Caviar d'Aquitaine (PGI)

Four hours. That is the maximum time allowed between slaughtering the sturgeon and completing the caviar's primary packaging under the Caviar d'Aquitaine specification. Slaughter and processing must run continuously, on the same site, within the defined geographical area.

This is an EU protected geographical indication (PGI) with precise rules for Siberian sturgeon caviar, from the fish's origins to the finished container. The protected name promises compliance with that registered specification. It does not promise identical flavour, certify sustainability or make a symbol alone sufficient to verify a particular tin.

What Caviar d'Aquitaine PGI means

A PGI protects a connection between a product and its place. Under the governing Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, which replaced Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, geographical origin must account for a given quality, reputation or other characteristic, and at least one production step must take place in the defined area.

A protected designation of origin (PDO) requires a stronger geographical link: qualities or characteristics essentially or exclusively attributable to the geographical environment, with all production steps in the area.

Neither designation is a league table of quality. What matters is the origin link and the production rules registered for that particular name. A PGI specification can demand much more than the category's minimum geographical requirement. Caviar d'Aquitaine does.

Registration and geographical scope

Caviar d'Aquitaine's EU protection took effect on 10 March 2025. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/342 was adopted on 13 February 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 18 February 2025. Its entry-into-force clause sets the twentieth day after publication, making the February announcement distinct from the effective date.

The applicant is the Association de Défense et de Promotion du Caviar d'Aquitaine, also named Association Caviar d'Aquitaine in the registered specification. The application identifier is PGI-FR-03054; the published single document appeared as C/2024/6592 on 31 October 2024.

The territory includes all of Gironde, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne, plus specified parts of Charente, Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Gers and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. A French brand identity is not enough to establish eligibility, nor is a department name where only part of that department falls within the boundary.

For a proposed production site, check the actual commune against section 3 of the consolidated specification and section 4 of the published single document. Those boundaries, rather than the broad regional description, determine whether the site qualifies. For the wider national picture, see French caviar.

What the specification requires

Siberian sturgeon is the only fish permitted. The product description specifies unovulated eggs of Acipenser baerii baerii; the production section permits only Acipenser baerii. Other sturgeon species and hybrids fall outside this PGI. The species itself is explored in Siberian sturgeon caviar (Acipenser baerii).

Before slaughter, the fish must spend at least seven days fasting in clear, open-circuit water.

Breeding to produce fry, rearing, slaughter and primary packaging must all take place within the area. The continuous, same-site slaughter and processing sequence must finish primary packaging within four hours of slaughter. That clock governs production, not the interval between harvest and purchase.

Salt has a firm upper limit. Section 5.6.5 of the registered French specification states:

• “Le taux de sel ajouté est inférieur à 4 %.” Added salt must be below 4%, rather than at or below it.
• Brine salting is prohibited; rinsing in saline solution is permitted.

These are requirements from the specification, not marketing descriptions. Consult the registered text for the exact rules on salt composition and preservatives. Any additive must also comply with applicable EU food law.

Before slaughter, the fish must spend at least seven days fasting in clear, open-circuit water. Packaging takes place in a room below 10°C (50°F), and caviar lots cannot be mixed during packaging. These are production controls, rather than instructions for handling an opened tin at home.

Fresh, pasteurised and deep-frozen forms are all permitted. The product description gives age ranges of 0 to 6 months without preservative additives or a physical preservation process, 0 to 18 months for pasteurised caviar or caviar with preservatives, and 0 to 24 months for deep-frozen caviar. There is no single compulsory maturation period.

Labelling, controls and the buyer's checks

Look for three elements on the front labelling or outer packaging: the protected name, the EU PGI symbol and the collective Caviar d'Aquitaine mark. The name and EU symbol must share the same field of vision. Both symbols must measure at least 15 mm in diameter, reducible to 10 mm for containers of 20 g or less.

The specification also requires particulars including the packaging number, operator identification, slaughter date, and best-before or use-by date. If required information appears on outer packaging, that packaging must stay with the container until the final consumer buys it. Ask for the complete packaging: a cropped lid photograph can leave out information legitimately printed elsewhere.

INAO's product entry names CERTIPAQ as the control body. The consolidated specification identifies INAO and the DGCCRF as relevant authorities and provides for certification before marketing, alongside sampled organoleptic examination: assessment of sensory characteristics. The name therefore carries formal controls, including sensory assessment, rather than merely a regional slogan. Personal taste remains a separate question.

Before accepting a consignment:

1. Find the exact name in the EU register and open its linked specification. Use the registered rules, rather than a seller's summary of PGI.
2. Request the complete label and outer packaging, including the date, operator and packaging number. A photograph of the blue-and-yellow symbol is insufficient.
3. Ask for current evidence of certified operator status covering the relevant activity. Resolve discrepancies with CERTIPAQ or the producer group.
4. Retain the consignment's traceability records. Check its CITES information and food labelling separately, since the protected name replaces neither.

Where the name is protected

EU registration protects the name within the EU; it does not automatically extend protection worldwide. Outside the EU, check whether the destination's own scheme, an applicable agreement or another enforceable right covers Caviar d'Aquitaine specifically. General recognition of geographical indications does not settle that question.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland have different arrangements. Defra confirms that names already protected in the EU on 31 December 2020 were carried into the UK schemes. Caviar d'Aquitaine's 2025 EU registration cannot, by itself, establish protection in Great Britain: that requires a current UK register entry or another applicable legal basis.

EUIPO's GIview record, checked November 2026, lists protection under international agreements in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. That list does not establish that the name may lawfully be copied elsewhere; applicable rights still need checking.

CITES, Codex and food law remain separate

Origin protection, wildlife trade documentation and food law do different jobs. In the EU, Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 implements wildlife trade rules, while Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 governs food information. The PGI replaces neither. Codex CXS 291-2010 is an international reference standard for sturgeon caviar, binding only where adopted in law.

For professional due diligence, consult the CITES caviar code explained for the wildlife label and EU caviar rules for the separate regulatory framework. A CITES label records traceability; its appearance cannot authenticate a container's contents. The same principle applies to the PGI symbol: check the records behind the emblem.

What the PGI cannot tell you

The specification reaches beyond geography into sensory criteria. Those criteria help define the product, but they neither make every producer's caviar taste identical nor predict which one you will prefer. They also cannot tell you how an individual container has been handled since leaving the certified supply chain.

Nor does the name alone certify organic production, a comprehensive environmental assessment or every aspect of fish welfare. For any such claim, ask which particular practice is being described and what evidence supports it. The registered geographical indication should not be stretched into promises its text does not make.

The strongest buying decision brings the details together: a documented PGI claim, complete product identification, the actual preservation style and dates, and a supplier who can explain the lot. Use how to read a caviar label to check those details as a whole. The emblem is a useful starting point; the product and its records complete the picture.