It ‘entered into force last January 3rd 2013 the Regulation no. 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Official Gazette of December 14, 2012) downloadable http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:343:0001:0029: EN: PDF, which substitues the previous Rules 509 and 510 of 2006.
The new legislation affects quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs other than wine production.
The new legislation provides registration procedures faster and simplified, in particular as regards the period of opposition, which is halved from 6 to 3 months.
The new Regulation aims to strengthen the protection of agricultural production, fisheries and aquaculture quality as a driver of the EU economy.
It reinforces the role of producers, trade associations and in particular to the Consortia.
The main objective of the new regulation is to ensure farmers and producers “a fair return” for the quality and characteristics of the PGI and PDO, resulting in the need to provide accurate and complete information so that consumers can make more informed buying decisions
The main objective of the new regulation is to ensure farmers and producers “a fair return” for the quality and characteristics of the PGI and PDO, resulting in the need to provide accurate and complete information so that consumers can make more informed buying decisions .
One of the main innovations is the introduction date, in addition to existing quality schemes (PDO PGI and TSG) of a second class of quality schemes, only for the internal market and to be used on a voluntary basis.
There are two main optional quality before the immediate introduction:
• “mountain products” governed by Art. 31 of Reg 1151/2012
• “Product of agriculture in the islands” governed by. 32 of Reg 1151/2012
Both can be a means of identifying the manufacturers of these areas to improve the marketing of their products both on site and in distribution networks with greater assurance to consumers about the origin of those products.
It is worth noting that the definition of mountain areas is identified by the Rural Development Plan by Council Regulation (EC) n. 1257/1999 of the Council of 17.05.1999, expressly referred to in paragraph 2 of the said Article. 31.
The display can be referred only to agricultural products intended for human consumption listed in Annex 1 of the Treaty. The basic requirements laid down for this recognition are the raw materials and food for animals come primarily from mountain areas, while in the case of processed products, the transformation must take place in mountain areas.
The second, that of the agricultural product of the islands, but it’s only in the study phase and by 4 January 2014, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the advisability of creating even the latter information, which will refer exclusively to products with raw materials coming from the islands and the transformation that takes place in the same islands.
It ‘very important to note that new products come to benefit from certification schemes as PGI, PDO and TSG.
In the case of PDO and PGI these new products are enforceable:
1. And chocolate products
2. salt
3. cotton
4. leather
5. hides
6. plumage
In this respect there is a clear satisfaction of Cervia in Italy for salt and Modica for chocolate, which have already initiated contacts with the Ministry of Agriculture for the start of the recognition process.
If, however, TSG Traditional Specialities Guaranteed, it is important to emphasize not so much the introduction of salt as a product which, as the fact that they are no longer part of the list some products that have historically been a flagship for the gastronomy Italian and we refer in particular to “ice creams and sorbets,” but also “prepared sauces and condiments”, “soups and broths.”
Important to note that for STG, you can register a name only, and you must use a proven product on the market for at least 30 years, and not 25.
The situation in Italy today
In Europe 1137 (data at 12.11.2012), Italy is the country with most certifications PDO, PGI and TSG recorded: around 248 against 192 in France and 161 in Spain, countries that occupy the second and third place , during 2012 there were as many as 9 new:
1. Fresh meat Cinta Senese DOP;
2. Squacquerone di Romagna PDO
3. Nostrano Valtrompia DOP
4. Extra virgin olive oil DOP Vulture
5. Vignola cherries IGP
6. Uva di Puglia IGP
7. Plum Dro DOP
8. Limone di Rocca Imperiale IGP
9. Salt of Trapani IGP