Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2026-01-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, meat product, offal, poultry, product designation, quality control of agricultural products








C_202600420EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/420


22.1.2026






Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
(C/2026/420)

Following this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission within three months from the date of this publication.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’
                  


EU No: PGI-FR-03231 – 30.4.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s)


               ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’
            
2.   Member State or third country

France
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.2. Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

Combined Nomenclature code

16 – PREPARATIONS OF MEAT, OF FISH, OF CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS OR OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, OR OF INSECTS
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) refers


                  ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is a cooked or partially cooked product made from the fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ geese. Seasoning is limited to 4 % of the mass of the preparation, and may include: salt, sugar (not more than 2 g of sucrose per kg of foie gras), spices and aromatic plants, spirits, liqueur wines and wines. Additives are prohibited.
Truffles (Tuber melanosporum) and/or a coating jelly may be added to the foie gras:






—


Coating jelly: this may make up no more than 20 % of preparations with a mass of less than 250 g and 15 % for other preparations. The addition of gelatine to absorb the exuded juice is allowed when the product is assembled up to a maximum of 1 %. The indication ‘en gelée’ [in jelly] is then added to the sales designation.










—


Truffles (Tuber melanosporum) may be indicated in the sales designation only if they are present in a guaranteed proportion of at least 3 %.





                  ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ covers whole goose foie gras, goose foie gras and blocks of goose foie gras with or without pieces.








1.



Whole goose foie gras is a preparation made of a whole fattened liver or one or more lobes of fattened liver, raw, with seasoning. It is a cooked or partially cooked product.












2.



Goose foie gras is a preparation composed of combined pieces of lobes of raw fattened liver with seasoning. It is a cooked or partially cooked product.
It is distinguished by its lower melt rate:






—


20 % for partially cooked;










—


30 % for the rest.




It does not contain any significant veins or lumps of fat.












3.



Blocks of goose foie gras (with or without pieces) are a preparation resulting from an emulsion consisting of foie gras, seasoning, water and possible additional pieces of goose foie gras. The total quantity of water added plus the quantity of water provided by the seasonings must not exceed 10 % of the mass of the preparation. It is a cooked or partially cooked product.
Blocks of goose foie gras do not contain significant lumps of fat or marbling, and the interior is homogeneous in colour.

                     ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ may be marketed as portions from a secondary cut (*).






(*)


Process of slicing to obtain a portion from the original product.





                     ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is marketed as canned, chilled or deep-frozen.




3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)


                  ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is made from the raw fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI geese. The specific nature of this foie gras is due to the high fat content of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI, which results from a specific method of rearing and feeding the geese involving a gradual process of fattening by force-feeding.
Blocks of goose foie gras (with or without pieces) are prepared from the raw fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI geese and possibly from whole goose foie gras and/or goose foie gras processed in accordance with these production requirements.
The pieces of foie gras incorporated into the blocks of goose foie gras with pieces are made from the raw or poached fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI geese.

                  ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is made from the raw fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI geese.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area


                  ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is made and packaged and undergoes heat stabilisation in the geographical area.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Packaging takes place in the geographical area. It is an integral part of the process of making the foie gras, which is a cooked or partially cooked product, and is a step that occurs prior to heat stabilisation (pasteurisation or sterilisation).
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

In addition to the compulsory information provided for by legislation on the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs, labels must include the following:






—


the European Union PGI logo;










—


the name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’, supplemented where appropriate by information specifying the type of product:






—



                                 ‘entier’ [whole] placed after the name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’;










—



                                 ‘bloc’ [block] placed before the name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’.








The name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ and the elements specifying the name of the product are written in the same font size, type and style.
An additional geographical indication may be used for goose foie gras made from raw fattened goose livers bearing the same additional geographical indication and processed in the corresponding area:






—


it must be placed above or below the name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’, without any other element separating them;










—


it must be written entirely in upper case;










—


the letters must be the same height and in the same font style as the name ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’.




The use of the indication ‘Oies élevées et préparées dans le Sud-Ouest’ [geese reared and prepared in the South-West] is also permitted. This indication may be made more precise by replacing the term ‘Sud-Ouest’ with an additional geographical indication for goose foie gras made from raw fattened goose livers bearing the same additional geographical indication and processed in the corresponding area:






—



                        ‘Oies élevées et préparées dans le Gers’ [geese reared and prepared in Gers];










—



                        ‘Oies élevées et préparées dans les Landes’ [geese reared and prepared in Landes];










—



                        ‘Oies élevées et préparées en Périgord’ [geese reared and prepared in Périgord];










—



                        ‘Oies élevées et préparées en Quercy’ [geese reared and prepared in Quercy].




Only the geographical name (‘Sud-Ouest’), possibly supplemented by additional geographical indications (‘Gers’, ‘Landes’, ‘Périgord’ or ‘Quercy’), may appear on the labelling. Aside from references to national origin and the address block, any designation of provenance on the labelling is forbidden.
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises the following departments and municipalities:
Nouvelle-Aquitaine region:






 


the departments of Corrèze, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques;










 


the following municipalities in the department of Haute-Vienne: Bussière-Galant, Les Cars, Le Chalard, Châlus, La Chapelle-Montbrandeix, Coussac-Bonneval, Dournazac, Flavignac, Glandon, Ladignac-le-Long, Lavignac, Maisonnais-sur-Tardoire, Marval, Pageas, Pensol, Saint-Mathieu and Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche.




Occitanie region:






 


the departments of Ariège, Aveyron, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Lot, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne;










 


the following municipalities in the department of Aube: Airoux, Baraigne, Belflou, Belpech, Les Brunels, Cahuzac, Carlipa, Les Cassés, Castelnaudary, Cenne-Monestiés, Cumiès, Fajac-la-Relenque, Fendeille, Gourvieille, Issel, Labastide-d’Anjou, Labécède-Lauragais, Lafage, Lasbordes, Laurabuc, La Louvière-Lauragais, Marquein, Mas-Saintes-Puelles, Mayreville, Mézerville, Mireval-Lauragais, Molandier, Molleville, Montauriol, Montferrand, Montmaur, Payra-sur-l’Hers, Pécharic-et-le-Py, Pech-Luna, Pexiora, Peyrefitte-sur-l’Hers, Peyrens, Plaigne, La Pomarède, Puginier, Ricaud, Saint-Amans, Sainte-Camelle, Saint-Martin-Lalande, Saint-Michel-de-Lanès, Saint-Papoul, Saint-Paulet, Saint-Sernin, Salles-sur-l’Hers, Souilhanels, Souilhe, Soupex, Tréville, Verdun-en-Lauragais, Villautou, Villemagne, Villeneuve-la-Comptal, Villepinte and Villespy.




5.   Link with the geographical area

The link with the origin of ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is based on its reputation, which is linked to the specific nature of the fattened livers used and the know-how employed in preparing them. The preservers’ know-how when selecting and preparing the livers affects the quality and visual presentation of ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’.
The geographical area corresponds overall to the geological structure of the Aquitaine Basin, which occupies much of South-West France. It is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Pyrenees mountain range, to the east by a line between the Massif Central and the city of Castelnaudary and to the north by the administrative boundaries of the departments of Gironde and Dordogne.
It is characterised by a succession of plains, slopes and plateaux suitable for cultivation, alternating between areas of meadows and grassland or of forest and heathland, alongside arable land. It also has large areas of meadowland dotted with pools and ponds and irrigated by numerous watercourses.
With its broad exposure to the Atlantic Ocean, the geographical area has a temperate maritime climate with mild temperatures and average precipitation of more than 900 mm, evenly distributed throughout the year.
In the South-West, the rearing of waterfowl in general and geese in particular developed as early as the Middle Ages as part of the traditional system of mixed crop farming and animal rearing.
On small farms, farmers rely on having large numbers of farmyard poultry, as this is their main source of meat and fat. The introduction of maize into the region during the 17th century revolutionised the rearing of farmyard poultry. Increasing the proportion of maize in the geese’s diet and observing its effects on their fattening helped to develop force-feeding techniques at the end of the 18th century. ‘In the South-West regions of France, where the foie gras industry is particularly active, farmers use force-feeding to rapidly fatten geese and ducks.’
               ‘While confit is used as part of household provisions, the livers are most commonly brought to market, where the majority are purchased by commission agents and purchasers from canning companies […] Even the smallest of hotels in the South-West can serve its own homemade goose pâtés.’ (Vie à la campagne [Life in the countryside] magazine, 15 April 1930).
Only the finest livers are brought to the marchés au gras [fat markets] for sale. They are then carefully sorted to select them and decide which preparation they should be used for. This know-how, which is difficult to codify, was passed on from worker to worker at all preserving establishments in the South-West. The aim is to predict the melt rate of the foie gras following processing.
Deveining is also an important step in the presentation of whole goose foie gras and goose foie gras. This practice, which is genuine know-how, consists of manually removing the central vein from the liver and the side veins while maintaining the structures of the lobes, and is intended to avoid the presence of vein or blood residue in the final product.
The foie gras is then seasoned and left to cure before being processed.
In 1954, blocks of foie gras first appeared, a preparation that quickly found success among preservers. It is clearly distinct from other products, such as mousse of foie gras, as it is made solely from foie gras.
The specific nature of ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ lies in the quality of the raw fattened livers of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ geese, which have a minimum weight (a sign that they have been successfully fattened) and which have been manually assessed as being suitable for processing (genuine sorting know-how).

               ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ is made exclusively from the raw fattened liver of ‘Oie du Sud-Ouest’ PGI geese and an additive-free seasoning.
The foie gras is characterised by a low melt rate and is visually free of veins or lumps of fat.
The blocks of goose foie gras are a specific preparation, made from an emulsion of seasoned fattened liver, which may include pieces of goose foie gras.
It does not contain significant lumps of fat or marbling, and its body is homogeneous in colour.
Maize cultivation has enabled farmers to develop technical know-how based on the intensive distribution of this cereal and the gradual process of fattening by force-feeding. This fattening combined with open-air rearing, which is made possible by the year-round mild and temperate climate, makes it possible to obtain well-fattened geese and thus raw fattened livers with a high fat content.
The marchés au gras are truly a commercial tradition of the South-West: examples include Gers (Samatan market), Landes (Peyrehorade market), Périgord (Périgueux market) and Quercy (Cahors market). These markets also play an important role in supplying professionals in the sector (processors/preservers) and restaurants.
Up to 1968, agricultural statistics show that a small proportion of goose foie gras (135 tonnes) was used for personal consumption and that the majority (477 tonnes) was sold at these markets.
The reputation of ‘Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest’ has developed as a result of improvements in preservation techniques (aseptic canning) and expansion of transport options that have enabled the development of marketing channels.
Over the course of the 20th century, some foie gras production companies became showcases of South-West gastronomy, creating a regional agri-food chain.

               ‘The presence of foie gras in the corpus of legitimate ingredients in South-West cuisine was one factor that made it one of the most successful regional cuisines in interwar Paris’, according to F. Duhar in ‘De confits en foie gras – Une histoire des oies et des canards du Sud-Ouest’ [From confit to foie gras – A history of the geese and ducks of the South-West] (2009, ed. Elkar – Terres et gens [Lands and people]).
In ‘Voyage à travers le temps. L’oie du Sud-Ouest entre mémoire et histoire, XVIe-XXIe siècles’ [Voyage through time. The goose of the South-West between memory and history, 16th-21st century] (Annales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences [Annals of the Polish Academy of Sciences], vol. 18, 2016) C. Marache and P. Meyzie write that ‘Canning companies in the South-West, such as Delpeyrat, Lafitte and Labeyrie, continue to offer goose as part of their range, mainly canned whole foie gras.’ […] ‘However, in general, the goose is almost absent from the restaurant industry and haute cuisine. Only goose foie gras retains its place, appearing at even the grandest of occasions.’
            
In 2018, AFAMÉS (Association de friands amateurs de mets épicuriens et savoureux) published a book entitled Il était une foie dans le Sud-Ouest [Once upon a liver in the South-West], which devoted a chapter to ‘A grand liver’. In it they write that ‘Foie gras from the South-West does not come from the Roman production tradition... it is purely a product of local innovation.’
            
The website Le Coeur des Chefs celebrates it in an article from October 2023 entitled ‘Foie gras from the South-West returns to the French gastronomical stage.’
            
Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest is a festive dish and has a place of honour on the menu at grand occasions such as Christmas Eve: ‘While Pierre spreads the slices of fig bread with Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest, the owner adorns the table in the living room with refined red and gold decorations’ (Harcèlement en héritage [A legacy of harrassment], Dominique Pajian, 2018).
This is also a product that can be used in some recipes, such as that of Karen Torosyan, chef at Bozar restaurant, lauded in September 2018 on the website Be Perfect, which also published a print magazine: ‘Close your eyes. Imagine you are eating at Victor Horta’s table. Then imagine a pâté en croûte with Noir de Bigorre pork, duck and Foie gras d’oie du Sud-Ouest, so perfect you are reluctant to cut it.’
            

Reference to publication of the product specification


https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-FoiegrasOieSudOuest-250731.pdf



(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/420/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)