AOCs, AOPs and some others

The European Union and France have various designations for food and drinks that either garantee that they are produced in a certain area, include certain ingredients, or are produced in a certain manner. It began in the 1930s, in response to fake wines being sold in classy bottles.

In France, a government body, the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (Inao) is responsible for awarding the AOC (and other protective labels such as the IGP, indication géographique protégée). Today there are around 1,200 protected products, ranging from wine and cheese to meat, fruit and vegetables.

Rules are strict, and it’s worth noting that some producers choose to stay outside the designation, often in order to innovate. So while the label is a guarantee of certain standards, there are many fine and interesting unlabelled products worth looking out for.

Appellation d'origine contrôlée: AOC Within France, this is used for a product closely associated with a certain area, but which has yet to earn the EU-wide AOP label.