A Spanish variety of pepper, a Czech bread and an Italian rice joined the EU’s list of protected local brands on Tuesday, joining delicacies such as Greek feta cheese and Italian Bianco del Cilento figs.

The Spanish pepper “Pimenton de la Vera” and the Italian rice “Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese” were both awarded status as Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), the European Commission said in a press release.

The status is used to protect “foodstuffs which are produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised know-how,” the Commission said.

The Czech bread “Karlovarsky suchar”, meanwhile, was granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, meaning that it is linked to a specific geographical region for at least one stage of production.

The bread is baked using water and salt from thermal springs in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary.

The country with the most PGI and PDO listings is Italy, with 159 entries. Nine EU States – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia – have not yet registered any entries under either designation.

The EU already lists some 800 products under its PDO and PGI schemes, ranging from the smoked Scottish haddock known as Arbroath Smokies to the Italian fig known as Fico Bianco del Cilento.