Here are the official French and European labels:

  AOC: French certification for some traditional products, made in a specific area, with methods according to specific criteria.

  AOP or PGO (Protected Designation of Origin): a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional food.

  IGP or PGS (Protected Geographical Status): European certification for products that could be partly made out of their traditional area of production, but continue to have a link with it.



  Label Rouge : French certification for high-quality products.

  TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed): certification protecting a product made with traditional methods, without any geographical consideration.

  AB or Organic Farming: that certification defined a product made by organic farming, which is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects.


Since July 2009 the AOP certification gradually takes place of the AOC, and the AOP symbol must be easy-to-see on product’s labelling.

In France we actually have 46 cheese’s AOP:

  29 for cow’s milk cheeses.

  14 for goat’s milk cheeses.

  3 for sheep’s milk cheeses.