European Union - Agricultural products certification

[cachan]

The European Union has been compiling a list of names of agricultural products since 1996, in order to regulate and protect the usage of these names to the authorised products only.

There are 3 types of product guarantees - PDO Protected Designation of Origin, PGI Protected Geographical Indication, TSG Traditional Speciality Guaranteed.

There are 873 products listed so far, mostly foods, but also hay and azalea. Some well-known examples are Camembert de Normandie cheese, Kalamata olive oil, Prosciutto di Parma ham, Jamon Serrano ham, Cornish clotted cream, Lentille vert du Puy lentils, and only Cafe de Colombia from outside Europe.

The list can be viewed here - http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/database/index_en.htm

I've managed to try 200+ of these products. Anyone else hunting them out ?

[Pam Brunning]

Traditionally Grown Yorkshire Indoor Rhubarb was added to the list on 12/8/2009 I wrote an article about it, which was published last week, and the media have been going mad about it as though it just happened!

The article will be on our website shortly in Food & Wine magazine.

[cachan]

Pam, thanks for your news.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb is finally registered as a PDO.

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/newsroom/en/389.htm

[cachan]

Another item from outside Europe was registered in October 2010 - Longkou Fen Si - second item after Cafe de Colombia, this is bean vermicelli made from mung beans flour from China.