AOC is short for Appellation d'Origine Controlee, which refers to regulations established in France to define quality standards for products like cheese and wine and to tie the names of the products to specific geographic regions.
Types of cheese that meet the AOC standards will have an AOC. stamp on their rind or label.
For a cheese to get the AOC stamp of approval, the cheese must be made within a region that has been granted AOC status for that specific cheese and the cheese must be produced according to the legal standards for the cheese.