Geographic origin is especially important for Italy, the European country with the most products registered as DOP and IGP. Protecting and developing these products requires raising awareness about the historical, cultural and social heritage of our country. Protecting our products is essential to remain competitive in the global marketplace; it requires products with unique features and very high quality.
The term Geographic Indication (GI) refers to DOP and IGP products as established by article 2 of European Community Regulation n. 510/06, OF 20 March 2006:
DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta – Protected Denomination of Origin)
DOP identifies a product that is made, processed and produced in a specific geographic area that has been thoroughly surveyed. The DOP designation is applied to products from a particular region/country having features that are primarily or exclusively attributable to the geographic environment (including natural and human elements) and that are produced and processed within the defined area.
IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta - Protected Geographic Indication)
In this case at least one stage of production or processing of the product takes place within the designated area. In addition, the product has a certain reputation. IGP designates a native product of the region/country whose qualities/reputation/features can be attributed to its geographic origin, and whose production and/or processing take place within that area (at least one stage of production must take place within the designated area).
