More geographical indications and protection for food in Finland: how to apply for it
Every country and region have their own local food specialties, of which the local population is very proud. In order to protect and mark the limited area of the cultivation and production of these food products, the EU has developed a name protection system, from which Finnish food specialties can also benefit.
The EU has developed a name protection system, from which Finnish food specialties can also benefit:
- Protected designation of origin (PDO)
- Protected geographical indication (PGI)
- Geographical indication of spirit drinks (GI)
So far, 10 Finnish products have been registered, including Finnish vodka, Lapin puikulaperuna (midnight sun potatoes from Lapland), Puruveden muikku (fish) and Lapland reindeer meat; Suonenjoen strawberries are still to be registered.
When comparing the number of registered food products, Italy stands out with around 900, France with around 800 and Spain with around 400 registered and protected food names. These figures clearly show the value of these products and the pride of producers, but also the importance of name protection and the corresponding EU labelling in these countries.
The recent study "Consumers' awareness of the EU's protected designations of origin logo", published in the British Food Journal No. 13 in 2021, also shows that the prices paid for products with PDO protection are up to three times higher: "With very few exceptions, PDO products achieve a price premium over similar conventional products. This price premium may range from 2-5 % up to double or even triple the price of the same non-certified product".
We therefore believe that there is still potential in Finland for local specialties and agricultural products, which would also be economically worthwhile to register.
These links help you to start the process
European Commission: Registration of a product protected by a geographical indication
Finnish Food Authority: Guide for control of registration of names for foodstuffs (ruokavirasto.fi)
To read the article in Finnish, please switch into a Finnish version here.