Protection of Agricultural Food GI figures in cases of the use of the protected product as ingredients in other compound products. Analysis of new legislative developments.

Abstract

Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 introduces regulatory changes that raise concerns about poor legislative technique and a lack of balance of interests at stake. The regulation conflicts with two important rights in the agri-food market: the right of consumers and users to information, and the exclusive right to the protected name granted to legitimate users of PDO/PGIs. The regulation appears to liberalize the use of the protected name by allowing operators other than the Regulatory Board to include it in the list of ingredients of a composite product to satisfy consumers' right to information, which could, however, strain the group's exclusive rights. It is necessary to coordinate all the interests involved to find a solution that seeks to satisfy all, as the European Commission's 2010 communication on the matter attempted to do and as is now regulated—not without errors—by Article 27 of the current Regulation. It is therefore imperative to find a solution that balances the rights and interests at stake.