A-20.03, r. 1 - Regulation respecting reserved designations

Section 1 Disposition versions

2012-09-01

1. The designation of an agricultural or food product may be recognized by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food only where the following criteria and requirements are met:

(1)  in the case of a designation attributed to a product as an attestation of an organic method of production, the product must comply with a specification manual whose standards are at least as stringent as those set forth in the Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods, adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme;

(2)  in the case of a designation attributed to a product as an attestation of its region of origin, the product must bear the name of the region used to identify it, and,

— in the case of a designation of origin, the quality and features of the product must derive essentially or exclusively from its geographical site, comprising natural and human aspects, and the product must be developed, processed and produced within the region identified by the designation;

— in the case of a protected geographical indication, the product must be of predetermined quality, must have a reputation or must have some other feature attributable to its geographical origin, and it must be developed, processed or produced within the region identified by the designation; and

(3)  in the case of a designation attributed to a product as an attestation of its specificity, one or more aspects of the product must clearly distinguish it from similar products in the same class.

“Designation” means the identification of a product which, by virtue of its specific features or method of production, distinguishes it from other products in the same class.

M.O. 1997, s. 1.