Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs)

The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is a figure of differentiated quality controlled by the regulations of the European Union (REGULATION (EU) No. 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs that guarantees compliance with quality requirements, in addition to those required for the rest and whose quality or characteristics are due to the geographical environment with its natural and human factors, and whose production, processing and preparation are always carried out in that delimited geographical area from which they take their name.

These are voluntary schemes to which farmers and processors adhere. Products that meet these requirements are registered in an EU register and protected by intellectual property rights. To make it easier to distinguish them, the regulations require that all agri-food products covered by a PDO be identified with this logo.

Within the Ibérico sector, together with the Jamones Ibéricos Quality Standard, there are also the Jamones Ibéricos protected by one of the 4 existing Protected Designations of Origin, which are controlled by the regulations of the European Union (REGULATION (EU) No. 1151/2012. The regulatory provisions include:

 

  • Must include a geographic name.
  • The product must originate from that area.
  • Quality is exclusively due to the link with the particular geographical environment, with the natural and human factors inherent to it.
  • Production, processing and preparation are always carried out in the defined geographical area from which they take their name.
  • The labelling of the protected products will include the seal for EU protected designations of origin.
  • The geographical name is protected as an intellectual property right in the European Union and in third countries that have signed agreements with the European Union.
  • The PDO is managed by a Grouping, which takes the form of a Regulatory Council and is responsible for regulating and standardising the actions of the operators attached to a Denomination of Origin, as well as managing the traceability and correct identification of the products it covers.
  • Compliance with the specifications of each PDO is verified by the competent authorities and is subject to official control.