Guaranteed quality with DOP, IGP and QS marks .
Protected Designation of Origin
The DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) mark is a designation registered with the European Community to indicate a typical Italian product of high quality, whose area of origin and the traditions still used to create it make it so peculiar that it must be protected from counterfeits. .Among all the denominations and indications present in Italy, the PDO is probably the best known and certainly the most restrictive; the others are DOC, DOCG, PGI and IGT. Its very limited regulation guarantees the consumer a high quality product, both as regards the origin and provenance of raw materials, as well as for its production and food safety. In fact, unlike non-certified products, those with the PDO mark can be traced back to the origin, guaranteeing seriousness to the consumer who wants to know the entire history of the product; moreover, these are products strongly linked to the territory, which could not be created anywhere other than that indicated in the specification, due to a series of factors including the climate, the surrounding environment and the human factor, which combined together make the typicality of the cheese unique and inimitable elsewhere.The Protected Designation of Origin is used to indicate agricultural or food products whose particular characteristics strictly depend on the territory in which they are created, which often also gives them their name. In fact, according to the EC 510/06 regulation, the name of the region, place or country can determine the name of the product itself, which must be originating and processed in the territory and whose characteristics are due exclusively to the surrounding environment and factors natural and human. The products recognized with the PDO denomination in Italy are 165. Among the products with the PDO mark there are many categories including wines, cheeses, meats, fish and oils. It is precisely cheeses and dairy products that make up a third of Italian PDO products: in fact, there are as many as 50 cheeses, coming from all over the peninsula and the islands, while as regards dairy products only a couple of them have been recognized, including ricotta .
Protected Geographical Indication
The term protected geographical indication, better known by the acronym IGP, indicates un mark of origin attributed byEuropean Union ai agricultural and food products with a certain quality, reputation or additional characteristic dependent on geographical origin. At least one of the stages of production, transformation and / or processing must take place within ageographic area determined.
To obtain the PGI therefore, at least one phase of the production process must take place in a particular area. Those who produce PGI must comply with the strict production rules established in production specification, and compliance with these rules is guaranteed by uno control body independent.
It differs from the more prestigious protected designation of origin (PDO), therefore, due to its generally being a more permissive label on the sole origin of the raw materials (which if provided for by the individual specifications can be both of national origin and of community origin or sometimes even extra-community), as it protects the recipes and some production processes typical of the place but not necessarily the origin of the product as a whole, if not that of the final production. This is sometimes granted mainly because a production of raw materials at local or national level destined for this purpose may not be sufficient to satisfy the demand for the product on a global level, or because some ingredients of foreign origin are considered more suitable for their specific characteristics. organoleptic that have a decisive role in the final result of the product.
Safe Quality Guaranteed by the Region of Sicily
The QS - Guaranteed Safe Quality - brand aims to enhance agri-food products with a high quality standard and to promote their diffusion by adhering to specific production standards.
The Control System: Compliance with the rules is ensured by a control system carried out by independent control bodies such as CCPB. Through the use of the trademark and compliance with the rules that distinguish it, the consumer is guaranteed greater transparency on the product and on all stages of the production process: highlighting the traceability and information on the intrinsic quality characteristics of the product
The QS Brand: According to the Regulations of Use of the QS Trademark and the Procedure for the Use of the Logo approved by the Region of Sicily, the products that can bear the logo are the following, distinguished by Supply Chain.
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Vegetable production: Fruit and vegetables, table olive trees, cereals, legumes, fodder crops, nursery gardening, medicinal plants.
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Animal production: Suni, Ovine, Caprine, Beef cattle, Dairy cattle, Chickens, Rabbits, Heliciculture and Beekeeping.
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Fish Industry: Fishery and Aquaculture Products
How QS works: The Sicilian Region has published guidelines for the functioning of the QS system which establishes the principles and criteria on the basis of which to define the binding production regulations. Specifically, the areas to which the specifications must refer are the following: animal health and welfare, protection of agro biodiversity and genetic resources, protection of the environment and wholesomeness of production, intrinsic characteristics of the product and aspects of ethnic-social quality and cheap.
The control is entrusted to independent control bodies that operate in accordance with the ISO 17065 Standard and are accredited to this.
At present, the Sicilian Region has approved the CCPB Control Plans for:
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Durum wheat and derivatives
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Bovine supply chain
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Raw cow milk and derivatives
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Lamb and lamb supply chain
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Raw sheep and goat milk and derivatives
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