The European Union grants protected status for Darjeeling Tea

Brussels, Oct 25 (EuAsiaNews): The European Union announced here Tuesday that it has formally registered the term "Darjeeling£ as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for an Indian tea.

It is the seventh non-EU name of a product receiving the protected status, following one from Columbian coffee and five other Chinese products.

Darjeeling tea has been added to the more than 1000 names of agricultural products and foodstuffs protected as PGI in the EU, said the European Commission, the EU's executive body, in a statement.

Three EU schemes known as PDO (protected designation of origin), PGI (protected geographical indication) and TSG (traditional speciality guaranteed) promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs.

These EU schemes encourage diverse agricultural production, protect product names from misuse and imitation and help consumers by giving them information concerning the specific character of the products.

For existing blends mixing Darjeeling tea with non-Darjeeling tea, the EU regulation foresees a five-year transitional period during which the term can continue to be used.

After this period these blends would have to be renamed.