West Country Lamb, which bears the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) banner, has made a breakthrough in the Italian market.The lamb range, which includes leg, loin and shoulder products, has been listed by the SMA retail group in Italy, which has over 200 stores trading under the Simply fascia.
This represents the first foreign listing for West Country Lamb under the PGI after being secured in 2014 after years of work carried out behind the scenes by Meat South West (MSW) and other organisations.
Beef and lamb must be at least 70 per cent forage fed and come from stock born, raised and finished in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Dorset or Wiltshire in order to qualify for the West Country PGI status.
Ed Green, chairman of MSW, commented: “This is an important breakthrough for West Country producers and processors. The support of AHDB Beef and Lamb during months of negotiations to get to this point has been immeasurable and we are delighted with the outcome.
“The Italian market is tough for expensive proteins such as beef and lamb. However, it still rewards quality and the great taste of West Country Lamb has been a deciding factor in securing this breakthrough.
“We are confident that West Country Lamb will be a huge success in the Italian market and will establish a platform on which we can build interest in our products gathers momentum”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
