Food and agricultural products that contain traditional raw materials or have been traditionally produced or whose composition is traditional are protected by the EU with the designation "traditional speciality guaranteed" (TSG). This means that only producers who guarantee the required quality in their production are authorised to produce these products. Hay milk can be cited as an example of a protected Austrian traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG).
The Federal Office of Consumer Health (BAVG) is the competent authority in Austria for processing applications for traditional specialities guaranteed.
The designation "traditional speciality guaranteed" (TSG = "Traditional Speciality Guaranteed") describes agricultural products and foodstuffs intended for human consumption. Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 offers producers the opportunity to have these protected if these traditional specialities fall within the scope of the above-mentioned regulation. The following product specifications must be met:
- It is made from traditional raw materials/ingredients or
- It has a traditional composition or
- It has a traditional production/processing method.
"Traditional" in this context means the proven historical use of the name by the producers within a community over a period of 30 years, which allows the knowledge to be passed on from generation to generation. (Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 Article 2(3)). The product does not have to originate from a specific region.
The Austrian TSGs currently include hay milk, hay milk from sheep and hay milk from goats. There are 69 TSGs worldwide, 65 of which are in the EU (as of 2024, eAmbrosia - Traditional Specialities Guaranteed). These include mozzarella and Jamón Serrano, among others.
Application
The application, including all necessary documents, must be submitted to BAVG, Spargelfeldstraße 191, 1220 Vienna. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via the contact form .
An application for entry in the register kept by the European Commission(eAmbrosia - Traditional Specialities Guaranteed) can only be submitted by an association that works with the product. An association is any type of organisation, regardless of its legal form, in particular composed of producers or processors of the same product. A specific legal form is therefore not required. In exceptional cases, a single natural or legal person who is the only producer wishing to submit an application may also submit an application for registration.
The application must contain the following information:
- the name and address of the applicant group,
- contain the product specification in accordance with Article 54 (see Regulation (EU) 2024/1143).
The examination and registration procedure is divided into a national and an EU phase.
The BAVG is responsible for carrying out the procedures in accordance with Section 14 (1) EuQuaDG (EU Quality Schemes Implementation Act, Federal Law Gazette I No. 130/2015, as amended). The applicable legal bases are Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 with the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 and the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/26. The aim of these procedures is to establish Union-wide protection through entry in a register maintained by the EU Commission.
The basis is the product specification, which defines the respective product and specifies the manufacturing process. If manufacturers wish to use the protected name, they must comply with the manufacturing process.
The following applications concerning traditional specialities guaranteed under Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 must be submitted to and examined by the BAVG:
- Registration of a name pursuant to Article 56(1)-(4), Article 57(1) and (2), Article 58(2) and (3), Article 60(1),
- Amendment of a product specification pursuant to Article 66,
- Cancellation of a registered name pursuant to Article 67,
- Opposition in the national procedure,
- Opposition in the European procedure.
Once the application for registration has been submitted to the BAVG, the national examination procedure regarding the protectability of the designation begins. The application documents are also published on the website so that any person with a legitimate interest and domicile/registered office in Austria can lodge an objection to protection within a specified period (at least one month).
Once the national procedure has been successfully completed, the application is forwarded electronically to the European Commission, which then also checks the application for compliance with the requirements of the Regulation. If the European Commission is also of the opinion that the requirements are met, the product specification is published in the Official Journal C of the European Union and the objection procedure is carried out (deadline: 3 months).
The objection can be based on the following grounds:
- the proposed registration is not compatible with the Regulation or
- the registration of the name would adversely affect the existence of a wholly or partly homonymous name (Article 62(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143).
In the event of an objection, the Commission shall examine the admissibility of the objection and, if the objection is upheld, shall request that consultations be held, which may not exceed three months. At the end of the period or, if earlier, at the end of the consultations, the applicant and the objector shall inform the Commission whether and why an agreement has been reached. The Commission will now process the application for registration again.
If a positive decision is reached, the European Commission issues an implementing regulation for entry in the register of traditional specialities guaranteed(eAmbrosia - Traditional Specialities Guaranteed) and publishes this implementing regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union, Part L. It enters into force 20 days after publication and protection is granted from this date. The protection of a registered name is unlimited in time. Furthermore, protected designations may only be used for a product that complies with the specifications.
Registration provides protection against
- misuse/misleading use,
- imitation,
- misleading consumers throughout the European Union.
Before placing the product on the market, producers must carry out their own checks. Compliance with the production method defined in the product specification must be checked by accredited product certification bodies. The designation may therefore only be used by producers who have a contract with one of these product certification bodies and are subject to their control. The labelling of "guaranteed traditional speciality" is mandatory by means of the corresponding logo (see above).
Changes to the product specification as well as cancellation of the registration can be applied for.
A recognised producers' association may apply to amend the product specifications of a registered "traditional speciality guaranteed". The application must include a description and justification of the changes (Article 66 Regulation (EU) 2024/1143).
Cancellation may be requested by the producer organisation, by a Member State or third country, by a natural or legal person with a legitimate interest or by the European Commission.
Reasons for cancellation are
- compliance with the product specification can no longer be guaranteed.
- No product has been placed on the market under the designation (TSG) in the previous seven consecutive years.
The cancellation procedure also consists of an examination procedure and an objection procedure, whereby in the case of an objection it must be justified that the registered designation is still relevant for the business.
After cancellation, this must also be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, Part L.