This List of Italian PDO/DOP cheeses includes all the Italian cheeses which have Protected Designation of Origin (Denominazione di origine protetta, or DOP/PDO), status under European Union regulations. All of the formerly existing "DO" cheeses (protected under Italian law) were registered in the EU as "PDO/DOP" cheeses during the course of 1996. They have the Italian abbreviation for PDO (DOP) written on the cheese.
Prior to 1996 when the PDO system came into operation, many Italian cheeses were regulated under a denominazione di origine (DO) system, which arose out of the 1951 Stresa Conference and was established under the Italian law 125/54. These appellations of origin were recognized in a number of European countries with which Italy had bilateral agreements. The international framework of recognition was further developed, and extended from cheese to include other agricultural products, by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, and the modifications made to it at Stockholm in 1967. Italian cheeses protected under this agreement remain protected. Geographical indications are also protected through the TRIPS agreement of 1994.

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