registered as a protected food name

Further details of the stages involved in the application process can be found in the EU food name scheme application process flow chart published by Defra.

There are presently 54 UK registered PDO, PGI and TSG food products. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for dealing with applications and maintains a list of registered products. The products most recently registered were Stornoway Black Pudding and East Kent Goldings, and there are about another 40 at some stage in the registration process.

Defra maintains a listing of UK products and current applications which provides an up to date at-a-glance snapshot of the position in the UK. The European Commission maintains the official databases of products in quality schemes. In the case of agricultural farm products and foodstuffs the subject of Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 the DOOR Database is the one to consult.

The E-Bacchus Register covers wines and the E-Spirit-Drinks Database is for spirits both are considered elsewhere in the relevant document.

 

4 The Value of Geographical Indication Food Products

In 2013 the European Commission published the results of a study¹² undertaken on the value of Geographical Indication (GI) food products which centred on the 2,768 protected names throughout the EU registered on 1 January 2010.

Total sales in 2010 were over €54bn, which is 5.7% of the total value of the food and drink sector across the EU of €956bn. Wine accounts for over a half, 56% of the total sales value of GI products, followed by agricultural products and foodstuffs (29%) and spirits (15%). Aromatised wines account for just 0.1% of sales by value.

The UK had only 1.4% (39) of the total number of GI products but these accounted for 10% of total sales value which placed it in fourth place behind France (38%), Italy (22%) and Germany (11%). The main sectors contributing to sales value in the UK were spirits (81%) and fresh meat (9%) with the higher price premiums being achieved for beers, wine and spirits. Sales of GI products were in total worth €5.5bn (£4.7bn) out of a total £76bn, around 6.2%, in 2010.

Amongst UK agricultural products and foodstuffs, the main categories were fresh meat, seafood, vegetables and cheese. In the period 2005-10 sales decreased in all these categories except fresh meat which by volume grew 33% but in value was up 55%. Cheese production fluctuated reaching a high in 2007 and a low in 2009. The UK was the leading EU producer of GI lamb and beef, 71% and 57% respectively of total EU sales by value.

There is no doubting the importance and growing role that the quality schemes have in the food and drink economy of Europe. The UK has been slow to grasp the opportunities on offer but there are strong signs, not least the growth in the number of applications being made, that this has now changed.

 

5 Quality Schemes as a Form of Intellectual Property

It is not simply a question of economic value, the right to use a PDO, PGI or TSG is recognised to be a significant form of intellectual property in food law. In 2002 the House of Lords held that registration under the then scheme was a form of intellectual property right.¹³

The EU has also entered into a number of bilateral agreements with other countries to protect the designation of agricultural products and foodstuffs.¹⁴