European Food Quality Policy: The Importance of Geographical Indications, Organic Certification and Food Quality Assurance Schemes in European Countries

Publikations-Art

Zeitschriftenbeitrag

Autoren

Becker, Tilman

Erscheinungsjahr

2009

Veröffentlicht in

Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy

Band/Volume

10/1

Schlagworte

Europäische Union

European Food Quality Policy: The Importance of Geographical Indications, Organic Certification and Food Quality Assurance Schemes in European Countries

  Tilman Becker
Professor, Institute for Agricultural Policy and Markets, University of Hohenheim, Germany

In the early 1990s reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy led to a change in emphasis away from price supports into policies to promote rural development, in part through improvements to food quality. Geographic indicators are only one of a range of EU policies designed to foster these goals. Geographic indicators are put within the context of the wider quality enhancement policies that include quality assurance schemes and organic production. There appears to be considerable regional differences within the EU when it comes to the use of the various quality-enhancing policies available. The member states of the EU can be grouped into four different clusters, each characterized by a different quality policy strategy.

Keywords: European Union, food quality, geographic indicators, regional differences