DOP and IGP designations also change (frequently): this is how the production regulations adapt to climate change and innovation
Between 2024 and 2026 alone, there were around 80 requests for amendments from Italian consortia: the reasons cited included improved food safety and animal welfare
Key points
Even PDO products are changing. And with them, all products ‘awarded’ geographical indications recognised by the EU, which today face new challenges in adapting to the effects of climate change, embracing technological innovation, improving food safety and also catering to modern dietary habits and new consumer preferences.
Simpler rules
Between 2024 and 2026, around 80 requests to amend product specifications were submitted to the authorities by Italian wine and food consortia holding PDO, PGI, DOCG or DOC status. And the process is now shorter than in the past, given that the European Regulation on Geographical Indications, transposed into Italian law in May, no longer requires approval from Brussels, but only from the MASAF. This change meets the ever increasing need to speed up and streamline the process of adapting GI products to societal changes, whilst preserving their typical characteristics, distinctiveness and link to the territory. This is also significant in terms of economic impact, given that the “PDO economy” in Italia involves around 330 consortia and is worth 20.7 billion euros in production (19 per cent of the total national agri-food sector), and involves 184,000 operators and 865,000 employees (source: Qualivita Report).
“It is crucial that the characteristics of GI products and the ways in which they are produced are constantly updated,” says Cesare Baldrighi, president of Origin Italia, the association representing the Geographical Indications Consortia. “This enables us to meet new consumer demands and ensure that production facilities and their staff keep pace with the times, given that we cannot expect to produce goods in the same way as we did even just twenty years ago.”
Ability to respond and adapt
Combining authenticity with modernity, and tradition with innovation, is the mantra of the GI world; it determines its vitality and evolution, but also its ability to respond to unexpected events. In fact, proposed amendments to the product specifications are often dictated by urgent circumstances such as natural disasters, market disruptions or health issues.
As was the case recently with the introduction of the measures to protect Cinta Senese from the impact of African swine fever. Or with the heat treatment of milk (heating to at least 60°C for 40 seconds) in the cases of Puzzone di Moena and Fontina, to reduce the microbial load of pathogenic bacteria. For the Valdostana PDO, the option has also been introduced to process milk from multiple milking sessions, thereby reducing working hours and energy costs, and to refrigerate it in the barn, so as to decouple milking times from delivery times to the dairies.
