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Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

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  • Signature words omitted by S.I. 2019/865 reg. 7(59) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Regs. 2-10 omitted immediately before IP completion day by virtue of S.I. 2020/1637, regs. 1(6), 6)
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  • Art. 54(1A)(1B) inserted by 2024 c. 6 s. 4(4)

TITLE IIIU.K.TRADITIONAL SPECIALITIES GUARANTEED

Article 17U.K.Objective

A scheme for traditional specialities guaranteed is established to safeguard traditional methods of production and recipes by helping producers of traditional product in marketing and communicating the value-adding attributes of their traditional recipes and products to consumers.

Article 18U.K.Criteria

1.A name shall be eligible for registration as a traditional speciality guaranteed where it describes a specific product or foodstuff that:

(a)results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff; or

(b)is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used.

2.For a name to be registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed, it shall:

(a)have been traditionally used to refer to the specific product; or

(b)identify the traditional character or specific character of the product.

3.If it is demonstrated in the opposition procedure under Article 51 that the name is also used in another F1... country, in order to distinguish comparable products or products that share an identical or similar name, the decision on registration taken in accordance with Article 52(3) may provide that the name of the traditional speciality guaranteed is to be accompanied by the claim ‘made following the tradition of’ immediately followed by the name of a country or a region thereof.

4.A name may not be registered if it refers only to claims of a general nature used for a set of products, or to claims provided for by particular [F2retained EU law].

5.In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the scheme, the [F3Secretary of State may make regulations] concerning further details of the eligibility criteria laid down in this Article.

Textual Amendments

Article 19U.K.Product specification

1.A traditional speciality guaranteed shall comply with a specification which shall comprise:

(a)the name proposed for registration F4...;

(b)a description of the product including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics, showing the product’s specific character;

(c)a description of the production method that the producers must follow, including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared; and

(d)the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character.

2.In order to ensure that product specifications provide relevant and succinct information, the [F5Secretary of State may make regulations] laying down rules which limit the information contained in the specification referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, where such a limitation is necessary to avoid excessively voluminous applications for registration.

The [F6Secretary of State may make regulations] laying down rules on the form of the specification. F7...

Textual Amendments

Article 20U.K.Content of application for registration

1.An application for registration of a name as a traditional speciality guaranteed referred to in Article 49 F8... shall comprise:

(a)the name and address of the applicant group;

(b)the product specification as provided for in Article 19.

F92.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

Article 21U.K.Grounds for opposition

1.A reasoned statement of opposition as referred to in Article 51(2) shall be admissible only if it is received by the [F10Secretary of State] before expiry of the time limit and if it:

(a)gives duly substantiated reasons why the proposed registration is incompatible with the terms of this Regulation; or

(b)shows that use of the name is lawful, renowned and economically significant for similar agricultural products or foodstuffs.

2.The criteria referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall be assessed in relation to the territory of [F11Great Britain].

Textual Amendments

Article 22U.K.Register of traditional specialities guaranteed

1.The [F12Secretary of State must establish and maintain] a publicly accessible updated register of traditional specialties guaranteed recognised under this scheme.

2.The [F13Secretary of State may make regulations] laying down detailed rules on the form and content of the register. F14...

Textual Amendments

Article 23U.K.Names, symbol and indication

1.A name registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed may be used by any operator marketing a product that conforms to the corresponding specification.

2.A F15... symbol shall be established in order to publicise the traditional specialities guaranteed.

3.In the case of the products originating in [F16Great Britain] that are marketed [F17in Great Britain] under a traditional speciality guaranteed [F18to which paragraph 3a applies], the symbol referred to in paragraph 2 shall, without prejudice to paragraph 4, appear on the labelling. In addition, the name of the product should appear in the same field of vision. The indication ‘traditional speciality guaranteed’ or the corresponding abbreviation ‘TSG’ may also appear on the labelling.

The symbol shall be optional on the labelling of traditional specialities guaranteed which are produced outside [F19Great Britain].

[F203a.This paragraph applies to:

(a)an established protected traditional speciality guaranteed;

(b)a traditional speciality guaranteed registered following a decision made by the Secretary of State under Article 52 in relation to an application made under Article 49(2).]

4.In order to ensure that the appropriate information is communicated to the consumer, the [F21Secretary of State may make regulations] establishing the F22... symbol.

The [F23Secretary of State may make regulations] defining the technical characteristics of the F24... symbol and indication, as well as the rules of their use on the products bearing the name of a traditional speciality guaranteed F25....

Textual Amendments

Article 24U.K.Restriction on use of registered names

1.Registered names shall be protected against any misuse, imitation or evocation, or against any other practice liable to mislead the consumer.

2.[F26The designated authority] shall ensure that sales descriptions used [F27in Great Britain] do not give rise to confusion with names that are registered.

3.The [F28Secretary of State may make regulations] laying down rules for the protection of traditional specialities guaranteed. F29...

Textual Amendments

Article 25U.K.Transitional provisions

1.[F30 The Secretary of State must enter the names of established protected traditional specialities guaranteed in] the register referred to in Article 22 of this Regulation. [F31The entries are to be treated as taking effect on IP completion day.] The corresponding specifications shall be deemed to be the specifications referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation. Any specific transitional provisions associated with such registrations [F32under EU Regulation 1151/2012 as it had effect in Great Britain immediately before IP completion day] shall continue to apply.

2.[F33An unreserved TSG name] may continue to be used under the conditions provided for in Regulation (EC) No 509/2006 until 4 January 2023 F34....

[F35When the Secretary of State records an entry relating to the name on Great Britain's TSGs Register under paragraph 1, the Secretary of State must include a statement that the name may continue to be used as a traditional speciality guaranteed until 4 January 2023.

The Secretary of State must remove the entry relating to the name from Great Britain's TSGs Register on, or as soon as possible after, 4 January 2023, unless the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 applies to the entry relating to that name in the meantime.]

[F362a.An application to register an unreserved TSG name may be made to the Secretary of State under Article 49 of this Regulation.

If successful, the entry for the name in Great Britain's TSGs Register must be adjusted, as appropriate, and, following that adjustment, the entry in Great Britain's TSGs Register for that name applies without any time restriction.]

3.In order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of producers or stakeholders concerned, the [F37Secretary of State may make regulations] laying down additional transitional rules [F38relating to the entries to be made in the register referred to in Article 22 under paragraph 1].

[F394.Article 23(3) (which requires that the symbol associated with the marketing in Great Britain of a product originating in Great Britain must appear on the labelling of certain products) is disapplied in respect of a product to which it would otherwise apply, for a period of three years, beginning with the day after the day on which IP completion day falls, if the product concerned is marketed under an established protected traditional speciality guaranteed.

5.In this Article—

(a)in relation to an established protected traditional speciality guaranteed, ‘corresponding specifications’ means the product specification for the relevant traditional speciality guaranteed as the specification stood immediately before IP completion day;

(b)‘the European Commission's TSGs Register’ means the register maintained by the European Commission pursuant to Article 22 of EU Regulation 1151/2012;

(c)‘an unreserved TSG name’ means the name of a traditional speciality guaranteed that was registered on the European Commission's TSGs Register in accordance with the requirements laid down in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 509/2006, including a name registered pursuant to an application referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 58(1) of EU Regulation 1151/2012, before IP completion day, but does not include a name for which:

(i)a successful application was made to the European Commission under Article 26 of EU Regulation 1151/2012 before IP completion day, and

(ii)any necessary adjustment has been made to the entry for that name on the European Commission's TSGs Register pursuant to Article 26(4) of EU Regulation 1151/2012 before IP completion day.]

Textual Amendments

F40Article 26U.K.Simplified procedure

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

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