Idac

What is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C)?

The A.O.C. "Appellation d'Origine Controlee" corresponds to the Guaranteed Origin Appellation" which allows the recognition of a particular product that takes its qualities from its "terroir".
The notion of "terroir" refers to natural factors (geography, climate, geology...) as well as human components (history, culture, local practices , savoir-faire...). The production is done in a specific area that confers on the product a very strong identity.
Each A.O.C. is defined by decree, upon a proposal from the I.N.A.O (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine). The decree sets out the production area, determines the conditions governing production and approval of the product.

In order to be marketed, an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée product is subjected to an inspection process including on-site checks and chemical and organoleptic analyses.

The AOC is a collective effort, and has to be kept going by a federative structure: the Organisme de Défense et de Gestion (ODG) which represents and brings together the operators in the AOC product sector.

The AOC is protected at European level within a number of regulations, regulation (EC) n° 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets, including since 1st August 2009 a common organisation of the wine sector market, regulations (EC) n° 606/2009 and 607/2009 taken for its application to the wine sector market ,and regulation 110/2008 on spirits.

The Appellation d'Origine Protégée (A.O.P)

For the other products including AOC ciders and perries, community regulation 510-2006 regulates the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO = AOP). Through this regulation, Europe adopts and adapts the same origin system for all the European Union countries.
The AOP is the transposition at European level of the French AOC for dairy and food industry products (apart from the wine sector).

As of 1st May 2010, regulation n°628/2008 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs, mentions the obligation to mark the AOP logo on the labels for protected designation of origin products, such as Pays d’Auge cider and Cornouaille cider.