Using a unique scoring system the Gousto team ‘crunched the numbers’ to discover if the protected status of these foods helped to boost their overall popularity.
Top ten most protective EU nations
The data reveals that Italy, France and Spain are the most protective of their regional produce, with a total of 744 registered products under each of the three schemes. Italy had the most protected products with 299, followed by France (249) and Spain (196).
The UK only has 72 protected products in comparison and are ranked as the seventh most protective EU country when it comes to their regional produce.
There are also seven countries that are currently applying to protect their regional produce. These include Croatia (nine products), France (42 products), Hungary (16 products), turkey (14 products) and the UK (11 products).
Anglesey Sea Salt is one of the UK products that has started the application process. The most popular schemes for new applications are 54% PGI, 42% PDO and 3% TSG.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)
PGI are regional foods that have a specific quality that can be attributed to a geographic region. There are currently 833 PGI foods registered in the EU. These include Traditional Welsh Cider (UK), Finocchiona (Italy) and Gouda Holland (Netherlands).
Italy is the EU country with the most PGI products with 168, which is far higher than the UK that has only 41 PGI products.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
This scheme was created to protect regional foods based on their location. There are currently 553 PDO foods registered in the EU, including Époisses (France), Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb (UK) and Pimentón de Murcia (Spain).
The UK has more PDO products (27) then countries such as Poland (eight products), the Czech Republic (six products) and Slovenia (eight products). However, it is Italy who has the most PDO products in the EU with 129.
Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)
This scheme highlights and protects the tradition of the products, through the manufacturing process rather than their origin. There are currently 55 TSG foods registered including Pizza Napoletana (Italy), Jamón Serrano (Spain) and Bramley Apple Pie Filling (UK).
Poland is the EU country with the most TSG products (ten), the UK has four products and Germany has zero.
Most protected food categories revealed
Out of the 1,440 protected foods registered, the fruit, vegetable and cereal category came out on top with almost one third of foods falling within this category.
- Fruit, vegetables and cereals: 399 (28%)
- Meat: 344 (24%)
- Cheese: 255 (18%)
- Oils/Fats: 134 (9%)
- Bread: 94 (6%)
- Fish: 52 (4%)
- Beer: 26 (2%)
- Pasta: 11 <1%)
- Spices: 2 (<1%)
- Other: 131 (8%)
For more information on the results of the research, visit the Gousto website: https://www.gousto.co.uk/blog/top-10-foods-protected-status