Italy asks the European Commission to block foreign moves to genericize protected food names

Italy has asked the European Commission to strengthen protections for geographical indications against efforts to turn them into generic names in foreign markets, Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said on Tuesday, November 3.

In a statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Lollobrigida said he had written to European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen to request “a series of concrete measures” aimed at stopping attempts to weaken the legal status of protected Italian names. He said those efforts are intended to allow free production and marketing abroad of products that use names tied to Italian origin, a shift he said would seriously harm companies in the sector.

The minister said the promotion and protection of Italian Dop products has been a priority for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. Dop refers to protected designations of origin, one of the main European quality schemes used to safeguard names linked to a specific territory and production method. In his remarks, Lollobrigida also referred more broadly to geographical indications, the EU system that protects food and drink names associated with origin, quality and reputation.

According to the ministry, Italy also pushed to place the EU Action Plan on geographical indications and what it described as attacks on protected names in third-country markets at the center of a discussion among EU agriculture ministers at the next Agrifish Council in Brussels. That means the issue is likely to move from a bilateral exchange between Rome and the European Commission to a wider political debate among member states.

The statement did not provide the full text of the letter and did not specify which names, countries or pending disputes prompted the request. It also did not detail the measures Italy wants the Commission to adopt. But the core concern outlined by the ministry is the risk that names protected under EU law could gradually be treated abroad as common product descriptions rather than legally protected indications tied to place of origin.

That distinction is important because once a name is accepted as generic in a market, producers outside the original region can often use it more freely, reducing the value of the protected label for companies that follow the recognized production rules. For Italy, whose agri-food exports rely heavily on regional branding, that can affect pricing, market positioning and the ability to challenge imitations.

The issue carries particular weight for the beverage industry. Italian wines depend heavily on origin-based labels to distinguish products in export markets, and any weakening of geographical indication protections could make it harder for producers to defend names tied to specific regions. Similar concerns can extend to other drinks that rely on protected origin and reputation as part of their commercial identity.

The European Union has long treated geographical indications as a central part of its agricultural policy and trade strategy. Brussels has sought to protect those names through internal regulations and through trade agreements with non-EU countries. Even so, disputes continue in some overseas markets, where local producers and authorities may argue that certain European names have become common terms for a style or category of product.

Italy’s move signals that Rome wants the Commission to respond more forcefully to that pressure. By raising the matter directly with Hansen and seeking debate at the Agrifish Council, the government is trying to build support for a broader EU approach to defending protected names outside the bloc.

For Italian producers, the outcome matters beyond legal language. The value of many products rests on the promise that a name does not simply describe a type of food or drink, but identifies a product made in a specific place under recognized standards. Italy is now asking Brussels to make that principle harder to erode in global markets.