Traditional Speciality Guaranteed Research Articles

Traditional agri-food products and sustainability – A fruitful relationship for the development of rural areas in Portugal

Abstract The protection of agri-food regional products is taking on growing importance in a market dominated by global companies and brands, often with no personality. Thirty years ago, the European Union (EU) agricultural product quality policy introduced the protection of geographical indications (GIs) for agricultural products and foodstuffs, with the aim of highlighting the quality of products resulting from a specific origin, therefore helping their communication and positioning in the market. This is important in countries with a considerable percentage of rural regions, as is the case of Portugal. Bearing this in mind, the purpose of this study is to see what are the drivers of the spatial distribution of traditional products (protected geographical indications, protected designations of origin, and traditional speciality guaranteed) in Portugal. For this purpose, the distribution of traditional products by regions and categories in Portugal will be presented. Also, Portugal’s position will be analysed and compared to the other EU countries, regarding the number of traditional products. Results show that Portugal is the country with the fourth biggest number of traditional certified products in EU territory. In the national territory, the Northern Region of Portugal has the biggest percentage of protected products, followed by Alentejo and the Centre Region of Portugal. Also, in Portugal, looking at the type of products, from a list of ten different categories of GIs, the ranking is dominated by (1) fresh meat, (2) meat products (cooked, salted, or smoked), and (3) cheese and milk-based products. If we consider that many of the aforementioned products are produced in less favoured regions, these results constitute an opportunity for their sustainable development. This benefits not only the producers, but also consumers who increasingly seek “authentic” and more natural products.

Anatomy of Traditional Specialities Guaranteed: Analysis of the Functioning, Limitations and (Possible) Future of the Forgotten EU Quality Scheme

Abstract This article focuses on traditional specialities guaranteed (TSGs), the least researched of the EU quality schemes that also include the better known protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI). Firstly, this contribution presents a historical account of the evolution of this quality label. Secondly, it illustrates the results of the first empirical analysis of the contents of the Single Documents for all the TSGs registered, thus providing an unprecedented view of their nature. Thirdly, it divides TSGs into six categories, which will be called ‘profiles’, in order to provide a nuanced picture of what is protected by this quality scheme and how. Finally, this work reflects on why this label has always been essentially unsuccessful in terms of number of registrations, and what could be done to revive it. It concludes that, because of the residual nature of TSGs compared with PDOs/PGIs, it is highly unlikely that TSGs will acquire more importance as market-related labels. Hence, from this point of view, discontinuing them might lead to a simplification and clarification of the EU quality schemes. However, the fact that they are residual does not mean that they are superfluous. They may nonetheless play a meaningful role as tools aimed at connecting the names of traditional products with their original recipes, thus contributing to the preservation of relevant pieces of European gastronomic heritage that would otherwise be denied any form of recognition and protection.

PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES THROUGH EUROPEAN QUALITY SCHEMES IN EU COUNTRIES FOR THE YEAR 2022

European quality schemes used at Community level have the role of ensuring the legal protection of agri-food products and alcoholic beverages, thus having an important promotional role. Thus, consumers perceive the products whose names are protected by means of quality schemes as having a higher value, which results in increased sales, but also in other benefits of a quantitative and qualitative nature for the producers and the area of origin. This article presents, in the first part, some aspects with regard to the impact, from a marketing perspective, of the use of quality schemes, using in particular information from literature, and subsequently renders the situation in the EU countries, at the level of 2022, regarding the number of products protected under the various quality schemes, by country and by category of protected product, using official information. Several quality schemes are used in the European Union: Geographical indications (Protected designation of origin, Protected geographical indication, Geographical indication), Traditional speciality guaranteed, Mountain product, Product of EU's outermost regions, but this paper refers only to products whose name was protected via Geographical indications and Traditionals speciality guaranteed.

Promotion of cultural heritage — regional and traditional Polish meat products

The diverse culinary heritage of various countries in the European Union (EU) has been attracting attention for a very long time. This type of high-quality traditional food should be fully exploited and promoted as a common good that is part of the history of given countries. In order to distinguish individual products and their value (not only cultural, but also qualitative), the EU created special awarding signs (quality schemes) that conform to the quality of traditional products: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), or Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). One of the first associations with Polish cuisine would undoubtedly be meat dishes, which play an important role in preserving the tradition. The most popular types of meat in Poland are pork, beef, and then poultry. In addition, game animals are very popular, including wild birds (black grouse and larks). This type of dishes is prepared according to traditional recipes handed down from generation to generation. Products typical of the region obtained from local crops and animal breeding are used in their preparation. Thanks to this, traditional dishes acquire specific taste values, which cannot be recreated in other parts of the country.

Importance of Regional and Traditional EU Quality Schemes in Young Consumer Food Purchasing Decisions

Purpose: The general objective of this paper was to evaluate the significance of EU designations such as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) in the food purchasing decisions made by consumers. Specific objectives include: determining familiarity with products bearing EU designations, identifying factors affecting the purchase, determining the type of most frequently purchased products and identifying their purchase locations. Design/Methodology/Approach: The evaluation was carried out using PAPI and CAWI surveys (survey questionnaire) . The surveys were carried out in 2016 among 1.364 students from four countries: Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine. Findings: The results of the surveys point to a relatively small significance of EU designations in the purchasing decisions made by young consumers of food products. The surveys made it possible to identify the most important determinants of the choice of food products, including: product price, freshness and best before date. Analysing the behaviours of buyers from respective countries it can be observed that the evaluations of the significance of factors determining the choice of a product are not much different, which can be explained by progressing globalization and unification of consumer behaviours. In addition, it can be noted that the surveyed buyers are not very fluent in differentiating between respective types of designations such as PDO, PGI and TSG. Practical Implications: The survey made it possible to evaluate the behaviour of young consumers on the food market to the extent of the choice of products with EU designations and to formulate recommendations for producers and sellers as well as identify the directions of further research. Originality/Value: The added value of this paper is cross-sectional analysis of multiple factors shaping decisions on the choice of EU-certified food products by young consumers using the example of selected EU member states in comparison to a non-EU country – Ukraine.

Storytelling in applications for the EU quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs: place, origin and tradition

Aim of study: How are successful applications for quality labels for food and agricultural products written? This research aims to answer this question through the study of the applications for three quality labels within the EU Scheme for Agricultural and Foodstuffs: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). The research focuses in determining the topics and narratives that describe the link with the geographical area for the two former and the traditional character for the latter.Area of study: Europe.Material and methods: Using a Qualitative Data Analysis, the research analyses 132 products registered on the scheme between January 2016 and April 2019. The researcher categorized a total of 1,724 excerpts and studied the sections on the link with the geographical area for PDOs and PGIs, and the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character for TSGs.Main results: Main results offer quantitative and qualitative outputs. They indicate that cultural and social issues make up the half of the story arguing about the products, and natural, space/place and time/history make up the second half in proportions that depend on the type of scheme. Topic and storytelling analyses revealed particular understandings of place, origins and traditions in narratives developing on agriculture, history and knowledge transference between generations. The applicants used socio-economic particularities, regional history, and environmental uniqueness to justify the special character of products.Research highlights: The results give practitioners, policymakers and institutions guidelines and recommendations about how to structure and write their applications for quality labels for food and agricultural products.

Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin linked Agricultural Products: Current Statistics from Turkey

Geographical indications and designation of origins is an industrial property right describing a product originated from any region or attributable to any region due to its quality, reputation or other characteristics. Particularly, the geographical indications (GI) provide information about the raw material or final products‘ geographical roots to consumers and characterize the degree of its quality. Two types of GI were defined: Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). On the other hand, the products that cannot be registered as a designation of origin or geographical indication could be registered as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) products specialty guaranteed if it can be proven that the product is on the traditional market for at least 30 years. The main goal of this research is to examine Turkey‘s current status about labelled geographic agricultural material with a comparative statistic overview.

L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a Case Study of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed and International Franchising

This work explores the case study of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a best practice of traditional speciality guaranteed and international franchising. Besides being one of the most ancient and successful pizzerias in Naples, da Michele is renowned all over the world for the quality of its raw products, dough processing, and output. In the last years, da Michele also started pioneering the pizza production and commerce industry with an innovative franchising model and a new company appointed to managing this latter business. This work makes use of in-depth interviews and data collected on the field. For such scope, top managers and employees of both the local and the international companies were interviewed. The study finds that da Michele managed to become a benchmark for territorial food products and, more recently, for high-standard franchising, jumpstarting a successful brand-new company and food business project.
 JEL Classification: O13, Q13, Q16, Q1

Sui Generis Geographical Indications for the Protection of Non-Agricultural Products in the EU: Can the Quality Schemes Fulfil the Task?

This paper analyses the suitability of the extension of the EU quality schemes – Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs) – to the protection of non-agricultural products. In particular, the work develops an original investigation on the nature of these goods and assesses whether it is compatible with the scope of protection of the EU sui generis GI system, which is determined by the different origin link that characterises the two abovementioned quality schemes. The research, by applying a mixed comparative/empirical methodology and building upon a previously unpublished dataset, develops an analysis divided into three parts, reaching the following conclusions. First, if sui generis GIs were chosen as the means to protect non-agricultural products, the French legislation on the sui generis protection of handcrafts should be considered as the best practice. Second, the empirical analysis shows that, since non-agricultural goods are characterised by a loose link to a specific place, predominantly based on the on the product’s history and on its distinctive traditional method of production, PGIs seem to be fit for the purpose. Indeed, the analysis of a sample of non-terroir agricultural products protected by PGIs will highlight this parallelism. Third, evidence shows that PDOs could be useful only in a small number of cases while the rationale of Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSGs), despite not being origin labels, can be useful to define products that cannot be linked to a specific area by physical or natural elements. Therefore, the EU legislator should take these elements into consideration if it decides to extend the EU GI regime to non-agricultural products.

Promotion of regional and traditional products

Podstawowym celem studiów opisanych w artykule była analiza specyfiki procesów promocyjnych produktów regionalnych i tradycyjnych z wykorzystaniem oznaczeń regulowanych przez prawo europejskie: Gwarantowana Tradycyjna Specjalność (GTS), Chroniona Nazwa Pochodzenia (ChNP), oraz Chronione Oznaczenie Geograficzne (ChOG). Dokonano krytycznego przeglądu narzędzi promocji produktów tradycyjnych i regionalnych odnosząc się do roli ochrony prawnej oznaczeń wyrobów w UE. Zwrócono uwagę, że na kształt systemu promocyjnego i informacyjnego mają wpływ uwarunkowania społeczno-kulturowe, które oddziałują na rozpoznawalność i renomę produktów, co znalazło potwierdzenie w wynikach przeprowadzonych badań sondażowych. Na uwagę zasługuje istnienie korelacji jakości z tradycją, czego wyrazem były między innymi deklaracje dotyczące motywu wyboru tych produktów: poczucie dumy i kontynuowanie tradycji wybrało 45% badanych. Najbardziej rozpoznawalnym europejskim oznaczeniem był symbol Gwarantowanej Tradycyjnej Specjalności (38%).

An Overview of Portuguese Olive Oils and Table Olives with Protected Designation of Origin

Over the years, consumers’ interest in the diet and health relationship has increased with a demand for high quality foods. To protect consumers, but also producers from unfair practices, European Union (EU) has launched legislation on different EU quality schemes, namely Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indications (PGI), and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). This work provides an overview of research concerning Portuguese PDO olive oils and table olives. EU quality schemes applied to agricultural products and foodstuffs are increasing over the years, Portugal being the fourth European country with the highest percentage of registered foods. Up to now, Portugal has registered six olive oils and two table olives as PDO. There is a lack of physicochemical data for Portuguese PDO olive products, especially for table olives. Nonetheless, differences linked to the origin of the olive oils are reported, including within the same region of origin. For instance, a range between 95.9 and 260 mg kg−1 for α‐tocopherol was reported for PDO Azeite de Trás‐os‐Montes, while for PDO Azeites do Norte Alentejano it varied from 92.6 to 198 mg kg−1. Further studies, especially concerning parameters that allow confirming the authenticity and origin of Portuguese PDO olive oils and table olives, are crucial.Practical Applications: Six olive oils and two table olives from Portugal are already registered with PDO. Phytochemical data for these products is scarce. Further studies to evaluate authenticity are needed.Of the table olives and olive oils already registered with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), there are eight products belonging to the five main regions of Portugal (Trás‐os Montes, Beira Litoral, Beira Interior, Ribatejo, and Alentejo). Furthermore, these PDO products are linked to the history and cultural heritage of these places, being crucial for some local producers and for consumers.

Quality and origin of mountain food products: the new European label as a strategy for sustainable development

Mountain farming provides high-quality food products due to the peculiar characteristics of the raw materials combined with traditional processing conditions. However, these products and their intrinsic characteristics are not clearly recognized by consumers on the market. Nowadays, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG) certifications include products originating in mountain areas, even if a large part of mountain foodstuff is not protected by these certifications and foods not made in mountain areas are often labeled as “mountain food products”. For this reason, the European Union has set a specific Regulation in 2012 to recognize and protect mountain food and to make the consumers safer about the origin information. The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, it presents the recent aspects related to European legislation of mountain food product; secondly, it aims at reviewing the main features of nutritional quality and technology of dairy and meat products, as the most widespread mountain food products, and the main protocols used to evaluate the authenticity of these food products. The promotion of mountain food product through a specific label and the use of tracing methods, which are able to verify the authenticity of the origin of these products, may play a pivotal role in increasing the consumer’s loyalty towards these products and could be a way to boost a sustainable development of these economically marginal rural areas. However, the analytical protocols developed so far (stable isotopes, macro and microelements, radionuclides, spectroscopic, molecular techniques, volatile substances profile, terpenes) are in many cases still at the experimental level due to the extreme variability of the mountain origin of the products to be tested.

European Union food quality schemes and the transformation of traditional foods into European products in Latvia and Estonia

The aim of this qualitative case study is to examine how two post-socialist nation-states—Latvia and Estonia—have appropriated and implemented the European Union (EU) food quality schemes in order to protect traditional food products. Relying on documents, interviews and observations, the focus is on analysing the process of applying for EU quality labels such as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The results demonstrate that in both countries, these EU quality labels seem to compensate for a lack of national quality schemes for traditional food products. EU quality products are considered as national property and are used as tools for marketing small, post-socialist countries among member states within the EU. The state authorities in Latvia and Estonia have different degrees of intervention in the process of applying for quality labels. Micro and small-scale producers especially lack the administrative resources and expertise needed for the application, as well as surveillance. This study suggests that the implementation of the EU food quality schemes not only benefits food producers but also compels them to confront the multiple controversies related to transforming traditional foods into standardised and certified “European products”.

25 years of European Union (EU) quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs across EU Member States.

Consumers are increasingly turning their attention to the quality and origin of products that they consume. European Union (EU) quality schemes are associated with a label, which was introduced to allow consumers to perform an informed choice and to protect producers from unfair practices. This present study provides an overview of the last 25 years of EU quality schemes [Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)] on agricultural products and foodstuffs across the 28 EU Member States. According to the results, it was possible to conclude that Southern European countries have the highest number of registered products. The most used EU quality scheme is PGI, followed by PDO. Concerning the analysis of the evolution in the last 25 years, the number of registered products among EU Member States has increased significantly. The fruit, vegetables and cereals (fresh or processed) category is the one that accounts for the highest percentage (26.8%) of registered products, followed by cheeses and meat products (cooked, salted, smoked) categories, with 17.2% and 13.5%, respectively. Further investigations should address consumer preferences, knowledge and attitudes, especially Northern European countries with a lower number of registered products. Moreover, the investigation and registration of products should be encouraged among all EU Member States to allow the maintenance of important elements of the history, culture and heritage of the local areas, regions and countries. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The perception of EU quality signs for origin and organic food products among Polish consumers

The paper aims to examine the perception of European Union quality signs for origin (protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication, traditional speciality guaranteed) and organic food products among Polish consumers and to test selected hypotheses concerning the associations between the perception of quality signs and consumer attitudes toward the consumption of origin and organic food products as well as their willingness to pay a higher price for such products than for conventional food. A survey was conducted in a representative sample of 1000 Polish consumers. It was carried out with the use of computer assisted web interview methodology. The respondents underlined the role of quality signs in positioning origin and organic products in the segment of premium prices, building competitive advantage on the basis of the differentiation strategy, and emphasising authenticity. We confirmed the relationship between the frequency of origin and organic food purchase and the role attributed...

Origin and Regionality of Wines—the Role of Molecular Spectroscopy

The origin of wine has an important relevance not only in relation to the sustainability of the production systems but also in relation to wine quality, having great impact in terms of the economy of small producer. Terms such as protected geographical status (PGS), protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) are been used to characterise wines from different regions and countries. Despite the number of papers and reports published in the literature in relation to issues such as authenticity and discrimination in wine, few reports can be found that explore the use of molecular spectroscopy to specifically target denomination of origin. This report reviews the use of molecular spectroscopy to address such issues within the wine industry.

The Protection of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed: Study on the Measure of Thai Law and the European Union Law

Traditional foods of Thailand are valuable. Geographical indication law is used to protect traditional food of Thailand. Geographical Indication (Geographical Indications: GI) is a type of intellectual property law. Geographical Indication is used in case of traditional foods which have two important factors are the nature and human. The unique feature of the natural geography, weatherproof and raw materials in area utilized in the production of their locality made special features product different from the other areas. This specifically features refer to the quality, reputation or other characteristic of the geographical origin. The product has been legally geographical indication protection is famous and popular product, special and unique this is because the geographical environment (climate, geography, and other sources), the skills and wisdom of the local people who live in households of geographical origin. Geographical Indication differs from the other types of intellectual property as the owner is community who live in the geographical area. As a result, producers who live in this area can use geographical indication and geographical name. Moreover, other producers who live outside the geographical area can’t use the origin geographical name. This right is called the Community Right.traditional foods of Thailand have protected by geographical indication law for example; khaotan lampang or people known as rice cracker is the local famous dessert of traditional ceremony in the northern parts of Thailand, Thai custard dessert recipe (khanom maw kaeng), Chaiya salted egg, Trang roast pork and etc. On the other hand, many Thai food valuable wisdom isn’t linked to geographical area. Therefore, this wisdom did not legally protected by geographical indication law. Thai traditional foods are not protected by the law thoroughly. Traditional foods that do not link with geographical area for example; green curry, Thai crispy pancake, bamboo rice, Thai fish sauce, pickled fish, krayasart, rice salad, tom yum kung, chili dip, Thai fried noodle, papaya salad, red curry and so on. Compare with The European Union (EU) rules and Thailand rules, the geographical indication of European Union more comprehensive than Thailand since the European Community law defines what is to be registered as a geographical indication into two categories, including Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).In addition, the EU is protected intellectual food by Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)which protect local tradition foods don’t links with geography but they have traditional cooking, culture and valuable heritage. Thus, the protection of the local tradition foods of the European Union have conservation and consumer protection more comprehensive than Thailand.

Oxidative stability of camelina (Camelina sativa L.) oil using pressure differential scanning calorimetry and Rancimat method

The camelina oil, registered in EU as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed, is an excellent edible oil rich in ω3 fatty acids, as well as a great raw material for biodiesel production. However, both variable seed quality and technological difficulties (cold pressing, no chemical refining procedure) exert an unfavorable impact on a final oil quality and its oxidative stability. Therefore, oxidative stability parameter seems to be a significant distinguishing feature of camelina oil. The aim of this work was to compare the oxidative stability of selected camelina oils and assessment of kinetic parameters of their oxidation determined by PDSC and the Rancimat methods. Cold-pressed camelina oils were initially characterized by basic quality parameters: fatty acids composition, free fatty acids, peroxide value and anisidine value. The isothermal PDSC and Rancimat procedures were conducted within the temperature range of 90–130 and 80–120 °C, respectively. From the obtained results, the times to reach the oxidation peak maximum (τ max) obtained from PDSC analysis were compared with induction times (τ on) determined by Rancimat test. Based on the Arrhenius equation and transition state theory, activation energies (E a), pre-exponential factors (Z) and specific rate constants (k) of oils oxidation at selected temperatures were calculated. Strong correlation between PDSC and Rancimat methods (R 2 > 0.98) using a polynomial equation was obtained; thus, PDSC method can be preliminary recommended as an appropriate objective method for assessing the oxidative stability of camelina oils. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the possible use of PDSC technique to analyze the kinetics of oxidation of camelina oil.

SELECTED QUALITY SIGNS OF FOOD PRODUCTS IN POLAND, LEGAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The aim of the study was to identify whether and to what extent the selected quality signs guarantee food safety understood in a broader sense as a food quality and whether the legal requirements governing their functioning aff ect their use by food producers. Detailed analysis concern the selected signs encountered in the Polish food market: “Poznaj Dobrą Żywnośc” (Try Fine Food), “Jakośc Tradycja” (Quality Tradition), “Lista Produktow Tradycyjnych” (Traditional Products List) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). Considerable attention was paid to their legal requirements related to ensuring food safety, because, as a factor in the economic environment, they strongly infl uence the activity of entities in agribusiness. For the study dogmatic method and documentary method for the secondary data collection were used. Results were elaborated and shown by the descriptive method and graphic techniques. The least of all the quality signs in Poland are those legally protected by the EU (9 PDO, 19 PGI, 9 TSG), which is undoubtedly linked with high EU requirements of their use for producers. Among all of the analysed signs, the most popular is the Polish “Traditional Products List” (1347 registered products till the end of 2014), probably due to the lack of any institutional verifi cation ex ante and ex post of statutory requirements fulfi lment regarding the quality of the products to be put on the List. Considerations can be the basis for further research, especially in terms of proposing the creation of legal and economic instruments or improvements to existing ones in terms of helping producers to meet the high legal requirements of the discussed quality signs.

Spectroscopic fingerprinting techniques for food characterisation

<p>The analysis of samples by using spectroscopic fingerprinting techniques is more and more common and widespread. Such approaches are very convenient, since they are usually fast, cheap and non-destructive. In many applications no sample pretreatment is required, the acquisition of the spectrum can be performed in about one minute and no solvents are required. As a consequence, the return on investment of the related technology is very high.<br />The "disadvantage" of these techniques is that, being the signal non-selective, simple mathematical approaches (e.g., Lambert-Beer law) cannot be applied. Instead, a multivariate treatment must be performed by using chemometrics tools.<br />In what concerns food analysis, they can be applied in several steps, from the evaluation of the quality and the conformity of raw material to the assessment of the quality of the final product, to the monitoring of the shelf life of the product itself. Another interesting field of application is the verification of food-authenticity claims, this being extremely important in the case of foods labeled as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG).<br />In the present paper, it is described how non-selective signals can be used for obtaining useful information about a food.</p>