Glossary · Law and labelling
PGI
Also written Protected Geographical Indication, IGP. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
A protected name requiring that at least one stage of production, processing or preparation takes place in the defined area, and that the product’s reputation or quality is attributable to it.
- Subject
- Law and labelling
- Also written
- Protected Geographical Indication, IGP
In more detail
PGI is a weaker link to place than PDO: fruit may in some specifications come from outside the area, provided the qualifying stage happens inside it. That looser rule is why several regional cider names sit under PGI rather than PDO.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Law and labelling
PDO
A protected name under which every stage of production, processing and preparation must take place in the defined area, using raw materials from it. The strictest of the geographical schemes.
Law and labelling
TSG
A protected name for a traditional recipe or method rather than a place. A TSG can be made anywhere, provided the specified traditional composition or production method is followed.
Law and labelling
Geographical indication
The general term for a protected product name tied to a place, covering PDO, PGI and their equivalents in national systems worldwide.
Law and labelling
AOC
The French national appellation system, administered by INAO, under which the cider, perry and Calvados appellations of Normandy and Brittany are defined. AOC names are also registered at European level as AOP or PDO.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
eAmbrosia — the EU geographical indications register
European Commission · designation authority · registered as competent for this subject
The single authoritative register of EU PDO, PGI and TSG names, carrying each product specification. Cider and perry designations across France, Spain and elsewhere resolve here.
UK protected geographical food and drink names register
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · government · passage verified 2026-08-25
The register itself is an index; the substance is in the product specification attached to each entry as a PDF. Eight cider and perry specifications were downloaded and read on 2026-08-24 — the six Three Counties names and the two Welsh ones. Reading them settled a question CiderHQ had previously described in the abstract and got wrong: the Three Counties specifications state a composition table, not a minimum juice content. The Traditional Welsh Perry specification was re-read on 2026-08-25 for the comparison with Austrian fruit-wine law, and its prohibition list transcribed in full: the two instruments turn out to regulate opposite things, one composition and one technique.