Genovese basil, Cavaillon melons, Ribera del Xúquer kakis, and Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes. These four well-known regional products have a little something extra: they are proud geographical indication title holders. The European Union has recognized 305 unprocessed fruits and vegetables with a Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) or Protected Geographical Indications (PGI), with 14 more on the waiting list. Unsurprisingly, two-thirds of these products are grown in southern Europe.
The EU uses geographic indications to protect regional products within its territory from being counterfeited. These products' unique characteristics relate to their place of cultivation or production and possibly traditional knowledge. "To register a product name, an EU producer or producer group must describe the product's traits and, where applicable, its link to the geographical area," states the European Commission's Agriculture and Rural Development website. "The application is submitted to the national authorities and then forwarded to the European Commission, which scrutinizes the application."
eAmbrosia database
The EC distinguishes between PDOs and PGIs for foodstuffs and agricultural products. This article discusses fruits and vegetables, including potatoes and nuts, but not legumes and tropical fruits. One-fifth of the 1,506 geographical indications for food products (including cheeses, meat preparations, bread and pastry products, and oils, excluding wines) relate to fresh produce. You can check the eAmbrosia database on the internet for a complete overview.
Marketing does not always guarantee success
Consumers can trust the quality of PDO and PGI products, while growers and producers can better market these. These quality labels have a marketing function, but each product's added value differs. In 2013, the European Commission hired the market research agency Areté to conduct a study. It found that products with a geographical indication generally fetch higher market prices than similar standard products. However, that additional price was lower for the fresh fruit and vegetables than for processed products. Also, only half of the surveyed fresh produce with a geographical indication was more profitable than its standard counterparts.
Various non-European Union countries also protect their regional products. The EU now recognizes the geographical indications of 223 food products from those countries, including China, Turkey, and South Africa. That waiting list has 50 products. Conversely, non-EU countries recognize certain European geographical indications. In Japan, that number is already 305.
PDO vs PGI
Fruit and vegetables registered as PDO are more closely related to where they are cultivated than PGI products. Genovese basil, Ribera del Xúquer kakis, and Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes are all grown in strictly defined areas (PDO). Cavaillon melons, which received PGI recognition last month, are yellow Charentais-type melons that are part of the French city of Cavaillon's heritage. However, these melons are more widely cultivated geographically, including in Vaucluse and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. A third (105) of fresh produce has protected designations of origin; the rest (200) have protected geographical indications.
In France, PDO is called AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée), in the Netherlands it is BOB (beschermde oorsprongsbenaming), in Germany, it is g.U. (geschützte Ursrprungsbezeichnung) and in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, it is DOP (Denominación de Origen Protegida). Some PGI counterparts are BGA (the Netherlands), IGP (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal), and g.g.A. (Germany).
Rincón de Soto pears
Every PDO and PGI prioritizes product specifications. Take the first pear with a protected designation of origin, granted in 2004, as an example. The Rincón de Soto pear is cultivated in the Ebro Valley in the La Rioja region in northern Spain. Pears have grown in that area for over four centuries. The PDO refers to two varieties (Blanquilla, first mentioned in historical documents in 1747, and Conference, bred in England in 1860). These are cultivated in 28 villages on a total of 1,200 hectares. The PDO has 290 members (growers, packing facilities, and trading companies) but is open to expanding its membership and acreage.
A supervisory board promotes the product, guarantees traceability, and monitors specific quality requirements. In the case of Rincón de Soto pears, the product specifications describe this fruit as elongated, larger, sweeter, and slightly greener, with a somewhat rougher peel than other Conference pears. The growing region's climate and geographical characteristics and grower expertise influence these traits, like flavor.
These specifications carefully detail these regional-specific pears' particular characteristics. The peel roughness is thus described: "Due to the valley's high elevation and the proximity of rivers, it is often foggy in the morning, which gives way to bright sunshine. The moisture on these Conference pears' peels evaporates quickly. That gives the pears their typical russeting in an entirely natural way. No chemicals are needed to roughen the peel."
To be marketed as Peras de Rincón de Soto, the pears may not exceed 6.12 kg/cm2 firmness and reach a Brix value of at least 13. They may also not be smaller than 58mm for Blanquilla pears and 60 mm for Conference pears. Regarding cultivation management, no chemical products may be used during thinning and at harvesting, no more than six hours may elapse between picking and the pears arriving at the packing facility.
The geographical indication supervisory board determines the defined cultivation area. While Rincón de Soto pears are currently grown on 1,200 hectares spread over 28 municipalities, in the first year of recognition, there were only four; other PDOs are much stricter. Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes, available from late May to late October, "may only be grown in 100 hectares of silt soil around the Opperdoes church [in the Netherlands]."
Southern Europe dominates
The first PGI was granted in 1996. For fruit and vegetables, which involved 51 regional products. Pioneers include Spanish Vinalopó grapes, Sicilian blood oranges, Portuguese Douro almonds, French pink Lautrec garlic, and Dutch Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes. The latest additions (2024 and 2025) are Ludbreski horseradish from Croatia, Baronnies apricots, and the aforementioned Cavaillon melons from France, Wedzone apples from Poland, green asparagus from Guadalajara in Spain, cauliflowers from Piana del Sele in Italy, and sweet potatoes from Madeira in Portugal.
In 1996, no fewer than 80% of the trendsetters were grown in southern Europe in countries like Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. That trend has continued in the years since, right up to the present day. Of the 305 European fruit and vegetable products with a PDO or PGI, 198 are grown south of the Balkans, the Alps, or the Pyrenees. Italy leads the way with 103 representatives, accounting for a third of all quality seals related to region and tradition.
If we include France, where growers in the south cultivate most of its 44 designated products, in those Mediterranean countries, that figure reaches 242. Germany and Hungary hold their own with 18 and 15. But Northern and Eastern Europe are underrepresented. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, and Slovakia are not even in the picture.
The Netherlands has two PDOs with its Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes and Brabantse Wal asparagus, and the same number of PGIs with Westland grapes and De Meerlander potatoes. Belgium has to make do with one less: Flemish Brabant table grapes may be marketed with a PDO, and Brussels ground chicory and Plate de Florenville potatoes with the PGI label.
Top fruit, citrus, and potatoes
Top fruit heads the list in the EU with 35 entries in the geographical indications registry (28 apples and seven pears). Surprisingly, neither Belgium nor the Netherlands is represented. Citrus and potatoes have each been registered 23 times. The large potato-producing countries of the Netherlands and Belgium together produce about three times more potatoes than Spain and Italy combined. According to FAOSTAT figures, in 2023, that was 10.5 million tons compared to 3.2 million tons.
Here, too, though, Dutch and Belgian potatoes have fewer geographical indications at about the same ratio as those two Southern European countries (three versus eight). Production volumes are, thus, not always proportionate to the number of geographical indications. That also applies to onions. The Netherlands harvests more onions than Spain and Italy combined (FAOstat figures 2023), but does not have a single PDO or PGI onion, while Italy has four and Spain three.
Spain has not escaped this trend either. Consider strawberries, a fruit of which the Spanish volume far exceeds that of any other European country. It seems not a single geographical indication has been applied for or granted from the province of Huelva. Only France (2), Poland (1), and Finland (1) have a representative in the strawberry segment.
And while Spain harvests almost twice as much citrus as Italy, it only boasts two regional labels, while Italy has no less than 13. And just look at the Low Countries, which, entirely against the volume ratios, have obtained two recognitions in the grape segment, compared to only six in total for the big three: France, Spain, and Italy.
Also, unusually, smaller products (chestnuts, nuts, artichokes, and garlic) often outshine much larger ones (tomatoes, grapes, etc.). The chestnut sector has 21 registrations, the tomato sector only six, and geographical indications primarily relate to outdoor cultivation. (PDC)
This article was previously published in Primeur May 2025. Click here for the link to the entire edition