Regional Quality Labels for Agri-Food Products

The strong action of European legislator in the field of food safety leaves a small space of autonomy to national and regional levels. The same cannot be said for the protection of food quality. Indeed, National authorities can create food quality promoting and protection systems, alternative and complementary to European Union quality systems (Regulation No. 1151/2012). National certification schemes, being managed by public bodies, may not lead to restrictions based on the national origin of producers or otherwise impede the single market. Starting from these considerations, this paper deepens the issue of compatibility with European law of national and regional schemes for the promoting of typical and local food products, such as those introducing public geographical trademarks. In particular, this paper firstly briefly describes the events that led Member States to repeal many national and regional laws establishing origin trademarks; secondly it focuses on recent positions expressed by European Commission and Court of Justice on this issue and on characteristics of regional marks and labels considered compatible with EU law. Finally, taking Italy as example, this paper describes some regional quality labels and focuses on the difficulties in finding a way that correctly balances the needs of producers and consumers with the principle of free movement of goods.