Georgia's state legislature passed the "Vidalia Onion Act of 1986" which authorized a
trademark for "Vidalia Onions" and limits production to these areas of the state as defined by the Georgia
Commissioner of Agriculture: • All of these thirteen counties:
Appling,
Bacon,
Bulloch,
Candler,
Emanuel,
Evans,
Jeff Davis,
Montgomery,
Tattnall,
Telfair,
Toombs,
Treutlen, and
Wheeler. • Portions of these seven counties:
Dodge,
Jenkins,
Laurens,
Long,
Pierce,
Screven, and
Wayne. Since
Georgia statutes have
no legally binding effect outside Georgia, producers and handlers of Vidalia onions, meeting the standards defined by Georgia law, requested, and the
United States Department of Agriculture promulgated, a
Federal Marketing Order which defined the
production area as a matter of
United States federal law. ==Further reading==