Free digital copy
Get Speciality Food magazine delivered to your inbox FREE
Get your free copy13 November 2014, 12:55 PM
- Elizabeth Truss, environment secretary, has asked food producers in the north of the UK to seek protected name status in order to create new jobs and boost the regional economy
There are currently over 60 protected food names in Britain, with only a small number in northern counties including Swaledale, Beacon Fell and Wensleydale cheeses, Yorkshire forced rhubarb, Cumberland sausage and Lakeland Herdwick lamb.
Elizabeth Truss MP said, “Given the amazing quality of food on offer in this part of England, I would love to see more producers coming forward to apply for this status.
“There are currently no protected names in the North East and I hope that can change. There are certainly some great foods like pease pudding, singing hinnies and Craster kippers, produced using 100-year-old smoke houses and acclaimed by many as the best kippers in Britain.
“Protected food name status provides a huge opportunity to promote high-quality local food, which is part of our identity and which consumers increasingly love. My department is very willing to help with applications.
“Local roots can lead to a global reach. Cheese producers like these show that the export market is not just for big companies.”
A map of the UK’s protected food names can be found here
