agriculture and food economy in poland

FOOD INDUSTRY
Guaranteed certificates are prestigious marks recognised by consumers in the EU,
strongly influencing the demand side.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) means the name of a region or a
specific place or, in exceptional cases, of the country used to describe an agricultural
or food product originating in that region, specific place or country.
Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) means the name of a region or a
specific place or, in exceptional cases, of the country used to describe an agricultural
or food product originating in that region, specific place or country. The product is
characterised by special quality, reputation or other properties attributable to its
geographical origin.
The essential difference between the protected designation of origin and the
protected geographical indication lies in the strength of the product link with the
place of its origin. Protected designations of origin are used to mark products very
closely linked with a given geographical area. If a protected designation of origin is
used, both the production of raw materials and the processing until the final product
must take place in a given (defined) area. In the case of the protected geographical
indication the product must be produced in the region specified in its indication,
however, as distinct from the protected designation of origin, only one of the three
production stages (production or processing or preparation) must take place in a
given area.
The following products are covered by protected designations of origin and
geographical indications: fresh meat, meat products (salted, smoked, cooked, etc.),
cheeses, other products of animal origin (eggs, honey, milk products not containing
butter), oils and fats (butter, margarine, oil, etc.); fruit, vegetables, cereals (whether
processed or not), fresh fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other products based on
fish, sugar confectionery, bread, cakes, cookies, biscuits and other bakery articles,
beer, beverages from plant extracts, other food products and beverages.
In addition, the following foodstuffs are covered by protection: beer, beverages
made from plant extracts, bread, cakes, cookies, biscuits and other sugar
confectionery, natural gums and resins, hay and volatile oils.
As regards wines and sprit drinks, they are not covered by protection.
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed certificate (TSG) means recognition by
the Community of a special (traditional character) of the product designation
through its registration.
The European Commission keeps the Register of Traditional Speciality
Guaranteed Certificates for Agricultural and Food Products containing designations
of agricultural and food products whose special character was recognised at the
Community level.
What is meant by “special character” are properties or a set of properties which
make the agricultural or food product clearly distinct from other similar agricultural
or food products of the same category.
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