Want to taste the fantastic flavours of Europe? Check out European GI products!
Europe is a captivating blend of art, history, culture, and natural beauty. From the architectural wonders of European cities to the idyllic landscapes of the continent, every experience for visitors and locals is deeply enriched by the unique offerings of each locality. Beyond iconic landmarks and scenery, Europe boasts an array of authentic food, spirits and wine, many of which are labelled by geographical indications (GIs).
Ever noticed and wondered about these red and blue labels used to identify GI products in the European Union?
But what is a GI, you may ask?
A GI is a sign that identifies a good as originating in a given territory/region/locality where a given quality, reputation or any other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
It’s an intellectual property right that helps to ensure that a product possesses qualities, reputation, or characteristics that are inherently tied to that location.
Many European GIs are well known around the world, such as Irish Whiskey from Ireland, Danablu from Denmark, Swedish Vodka from Sweden, Porto or Port wine from Portugal, and many more. In fact, more than 5,000 GIs have been registered for protection across all the EU Member States.
GI labels have distinct requirements regarding raw materials and the aspects of production.
They are mandatory for food and agricultural products, but optional for wines.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
The PDO label is given to a product whose raw materials and the entire production process takes place in a specified geographical area.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)
For a product labelled with PGI, at least one stage of its production, processing, or preparation must take place in the specified area.
In many cases, this means the raw materials of a product may come from territories beyond the actual production site.
Craft and Industrial Design GIs
But GIs aren’t just about food and agricutural products. Crafts and industrial designs can be protected as a GI too!
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) collaborates with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) to protect agricultural geographical indications (GIs). It also manages GIview, a database on all the GIs registered in the European Union, including non-EU GIs protected by way of bilateral and multilateral agreements.
In addition, starting end of 2025, the EUIPO will be fully responsible for the registration of craft and industrial GIs at the EU level.
If you want to get to know more about agricultural and non-agricultural GIs from all the 27 EU Member States, check out this publication by the EUIPO.
