Good reputations are valuable assets. A casual glance at a restaurant menu is sufficient evidence of the many good foods that have gained reputations beyond national boundaries: think of Mortadella Bologna, Coquille St. Jacques, Queso Manchego, Roquefort and Turron de Alicante. Consumers want a guarantee of satisfaction and producers want to avoid unfair competition from products being passed off as the genuine article. How can traditional agricultural products or foodstuffs which have European Union (EU)-wide reputations be both promoted and protected from inferior products? The European Commission (EC) regulation governing the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin of certain foods provides an answer.
The EC regulation establishes a system of protection by creating two types of food quality names based on geographical origin: the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Once registered as a PGI or PDO, a name is protected against the sale of competing imitation products seeking to use the reputation of that name. PGIs and PDOs are important intellectual property rights and hundreds of products have been registered throughout the EU. Registered British products include Scotch beef and Welsh beef, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire cider and perry, and Newcastle Brown Ale. Now the Melton Mowbray pork pie is seeking an entry on the list.
