Why these labels exist
Stilton, Cornish pasties, Jersey Royal potatoes — behind each of these names is a legal definition, not just a reputation. The geographical indication system exists because a name can be one of the most valuable things a food producer owns, and without protection it can be borrowed by anyone, anywhere, regardless of how they make the product.
The three designations — PDO, PGI and TSG — are often treated as interchangeable shorthand for "traditional" or "regional," but they draw meaningfully different lines around what they protect.
PDO: the strictest of the three
Protected Designation of Origin has the tightest geographical grip. Every significant stage — production, processing and preparation — must happen within the defined area. The product is inseparable from its place: the land, the climate, the water, the accumulated knowledge of the people who work there all shape what ends up on your plate.
A PDO cheese made from milk sourced outside its named region would not qualify, even if the cheesemaker used an identical recipe in an identical dairy. Geography is not a backdrop here; it is the point.
PGI: a link to place, with more flexibility
Protected Geographical Indication requires only that at least one stage of production takes place in the named region. That single step might be primary production — the rearing of an animal, the growing of a crop — or it might be the processing. The specification for each product defines which step must happen where.
This gives PGI foods a broader geographical footprint than PDO equivalents, which can matter for producers working at scale. The quality and character link to the named area still has to be demonstrable; it just does not have to run through every stage of making the food.
TSG: protecting a method, not a map
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed is the odd one out. It does not protect a place at all. Instead, it locks down a method — a traditional recipe, a particular set of ingredients, a way of doing things that has endured over time. A TSG product can be made anywhere, by any producer who follows the registered specification precisely.
TSG is the right tool when what matters is craft continuity rather than geographical exclusivity. The designation says: this thing was made a specific way, and that way is protected from being watered down or reinvented under the same name.
How the UK scheme works now
Before the UK left the EU, these designations were administered through the EU's GI scheme. The UK now runs its own equivalent system, with the same three tiers operating under UK law. Foods that held EU designation before the transition carry over onto both registers — they remain protected in both the UK and the EU, which matters for producers selling across both markets.
The logos look different — the UK scheme has its own visual identity — but the legal structure and what each tier requires is substantively the same. A producer applying for UK GI protection today goes through a UK process; the resulting designation sits on the UK register and is recognised under UK law.
The designations protect the name, not any individual producer's existence. Anyone meeting the product specification can apply to use a protected name. What they cannot do is use that name without meeting those rules, or apply it to a product made outside the terms of the registration.
What to look for on a label
The logos are small and easy to miss. On British products you may see the UK GI logo; on EU-sold products, the familiar EU emblem; on older stock or cross-market products, both. Some producers list their designation in text rather than, or alongside, the logo.
- PDO means the entire making process is tied to a specific place.
- PGI means a defined geographical link through at least one production stage.
- TSG means a protected traditional method, wherever the product is made.
None of the three is a quality mark in the way a star rating might be. They are guarantees of authenticity and origin — which, for many foods, is exactly where quality begins.
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