Volailles de Vendée

Volailles de Vendée designates poultry raised in the département of Vendée and adjacent districts, produced from slow-growing varieties, fed on cereal-based rations, and slaughtered at an age close to sexual maturity. The birds are marketed fresh or frozen, whole or in sections, and carry numbered labels traceable through a documented chain from hatchery to abattoir.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 21 June 1996 under file number PGI-FR-0169 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013072), Volailles de Vendée covers poultry with firm flesh and superior organoleptic characteristics produced within the département of Vendée and adjacent districts. The applicant groups were SIVOB, based in St Fulgent, and SYLAC, based in Challans, both acting as producer-processor bodies. The specification requires the use of slow-growing varieties only, sets indoor stocking density limits, defines flock sizes and the area of open-air runs, mandates a cereal-based feed, and establishes a minimum slaughtering age. Birds must be slaughtered at an age close to sexual maturity. Products may be marketed fresh or frozen, presented whole as oven-ready or with giblets, or in sections. Every batch is subject to a documentary traceability system covering declarations by breeders at stocking, delivery slips for day-old chicks, departure declarations for the abattoir, carcase collection receipts, and post-slaughter label declarations including records of downgraded poultry. All labels are numbered. Control bodies named in the specification are ACLAVE, based in La Roche sur Yon, and SYLAC, based in Challans. Products bear the designation Vendée or recognised inflections such as Bocage Vendéen or Baron de Vendée, together with the name and address of the certifying authority. The historical tradition of poultry-breeding in the Vendée is documented from the early nineteenth century.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 21 June 1996 under file number PGI-FR-0169, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013072.
• The specification permits only slow-growing varieties; no other variety is authorised.
• Every batch carries numbered labels supported by a full documentary chain from hatchery through abattoir.
• Products may bear the designation Vendée or recognised inflections including Bocage Vendéen and Baron de Vendée.

Tasting notes

Vendée free-range poultry IGP, including duck. Distinctive Atlantic-marsh saline grazing.

HoReCa use

Associated with Vendée regional preparations and served alongside Challans duck.

Packaging

• whole-bird-fresh-1.5-2.5kg