Hilary Benn has thrown his weight behind the EU Protected Food Names (PFN) Scheme, urging producers to champion their heritage and apply for the unique status.
At a Christmas event celebrating UK producers at New Covent Garden Wholesale Market in London, the DEFRA secretary said the government would offer “full support” to producers looking to gain Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status.
There are currently 40 UK PFNs compared to several hundred in a number of leading producer countries.
Benn told freshinfo: “It is really a celebration of great British food and letting consumers know where it comes from. It is our job at DEFRA to support applications for PGI status and help them progress at European level.”
There have been concerns raised over the time taken for applications to be approved by the European Commission.
Yorkshire indoor forced rhubarb’s application has taken around five years to be approved but Janet Oldroyd Hulme of E.Oldroyd & Sons believes 2010 could see the product approved.
She told freshinfo: “The application will enter its final stage at European level in early March and should be approved six months after that if there are no appeals, which there shouldn’t be as only the Dutch do it and they copy the UK system.”
Yorkshire indoor forced rhubarb has been grown in the region since 1877 and a dossier of evidence on its history and production technique - which includes being grown by candlelight - was put together by Oldroyd Hulme for the application.
Benn added: “We want people to come forward to DEFRA and ADAS to help remind people that food comes from places and also that they can protect their product against inferior imitations.”
Farming minister Jim Fitzpatrick said there is an opportunity for all the PFNs to form an association and a meeting on the subject followed the event on Thursday.
He said: “They are considering grouping to form an association and I think it would help us to enhance the British label.
“There has also been suggestions that Waitrose may potentially group some of the protected name producers together, which would be a positive step.”
No comments yet