Zagora is the largest village of Pelion (Central Greece), the place where the Agricultural Cooperative of Zagora Pelion was founded in 1916, by 199 local residents, representing all social classes.
Seventy years after the founding of the Cooperative, the creation of the “ZAGORIN” trademark rose the Organization to fame, giving identity to the products. After 80 years of continuous operation, in 1996, the Cooperative’s apples were the first in the European Union to be granted a Protected Designation of Origin accreditation, while during the same year, it was also the first Greek fruit to be marketed with an authenticity sticker on each apple.
Today, the Cooperative trades all products produced by 99% of the growers of the Municipal Unity of Zagora, serving more than 800 members. The PDO apples of Zagora Pelion under the brand ZAGORIN are a trademark for the region throughout the country and abroad.
The main product traded by the Cooperative is apples, the main variety of which is Starking Delicious. Alongside, apples of the Golden Delicious varieties, PDO Firikia of Pelion, Gala, Fuji and other products from tree crops of the area are being produced and traded.
Strict production rules
All products are mandatorily grown using the method of integrated management or, alternatively, organic production management. The Cooperative follows all currently valid certification standards such as AGRO 2, GLOBALGAP/G.R.A.S.P. and ISO 22000 but also private standards that have been created by chains of the agri-food sector. All apples and products carry an authenticity sticker with the trademark. A similar sticker that indicates organic farming, with the same brand, is affixed to the organic products traded by the Cooperative.
Intangible cultural heritage of Greece
About 100 years after its establishment and as a result of the Cooperation’s broad activity at the social level as well as its results, came the entry in the national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece.
The central triptych of the Cooperative’s operation during the last two decades is Consumer Protection – Producer Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment. Based on the above, the Cooperative combines various practices taken from the traditional folk wisdom of sustainable management of the agricultural area with innovative applications offered by today’s scientific research.
Address: Zagora Pelion, 27001, Greece
SoMe: fb.com/ZagorinApple, instagram.com/ZagorinApple
Tel: +30 24260 22450 & 24260 22517, F.: +30 24260 22950
Email: zagora@otenet.gr, aszagorin@gmail.com
