The Protected Designation of Origin, existing since 1992, is the European equivalent of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC): it meets the same demands and allows identifying the products in European Union. It identifies a product linked with a historic small area of production.

In the interest of a harmonization and of a better information towards the consumers, all the Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées already recognized as Appellation d’Origine Protégée (Protected Designation of Origin) got from May 1st, 2009, the mention PDO or Protected Designation of Origin or the logo PDO.

At the moment, there are 7 geographical areas named as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) (1 is in progress of being recognized) for their olive oil.

For each of these areas were identified:

• The tan of the soil presenting the most optimal oil activity and where the cultivation of the olive tree was the most constant. So we can find olive trees which are several times centenarian in every identified PDO area.

• One or several specific varieties of the area.
  
  

• The cultivation, production and traditional transformation practises (density of the hectare, size, harvest date…). Their identification has a double aim: the inventory/preservation of the know-how and the respect of landscapes and environment.

• The typical character of olive oil. The implementation of an “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée”(AOC), for an olive oil meets an administrative recognition of the specificity of this olive oil, specificity due to its origin. The respect of the rules defined by decree allows the expression of this typical character.

Le territoire oléicole français en AOP

•  14 Protected Designation of Origin for olive products are recognized.
  
  

• 1 044 over 1 615 olive towns listed by France Agrimer, that is 65% of the olive towns. The size of these areas is very variable: from 16 towns for the Vallée des Baux-de-Provence PDO to 464 towns for the Provence PDO.

• 5 400 acres that is a bit less than 10% of the olive orchard.

• around 700 000 olive trees, that is 17% of the orchard, exploited by around 8 000 olive growers.

The production in PDO

•  1 300 tonnes (en 2007) over 4 700 tonnes of olive oils of France that is 28% of the French production of olive oil. In 2012, it could reach 40% of the olive oil produced in France and more that 50% of the commercialized olive oil.
  
  
• 800 tonnes (en 2007) over around 1 500 tonnes of olives produced in France that is 30% of the French olive production.