From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced that the application for a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for “Achill Island Sea Salt” has been successful. The European Commission Regulation advising of the registration of “Achill Island Sea Salt” as a Protected Designation of Origin has been published today in the Official Journal of the European Union and will come into force on the twentieth day following its publication.
“Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO) is a name which identifies a product: (a) originating in a specific place, region or, in exceptional cases, a country; (b) whose quality or characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors; and (c) the production steps of which all take place in the defined geographical area. Achieving PDO status will mean that producers of “Achill Island Sea Salt” may use the PDO logo on their products.
Minister McConalogue said:
“I am delighted to announce that Achill Island Sea Salt has been successful in their application for PDO status, further strengthening Ireland’s reputation for quality food products. I would like to congratulate the applicant, Achill Island Sea Salt, on this substantial achievement. PDO status provides both recognition of the exceptional quality and unique characteristics of this hand harvested sea salt from the waters around Achill Island and reflects the dedication of our local producers.”
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, as the Competent Authority for Geographical Indications, guided the applicant through the application process. Following the National Opposition Procedure in 2020, the application was submitted to the European Commission for scrutiny following which the Member State/Third country opposition procedure was completed without opposition.
Geographical Indications are a type of intellectual property right, protecting food product names which are linked to a particular territory or to a production method. The EU’s Geographical Indications scheme is beneficial to producers as it allows for the identification and protection of names of specific agricultural products which have particular value adding characteristics linked to their place of origin. GI recognition enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers to market their products.
The distinction between a Protected Designation of Origin and a Protected Geographical Indication is:
“Protected Designation of Origin’ (PDO) is a name which identifies a product: (a) originating in a specific place, region or, in exceptional cases, a country; (b) whose quality or characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors; and (c) the production steps of which all take place in the defined geographical area.
“Protected Geographical Indication” (PGI) is a name which identifies a product: (a) originating in a specific place, region or country; (b) whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its defined area of origin; and (c) at least one of the production steps of which take place in the defined geographical area.
Ireland has eight registered PDO/PGI food product names -Clare Island Salmon (PGI), Imokilly Regato (PDO), Timoleague Brown Pudding (PGI), Connemara Hill Lamb (PGI), Waterford Blaa (PGI), Oriel Sea Salt (PDO), Oriel Sea Minerals (PDO) and Sneem Black Pudding (PGI).
Three spirit drink names, Irish Whiskey, Irish Cream and Irish Poitín, have GI status.