On a fruitful mission to protect Denbigh plums
Welsh food producers are adamant that protection for food names must not be swept away by Brexit. David Williamson reports
EVERYONE has heard of Welsh lamb, and most people are aware of Anglesey Sea Salt, but have you ever had a Denbigh plum?
This gastronomic delight dates back to the 1780s and is enjoying something of a renaissance. You can now find it in chocolates and chutneys, gin and jams, and vinegar and vodka.
Champions of the plum are working to ensure it is not lost for future generations – and food producers across Wales want to ensure that treasures of the nation’s culinary heritage are not swept away in the wake of Brexit.
People from the length and breadth of Wales came to Westminster this week to make the case that when the UK leaves the EU protection of “food names” must not end. EU schemes certify both the origin of food and the quality of the product.
Men and women who have worked hard for years to build up a product’s reputation are in no doubt about the threat posed by counterfeit food and drink.
Just as there are strict rules to stop people falsely labelling sparkling wine as champagne or claiming to sell Parma Ham if it has no link to the region, measures are in place to protect Welsh Laverbread, Conwy Mussels, Carmarthen Ham and a host of other delicacies.
Anglesey Sea Salt won Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in 2014. Founders Alison and David Lea-Wilson have seen attempts in Spain and Italy to pass off “inferior salts” as having their product’s provenance.
Ms Lea-Wilson said: “We’re a very small company and we can’t go after people all over the world but the reciprocal arrangement means that trading standards in whichever country they’re in will move in and stop it being sold.”
Describing the importance of certification, she said: “We’ve all been duped before with brands that look like other brands or horsemeat that looks like beef and that type of thing, so it’s good for the consumer and good for the producer and it’s also good for food tourism.”
She said it was a “massive worry” Brexit could lead to attempts to put duplicates on the market, and she hopes that the protection of origins will not be an afterthought in negotiations.
Europe is the biggest market for their business, which employs 23 people, and she would like to see the UK stay in the customs union and the single market.
Warning of the risks of a “no deal” Brexit, she said: “I think it would be a nightmare for the whole country. It would leave us in a morass and we’re already in a morass. We’re already waiting for the politicians to sort themselves out.”
Fans of the Denbigh Plum applied for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status because they wanted it to enjoy the same protections as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Stilton cheese.
Nia Williams, of the Denbigh Plum Group, described the resurgence of interest in the fruit
She said: “There are about 30-40 orchards now... A lot of them are very old but there are more people now planting new trees, more orchards...
“There’s [plum-based] gin, beer, cider, vodka, cakes, jams, chutneys, vinegar, pork pies, sausage rolls... I don’t feel quite as daft when I go up to people and say, ‘Have you heard of the Denbigh plum?’”
Ms Williams, no fan of Brexit, is adamant the plum must be protected, arguing: “It’s not on if people are going to be conning the public... How would the Scots feel if Scottish whisky was being counterfeited? Not happy.”
Robb Merchant, the founder of White Castle Vineyard, in Llanvetherine, near Abergavenny, said the certification of origin helps him sell to restaurants. Protected food name status, he argues, is a mark of quality that gives consumers confidence.
Mr Merchant worked at the Royal Mail for three decades but in 2008 he purchased a southfacing field and planted 4,000 vines the next year.
“This is my life now and this is my living,” he said.
Gwyn Howells, chief executive of Meat Promotion Wales, insisted the protected food name scheme was important for the Welsh economy.
At a UK level, it is claimed exports of these products are worth £4.8bn.
He said: “If you go to not only Europe but the Middle East, the Far East, even North America, they know about this club of food names... It’s a mark of quality and of authenticity.”
But Brexit presents worries that go far beyond the future of food certification.
He said: “We are a net exporter of sheep meat from Wales which means we are very reliant on the export market, and 95% of our export trade in lamb goes to the European market – and therefore all our eggs are in the European market. And that trade has been developed over the last three decades...
“What we’d want is frictionless trade to continue under whatever mechanism in the future. Having that access to those customers is really important to us because you can’t overnight replace 95% of your business with trade in other third countries.”
A further “real concern” is that European staff will quit Wales’ abattoirs and food processing facilities that are “heavily, heavily reliant on migrant workers from Europe”.
Amid reports that their numbers are starting to dwindle, he would like the government to make some “comforting noises” to give them greater security.
Farming Minister George Eustice swung by the packed Westminster reception, where MPs and staff feasted on the Welsh food and drink.
He was confident that the concerns about protecting names of origin could be addressed, saying: “I suspect that of all the challenges we’ve got to resolve when we leave the European Union, the approach on protecting food names and protecting these brands is probably at the easier end of the scale.”
Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths said in a statement: “Protected food names are an internationally recognised badge of authenticity and originality. Wales produces world-leading food and drink of the best quality.
“Our Protected Food Name basket is growing, which gives recognition to the dedication of our producers to quality and ensures that their products are protected under EU law.
“The EU scheme has registered products from as far as China, Cambodia and Turkey, which demonstrates that when UK leaves the EU there is a strong precedent set towards negotiating our continued part in this scheme; the Welsh Government will work hard to ensure this.”