Brussels: India's Darjeeling tea has got the protected status which will provide protection from misuse and imitation. This has made Darjeeling tea the seventh non-EU product, following one from Colombia and five from China under protected status.
In all, Darjeeling tea has been added to over 1,000 names of agricultural products and foodstuff protected as PGIs in the EU, according to the European Commission, the EU's executive body.
PGI along with PDO (protected designation of origin) and TSG (traditional speciality guaranteed) promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuff. 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.
