Typical products: which are the quality marks?

The pressure of consumers towards quality food safety has opened new horizons for agri-food policy and stimulated innovative responses on the market.

Most of the industrial companies operating in the large organized distribution and agriculture use quality brands for product differentiation. The preference for this tool is very simple: the brand represents the indispensable prerequisite for the strategic management of price, distribution and communication; since a considerable percentage of consumers puts it in first place for the choice between products.

Italian quality brands

Currently our country boasts the European record of products with quality marks. This record is the right recognition of the Italian gastronomic traditions and agricultural and food heritage, one of the richest in the world. So let's see the Italian quality marks for agri-food products.

DOC - Controlled Designation of Origin

The DOC mark is awarded to wines produced in defined areas, usually small and medium sized, with an indication of their geographical name. DOC wines are released for consumption only after thorough chemical and sensory analysis.

IGT - Typical Geographical Indication

This category includes wines produced in certain regions or geographical areas. They can show on the label, in addition to the indication of colour, also the indication of the grape varieties used and the year of harvest of the grapes. IGT wines can aspire to become DOC after five years.

DOCG - Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin

It is a mark that is attributed to DOC wines, recognized as such for at least 5 years, of "particular quality value" and national and international fame. These wines are subjected to stricter controls, must be marketed in containers of less than 5 litres and carry a State mark that gives the guarantee of origin, quality and allows the bottles to be numbered.

PAT - Traditional Agri-food Products

They represent a business card of quality Italian agriculture. This term refers to those agri-food products whose methods of processing, preservation and aging are consolidated over time, homogeneous throughout the territory concerned, according to traditional rules, for a period not less than twenty-five years.

European quality brands

The European quality marks are product certifications recognized to food by the European Union and are issued by certification bodies identified by the Ministry of Agriculture. They are very important because they guarantee the consumer the original origin of the product. Let's discover the European quality marks in the agri-food sector.

DOP - Protected Designation of Origin

The mark designates a product originating in a region and a country whose qualities and characteristics are essentially, or exclusively, due to the geographical environment. All production, processing and preparation of the product must take place in the defined area.

PGI - Protected Geographical Indication

This brand introduces a new level of quality protection that takes into account the industrial development of the sector, giving more weight to production techniques than the territorial constraint. This quality mark identifies those food products that, although characterized by a link with the territory of origin, in reality can also be produced in other areas and territories.

STG - Traditional Speciality Guaranteed

This mark is recognized to products whose "specificity" is not linked to a geographical area, but to traditional production methods. The producers concerned must respect the traditional recipe without any constraints on the sourcing of raw materials and the place of manufacture.

BIO - Organic Farming

Consumers who buy products with the European BIO logo can be sure that at least 95% of the ingredients have been produced organically in accordance with the rules of the official inspection plan. The organic product comes directly from the producer or is prepared in a sealed package.