Brussels, 16 June 2023
Today, the Commission approved the addition of ‘Gemlik Zeytini‘ from Türkiye as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
‘Gemlik Zeytini’ is a table olive, produced in southern Marmara region. It is processed by two methods. The first consists in obtaining ‘pickled olives’ by using sea-salt, water and applying pressure with heavy stones. The second is to obtain ‘sele’ olives by salting and conditioning them without any addition of water.
‘Gemlik Zeytini’ gains its own characteristics from the climate conditions, altitude, soil composition and know-how in processing of the table olive that is developed over the years by the local producers. The climate characteristics give Gemlik Olive its high oil content, smooth and moist flesh. One of its most distinctive features is its deep black colour. Beside the historical reputation of the ‘Gemlik Zeytini’, processing method has also reputation and the name of the processing technique come from the same area that is called as ‘Gemlik style/type processed’.
This new denomination will be added to the list of 1,632 agricultural products already protected. The list of all protected geographical indications can be found in the eAmbrosia database. More information is available online at Quality Schemes and on our GIView portal.
Source – EU Commission