Here are a couple of Commission decisions, both issued on 19 December 2008, rejecting an application for entry in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications.

The first refuses PGI protection to the Lithuanian Džiugas cheese:

"Having examined the material submitted by Lithuania in the application, the Commission noted that the specific quality or characteristics of the cheese are due to its production method and they are not attributable to the geographical origin. The specification states that the link between the cheese ‘Džiugas’ and its area is expressed by its specific method of production that confers physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics that cannot be found in other cheeses. The specification furthermore claims that the production method of cheese ‘Džiugas’ determines its higher content of magnesium and calcium and that the particular organoleptic characteristics of the cheese ‘Džiugas’, its faint yellow colour with greyish nuances and its fresh taste, are due to its method of production. In the absence of a link between these factors and the geographical origin, the application does not meet the basic criteria for registration as a protected geographical indication".

"Having examined the material submitted by Lithuania in the application, the Commission noted that specific characteristics of the cheese are due to its production method and they are not attributable to the geographical origin. The specification states that the link between the cheese ‘Germantas’ and its area is based on its specific method of production that confers it specific organoleptic characteristics that distinguish it from other cheeses. The specification reaffirms that organoleptic characteristics specific to the cheese ‘Germantas’, its faint yellowish colour with greenish to greyish nuances, a light aroma of acidified milk, whey and pasteurised milk, and a little sour flavour of pasteurised milk at high temperature, are related to its production method. The specification furthermore explains that typical colour of cheese ‘Germantas’ is due to its maturing in transparent, or coloured, film that reduces decomposition of the photosensitive compounds under the light. In the
absence of a link between these factors and the geographical origin, the application does not meet the basic criteria for registration as a protected geographical indication".