The other side of the cocoa impure is called ” PDO ” or ” PGI ” . They are going to ” protected designation of origin ” and ” protected geographical indication ” . Two initials to protect the products and traditional specialties of the countries of the European Union . And that ensure uniqueness and quality and , in the case of PGI , including the preservation of the local production system of origin.
Europe has begun the Community policy in defense of its typical quality products in 1996. Since then , more than 450 are those recognized and recorded in the Register of protection in Europe . And the list continues to grow every year.
Why does the system ” open mesh ” provides the o pportunity for each country to submit new requests. France and Italy , however, remain firmly at the top for the number of protected names . For Italy , the long list includes over 100 products including meat and dairy products , cheeses , fruits, vegetables , cereals, oils and bread.
The flagship of Italian agro with annual sales ranging between 10 and 15 trillion dollars. Among the products recognized by Brussels there are all those ” flag ” Made in Italy .
In addition to the twenty types of extra virgin olive oil , Parma ham and include the San Daniele Mortadella di Bologna , the knuckle and sausage from Modena , Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana .
And again, the San Marzano tomatoes , the Sicilian blood oranges , table grapes Canicattì . But even more local products , such as the brawn of Calabria, the ham from Zibello , Piedmont hazelnuts and capers of Pantelleria. To finish with the bread from Genzano and the most classic of ” traditional specialties guaranteed” , the mozzarella .
To these must be added the oenological products : more than 250 wines “doc” and over 30 ” spirits ” , including grappa and marc and fruit . To get the protection you need to have precise requirements .
That, in essence , prove a most valuable quality of the entire production cycle , from raw materials , processing techniques and conservation . Prosciutto San Daniele , for example, must be done entirely on site. And only with domestic pigs , not frozen .