Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(c)
the prevention of fraud;
(d)
the protection of industrial and commercial property rights, indications of
provenance, registered designations of origin and the prevention of unfair
competition.
3.128
Article 39(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 provides that by means of Art
39(1),
Member States may introduce measures concerning the mandatory indication of the
country of origin or place of provenance of foods only where there is a proven link
between certain qualities of the food and its origin or provenance. When notifying such
measures to the Commission, Member States shall provide evidence that the majority
of consumers attach significant value to the provision of that information.
6. Commission guidelines on labelling
3.129
Recital (32) explains that when PDOs or PGIs are used as ingredients, the
Commission Communication entitled 'Guidelines on the labelling of food-
stuffs using protected designations of origin (PDOs) or protected geographical
indications (PGIs) as ingredients' should be taken into account. These Guide-
lines were issued by the Commission in December 2010.
101
The Communi-
cation made it clear that adoption of the guidelines is voluntary and that they
should not be deemed to constitute a legally binding interpretation of EU
legislation on PDOs and PGIs or the Labelling Directive. Referring to the
ECJ's decision in Case C-446/07
Alberto Severi v Regione Emilia Romagna
,
102
the Communication cautioned that the issue of whether a specific product's
labelling could mislead purchasers or consumers, or any decision regarding the
potentially misleading nature of a trade name was the responsibility of domestic
courts.
3.130
According to the Commission, a name registered as a PDO or PGI may
legitimately be included in the list of ingredients of a foodstuff and a name
registered as a PDO or PGI may be mentioned in or close to the trade name of
a foodstuff incorporating products benefiting from a registered name, as well as
in the labelling, presentation and advertising relating to that foodstuff, provided
that the following conditions are met:
+
The foodstuff in question should not contain
any other 'comparable ingredi-
ent'
, ie any other ingredient which may partially or totally replace the
101
'Guidelines on the labelling of foodstuffs using protected designations of origin (PDOs) or protected
geographical indications (PGIs) as ingredients' 2010/C 341/03.
102
[2009] ECR I-8041 at para 60.
