1990-2000: the development of SIQO in Europe and the extension of INAO's missions

The 90s represented a real consecration for appellations of origin and for INAO.

Following the economic success of AOCs in the wine sector, the law of July 2, 1990 extended INAO's remit to include dairy products and other raw or processed agri-food products. In this context, the Institut national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux-de-vie became the Institut national des appellations d'origine.

Ancien logo de l'INAO, alors Institut national des appellations d'origine.
Ancien logo de l'INAO, alors Institut national des appellations d'origine.

Influenced by France's policy of enhancing the value of its agricultural products, the European Union created the "quality systems" in 1992, which group together the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), equivalent to our national AOC, the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), or Protected geographical indication (PGI) and the Spécialité traditionnelle garanti (STG) or Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) through regulations n°2081/92 and n°2082/92.

Les logos issus du droit de l’Union européenne (AOP, IGP, STG)
Les logos issus du droit de l’Union européenne (AOP, IGP, STG)

European regulations initially concerned agri-food products, before being extended to wines in 2009. From now on, the PDO encompasses all European agricultural products and foodstuffs with specific characteristics stemming from a delimited geographical area comprising natural and human factors (know-how) and a specific specification.

Since 2012, products registered at European level carry the PDO label, with the option for French wines to continue using the historic AOC label.

Organic farming is no exception. On June 24, 1991, a European regulation was adopted to govern organic plant production. It was extended to animal production on August 24, 2000.

This new regulatory framework incorporates the principles and definitions of French legislative texts, and aims to harmonize practices between EU member states.

Eurofeuille, le logo de l'agriculture biologique utilisé au sein de l'Union européenne
Eurofeuille, le logo de l'agriculture biologique utilisé au sein de l'Union européenne