Brexit threat to our products is hard to swallow
ONE of the benefits of EU membership is the EU Protected Food Name scheme which safeguards produce on the basis of geographical status or a traditional recipe.
It gives legal protection against copycat products and ensures that premium products are not undermined.
There are 14 Protected Food Names in Scotland, including Scottish salmon, Scotch beef, Arbroath smokies and Stornoway black pudding.
Scotch whisky – one of the UK’s most valuable products for export – is also protected by a geographical indication under separate regulations.
Scotland’s food and drink sector is in jeopardy as we wait for the UK Government to strike a Brexit deal. Worryingly, the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has penned an article warning of the risks of not finding agreement over maintaining protected status for valuable Scottish products.
At the moment, our valuable food and drinks sector, worth £6billion, is in the hands of the hard-line Brexiteer Tories who think they can do what they want to Scotland and get away with it.
Maintaining our place in Europe’s Single Market is the best solution to keeping our market share, building Scotland the brand on the world stage and nurturing our food and drink sector so that it continues to go from strength to strength.