These may be terms you hear about or see on labels when walking up and down at your local supermarket but do you really know what they mean and the difference between them.
Many think that a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) are the same thing and therefore can be interchangeable references but there is a clear difference.
A PDO represents a product name which has the strongest links to the place the product is made. A PDO product is fully produced in the geographical region, including the ingredients, processing and preparation all taken place within that geographical location. A PDO can be granted for food, agricultural products and wine.
The most famous example is Champagne. Champagne can only be called champagne if the grapes are grown and the wine is produced and bottled within the Champagne region of France.
In contrast, a Protected Geographical Indication doesn’t need that level of detail. A PGI focuses on the relationship between the specific geographic region and the name of the product, where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
In order for a PGI to be granted, at least one of the production stages must take place within the specific region. There are differing rules for differing products, eg for wine this means that 85% of the grapes must come from that specific region. For spirits for example, one stage of the distillation or production needs to take place in that region, but the raw materials do not need to come from that region.
An example of this is Irish Whiskey, which uses raw materials from other places but is distilled in Ireland and therefore hold protection.
Next time you take a wander around the supermarket, see what you can spot on your favourite food and drink labels. If you would like to discuss the matter further, please get in touch with the team today.
