(ANSA) - Rome, March 18 - A traditional pastry from Siena and a potato grown around Bologna have become the latest recipients of European Union quality seals, extending Italy's lead in the EU's protected food rankings.

Siena's famed Ricciarelli biscuits, a slim lozenge-shaped dainty that morphed from an original curly creation by a Crusading knight impressed by an Arab sweetmeat, won a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label.

The 'Patata di Bologna' won an even more prestigious Protection Designation of Origin (PDO) certificate to keep it safe from inferior pretenders.

Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said the new entries "add value to the Made in Italy brand" and revealed that another traditional product, chestnuts from the Val di Susa in Piedmont, were set to join them as a PGI.

The agriculture ministry said "the 'Ricciarelli di Siena', born as a Christmas treat, "have extended their appeal to the other months of the year, mainly because tourists from all over the world love them".

It went on to exalt the Bologna Potato as having "a high dry-matter content and good consistency that make it especially suited to myriad culinary uses".

Coldiretti, a farmers union, said the accolade for the Bologna spud "shows Italy has no need of the genetically modified potato recently authorised by the European Commission".

SPECIAL FOOD SPURT.

Italy's special foods, which already top the charts for the EU's three quality-food seals, have recently put in a spurt.

Powering past France and Spain, Italy now has over 900 laurels.

On Wednesday a fragrant white celery from Sperlonga received a PGI label aimed at keeping other celeries from posing as the aromatic product from the marshlands near the ancient town which have for centuries produced the unique vegetable.

The 'Sedano Bianco di Sperlonga', experts said, is sweet enough to be munched raw but also adds a distinctive flavour to a range of culinary specialties.

Earlier this month a northern Italian apple, the 'Mela di Valtellina', won a PGI label aimed at keeping other apples from posing as the strongly scented, firm-fleshed product from the sub-Alpine valley.

In January that Italian food glory, Neapolitan pizza, got a long-awaited Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) label.

In December a 'prosciutto crudo' from Cuneo claimed a PDO.

It was the third product to get a PDO in less than a week, following a chestnut from the Tuscan village of Caprese Michelangelo and the Piennolo tomato from the slopes of Mt Vesuvius.

In October, a traditional sour cherry jam produced near Modena, 'Amarene Brusche di Modena' was awarded a PGI, while 'Ciauscolo', a large soft spreadable sausage from the Marche region, got the same recognition in August.

Other recent additions have included Sicily's 'Pagnotta del Dittaino' bread, with a PDO label; Roman suckling lamb, abbacchio romano, which earned a PGI label; and Modena's balsamic vinegar, another PGI.

Italian culinary glories like Parmigiano, buffalo mozzarella, mortadella, lardo di Colonnata, Ascoli olives, pesto sauce and Pachino plum tomatos have been protected for some time.

Lesser-known munchies like Mt Etna prickly pears and Paestum artichokes swelled the ranks last year along with two kinds of saffron, from San Gimignano and L'Aquila.

A range of salamis, rices, honeys and nuts are also on the protected list.

Several up-and-coming regional wines have earned TGIs.

PDO identifies a product whose characteristics are exclusively dependant on a geographical origin and whose productive phases all take place in the specified area.

PGI defines a product whose characteristics can be connected with its geographical origin and that has at least one productive phase located in the specified area.

TSG distinguishes a product whose raw materials, composition or recipe, production method or transformation, are of a traditional type.

photo: medieval-style market in Siena's Piazza del Campo