EU-China deal protects iconic foods like Austria's pumpkin seed oil

For the past two years, iconic food and drink products from Europe and China have been legally protected. A bilateral agreement prevents items like champagne, parma ham and manchego cheese being labelled as such, unless they come from specific regions. 

A lesser known item on the list is Austrian pumpkin seed oil, which - until not so long ago - was nicknamed 'motor oil' because of its dark color. Today it is a world-renowned delicacy - produced using a specific roasting process. "If you use a too high temperature the oil will be brown," Franz Labugger tells CGTN while measuring the heat of the roasted seeds. The Pumpkin seed oil presser says the tricky temperature is the reason why there is a lot of hand-made pumpkin seed oil.

For 150 years, the oil has been produced in the southern Austrian region of Styria. This place of origin is protected throughout the EU. Only oil that is grown and pressed in Styria may bear this denomination.

Sixty pumpkin seed pressers produce Austria's so-called 'green gold' here. Thanks to geographical indication agreements, the Styrian oil has become far better known.

Two years ago, China and the EU agreed to mutually recognize the geographical origin of 200 products from both regions. Besides pumpkin seed oil, the list includes French champagne, Italian prosciutto and Chinese Panjin rice.

The pact is intended to improve respective market access and protect against brand fraud.

"Geographical denomination is important because it is a designation that is perceived by consumers as adding a certain value," Georg Zanger, from the Austrian Chinese Business Association, told CGTN. "In other words, people attach importance to having a wine from the south of France or a cheese from Upper Austria. These are designations that provide relevant information."

But not every Austrian pumpkin seed oil uses Styrian pumpkin seeds. Some claim to be authentic but use Chinese or Russian seeds - which, unlike the Styrian seeds, have a hard shell.

"At the first glance a good and a bad oil seems to be the same - it has this dark color," food tester Siegfried Wagner tells CGTN while tasting Labugger's freshly pressed oil. "But if you look closer to the product you see that this oil has a fine green haze in it - and this is a really good sign for good quality. It's a very fine nutty taste."

Pumpkin seed oil is mainly used for salad dressings but it can also be used for trickier recipes like cakes.

The EU and China plan to extend their agreement to cover another 175 products in the next two years. It means more Austrian products, such as Tyrolean Speck ham, will be given protection.

In 2020, China was the second biggest export destination for the EU's geographically protected products, accounting for 9 percent by value.

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