It’s official. Madeira Sweet Potato is a protected designation of origin and one of the protected geographical indications of the European Union. This was published today in the Official Journal of the European Union.
According to the record made, cited by the regional secretariat of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, “the ‘Madeira Sweet Potato’ is the edible tuberous root of the traditional varieties obtained on the inhabited islands of the Madeira Archipelago, namely ‘Brazilian’, ‘5-Bicos’, ‘Regional Carrot’, ‘English’, ‘Cabeiras’, ‘Amarelinha’ and ‘Cabreira Branca do Porto Santo’, produced according to the traditional practices of the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo”.
The particular morphological, physical-chemical and organoleptic characteristics that distinguish “Batata-Doce da Madeira” and which allowed its name to be registered as a PDO result exclusively from the natural and human factors of the geographical area of production limited to the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, namely the intrinsic genetic conditions of each of the traditional varieties, of diverse origin, preserved and maintained by local farmers, the soil and climate conditions specific to the geographical area and, above all, the traditional practices implemented, since the beginning, by Madeiran and Porto Santo farmers in their production.