An AOC cheese (‘Appellations d’origine contrôlée’ meaning ‘protected designation of origin’) is a product which is identified by its authenticity and its geographocal origin. An AOC cheese guarentees quality, certain characteristics, an area of origin, a savoir-faire method of production, precendence and the notoriety of the name which is so old that it can not be patented.

The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is a European sign of identification, created in 1992. It protects the name of an PDO cheese of which the production, transformation and elaboration must have taken place in a determined geographical area with an accepted and certified savoir-faire method.

The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) defends is a way of determining the origin of a product, and defends its geographical name.

Farm made cheese is a designation which describes the cheeses made directly in the farm. Farm made cheese is made by the farmer, with the milk produced on their own exploitation.