Ireland is to get protected geographical indication (PGI) status for ‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’.
The European Commission has confirmed to Agriland that the opposition phase of the PGI application process ended 10 days ago.
“Given the absence of opposition, we are proceeding with the adoption procedure,” a spokesperson has confirmed today (Wednesday, November 15).
The adoption of the status for Ireland, as a whole, including Northern Ireland, will be published in the Official Journal – the official publication for EU legal acts – in the coming weeks.
PGI status for Irish Grass Fed Beef
EU quality policy aims to protect the names of specific products to promote their unique characteristics, linked to their geographical origin as well as traditional ‘know-how’.
Product names can be granted a ‘geographical indication’ (GI) if they have a specific link to the place where they are made.
The GI recognition enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers to market their products better.
The PGI application was initiated by Bord Bia on behalf of producers and was submitted for scrutiny by the European Commission in November 2020 by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM).
On December 8, 2021, the commission published the PGI application for the ‘member state/third country opposition procedure’. This opposition period ended on March 8, 2022.
On March 1, 2022, the European Commission notified the DAFM that the UK authorities had submitted a ‘Notice of Opposition’ (in a bid to make it an all-island PGI application) and invited the applicant and the opponent (NI) to engage in appropriate consultations for a period of three months.
On July 11, 2022, consultations between the DAFM and Bord Bia with their Northern Ireland and UK counterparts were successfully concluded, with agreement that the geographical area covered by the application will be extended to include Northern Ireland.
The revised application single document and product specification document were lodged with the European Commission for scrutiny of the revised application.
This scrutiny is now complete and the commission will move to publish the PGI for Irish Grass Fed Beef in the coming weeks.
It will market Irish beef as a ‘premium product’ both domestically and on international markets and is seen as a boost for those working in the beef sector.
The chair of the Beef Taskforce in Ireland previously told an Oireachtas Committee that, in general across Europe, products with PGI status tend to attract premiums of up to 10%.