Eurofoodart at Horeca Expo
As many of you work in the food industry, you will no doubt have heard of quality labels. There are a multitude of them, and each one guarantees certain characteristics and qualities of the products on which they are affixed. Today, as part of the Eurofoodart campaign, in the following lines I invite you to take a look at two labels that put European products in the spotlight: PDO and PGI. But this will also be an opportunity to present some of the PDOs and PGIs present in our territory. So why tell you about them? Well, because as part of this European campaign, these designations will be present at the Horeca Expo trade fair, which opens soon.
An attachment to the region of origin
So, for those who need it, let me start by reminding you what the initials PDO and PGI stand for. These official acronyms are recognized and protected by the European Union. They certify that producers comply with optimum quality standards and are closely linked to the region of origin.
PGI stands for Protected Geographical Indication. This label certifies that the product is rooted in the region, with at least one of the production, processing or preparation stages taking place in the geographical area of origin.
The PDO, short for Protected Designation of Origin, takes the concept a step further. It guarantees that all the stages in the production, processing and preparation of the product comply with strict specifications and take place in a strictly defined geographical area.
Promoting local produce
In a bid to highlight local produce and origins, the Eurofoodart campaign is taking part in this year's Horeca Expo in Ghent, with two stands dedicated to local PDO and PGI products. The European campaign aims to highlight the quality and, above all, the authenticity of PGI and PDO products to consumers and professionals alike.
The south of our country is fortunate to have no fewer than 12 PDO and PGI products. These include charcuterie such as Jambon d'Ardenne IGP, Pâté gaumais IGP and Saucisson gaumais IGP. There are also dairy products, including Beurre d'Ardenne PDO and Fromage de Herve PDO. I should also mention that the Walloon region also offers bubbles and labelled still wines, including Crémants de Wallonie PDO and Vins de Pays des Jardins de Wallonie PGI.
Whether you're a retail or catering professional, you'll no doubt be sniffing out the trends at Horeca Expo. So don't hesitate to make the most of it and drop by stands CPO7 and CP08 during the show to (re)discover Wallonia's PDOs and PGIs. I'll be doing the same and hope to see you there.
PS: more information on the campaign can be found at https://eurofoodart.eu/
PS2: For those of you who are interested, if you haven't already done so, I invite you to listen to my recent interview with Philippe Mattart, Director General of APAQ-W, who came on the podcast to talk about PDOs and PGIs as part of the Eurofoodart campaign: https://20100retail.be/en/articles/832/eurofoodart-puts-local-produce-in-the-spotlight
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
HorecaEurofoodartApaqwPhilippe Mattart Label