Post-Brexit protection possible for Geographical Indication products
Geographical Indication (GI) products, such as West Country beef and lamb and Welsh Lamb, may still get EU protection from imitations once the UK leaves the EU, a report from AHDB suggests.
Welsh Lamb PGI.
According to the report, Horizon – The Impact of Brexit on Protected Food Names, the 61 registered GI products (as well as the 17 applications in progress), most of which relate to the meat and cheese sectors, could still be protected provided the UK does the same for European products.
Kathy Roussel, head of AHDB Brussels Office and co-author of the Horizon report, said: “Defra recognises the benefits of protecting traditional and geographical food products and has confirmed that this protection will remain while the UK is a member of the EU. A team is also in place to look at how best to protect these products post-Brexit.
“When the UK leaves the EU, registered protected food names should be able to benefit from EU protection against imitation, provided there is a reciprocal agreement between the UK and the EU.
“It will also no longer be possible for UK protected food names to be promoted in the EU or abroad, with the financial support of the EU,” Roussel continued. “However, UK agricultural producers might still see some potential in using EU protected food names as a valuable marketing tool to differentiate their products on EU and international markets to improve their competitiveness and profitability.”
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