The Embassy of Italy in South Africa hosted a workshop in Cape Town on Monday, November 20, to explore the regulation and enforcement of GIs and discuss the benefits of geographical indications (GI) in South Africa and the EU. Professor Filippo Arfini from Parma University gave an overview of the Strength2Food project and the GIs contribution to economic growth and rural development, and how to promote their use. Though the EU has a long history with GI protection, South Africa did not have specific legislation regulating their use until recently. Under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that began in October 2016, the EU agreed to protect 105 GI names from South Africa, mostly consisting of registered wines. South Africa committed to protect 251 GI names from the EU as well, including ‘feta’ from Greece, ‘aceto belsamico di modena’ from Italy and ‘roquefort’ from France. The aim of GIs is to promote the origin of products while preventing imitations, which overall aids rural economies and increases international trade, especially in the agro-food sector.
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