The province of Almería will soon have a new mention of agri-food quality. The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) published at the end of January the request for the inclusion of the Guaranteed Traditional Specialty (GTS) ‘Dried Octopus from Adra’ in the EU register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI), thus advancing in the procedures.
Following the analysis by the European Commission, in February, a three-month period began for objections to be raised regarding the inclusion of this GTS in the European inventory. Therefore, it is expected that these procedures will definitively conclude in May, driven by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development to obtain European approval for the excellence of this product.
With this Guaranteed Traditional Specialty, Almería will become a production area for foods and beverages covered by a total of eleven designations. Specifically, at the European level, a Protected Geographical Indication for shoulder and ham (‘Jamón de Serón’); five for wine (‘Desierto de Almería’, ‘Láujar-Alpujarra’, ‘Norte de Almería’, ‘Ribera del Andarax’, and ‘Sierra de las Estancias and Los Filabres’); one for vegetables (‘Tomate La Cañada’); two for canned fish (‘Caballa de Andalucía’ and ‘Melva de Andalucía’); and one for meat (‘Cordero segureño’) are already recognized. In the latter case, the production area of the covered foods includes areas of Almería, Granada, and Jaén; and the fishery PGIs include products from the entire Andalusian coast.
European approval
At the regional level, the number of quality mentions recognized by the European Union amounts to 66 designations, including PDOs, PGIs, and GTSs protecting foods produced in Andalusia. Notably, extra virgin olive oil stands out, with a total of 13 mentions, including 12 Protected Designations of Origin -PDO- (‘Aceite de Lucena’, ‘Antequera’, ‘Baena’, ‘Estepa’, ‘Montes de Granada’, ‘Montoro-Adamuz’, ‘Poniente de Granada’, ‘Priego de Córdoba’, ‘Sierra de Cádiz’, ‘Sierra de Cazorla’, ‘Sierra de Segura’, and ‘Sierra Mágina’) and one PGI ‘Aceite de Jaén’.
Additionally, the autonomous community has designations protecting table olives (PDO ‘Aceituna Aloreña de Málaga’); fruits and vegetables (PDO ‘Chirimoya de la Costa Tropical de Granada-Málaga’, PDO ‘Pasas de Málaga’, PGI ‘Espárrago de Huétor-Tájar’, and PGI ‘Tomate La Cañada’); sweets (PDO ‘Miel de Granada’, ‘Mantecados de Estepa’, ‘Polvorones de Estepa’, ‘Alfajor de Medina Sidonia’, and ‘Tortas de Aceite de Castilleja de la Cuesta’); legumes (PGI ‘Garbanzo de Escacena’); and bakery products (PGI ‘Mollete de Antequera’ and PGI ‘Pan de Alfacar’).
In the fishing sector, Andalusia produces foods covered by four Protected Geographical Indications (‘Caballa de Andalucía’, ‘Melva de Andalucía’, ‘Mojama de Barbate’, and ‘Mojama de Isla Cristina’); and the vinegar production has three recognized PDOs (‘Vinagre del Condado de Huelva’, ‘Vinagre de Jerez’, and ‘Vinagre de Montilla-Moriles’). The spirits sector is also included in the Andalusian agri-food quality mentions through a PGI (‘Brandy de Jerez’); and in the case of wines, the region currently has seven PDOs (‘Condado de Huelva’, ‘Granada’, ‘Jerez-Xérès-Sherry’, ‘Málaga’, ‘Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda’, ‘Montilla-Moriles’, and ‘Sierras de Málaga’), one Quality Wine with Geographical Indication (‘Lebrija’), and 17 PGIs (‘Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva’, ‘Altiplano de Sierra Nevada’, ‘Bailén’, ‘Cádiz’, ‘Córdoba’, ‘Cumbres del Guadalfeo’, ‘Desierto de Almería’, ‘Laderas del Genil’, ‘Láujar-Alpujarra’, ‘Los Palacios’, ‘Norte de Almería’, ‘Ribera del Andarax’, ‘Sierra Norte de Sevilla’, ‘Sierra Sur de Jaén’, ‘Sierras de Las Estancias y Los Filabres’, ‘Torreperogil’, and ‘Villaviciosa de Córdoba’).
On the other hand, the region’s ham and shoulder products are protected by five designations (PDO ‘Jabugo’, PDO ‘Los Pedroches’, PGI ‘Jamón de Trevélez’, PGI ‘Jamón de Serón’, and GTS ‘Jamón Serrano’); and the meat sector is represented by a PGI (‘Cordero Segureño’).
National protection
In addition to these designations already included in the EU register, three other protected mentions at the national level are added while the EU procedures are completed. Specifically, the Protected Designation of Origin ‘Miel de Málaga’ and the Protected Geographical Indications ‘Aceituna Gordal de Sevilla’ and ‘Aceituna Manzanilla de Sevilla’.