Origin-protected foods vs. Common food names

Hi everyone.

I have noticed this topic was not previously discussed on this amazing forum: what's your take on origin-protected foodstuffs (I mean the PDO [Protected Designation of Origin]-certified ones) in light of the upcoming free trade agreement between Europe and the US (#TTIP)?

To better comprehend what's happening in the US, where it has been instituted an ad-hoc non-profit organization called "Consortium for Common Food Names", I have even dedicated an article on my site:

Fresh agreements between the Italian Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano and North American retailers—Two proposed actions to gear down the business of unfair Italian sounding food products and promote honest trade practices

I see this issue closer to products from the EU, especially for Italy having the largest number of PDO products.

Something that is not clear to me is this:

Have these food names always been protected in Europe, or is this a new rule that is to be imposed?  If it was always followed in Europe, then I think it should be extended to the US.  But, if these names were not protected in the past but now a change is being sought, then I think that it should not be imposed on the US.  Here, if you set up a name that you want to preserve, some kind of action must be taken to require that from the start.  Once a name is in general use, you can't protect it.  You can't un-ring the bell, as they say.  Good examples would be Idaho potatoes and Vidalia onions.  Both of those are protected names and cannot be used for produce that is grown in another place.

I would like to be enlightened on this.

Martha

The discussion might have been more explanatory if the link to my article hadn't been removed so abruptly by the admin.

There was no article Antonella, on clicking the link it took me to a page where I had to log on / register to access.

Can you share the article or a summary of it freely?

Regards,

Simon

There was no article Antonella, on clicking the link it took me to a page where I had to log on / register to access.

Can you share the article or a summary of it freely?

 

Regards,

Simon

Thanks, Simon. You were right. I looked through the link I posted before and it is no longer active on the web, because it was the shortlink from my old WordPress platform.

Anyway, the correct one is: http://foodensity.co...-sounding-food/