‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’, with full Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, will feature on shop shelves across Italy before the end of this month (March).
Bord Bia has plans to promote the product throughout Europe during the period ahead.
Along with Italy, the promotional campaign will also target other countries, including Germany, France and Belgium.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir hosted a joint event in Co. Donegal yesterday (Friday, March 1) to mark the registration of ‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’ as an all-island PGI.
Irish Grass Fed Beef
There is a strong expectation that PGI accreditation will help to create new geographic markets for Irish beef.
Speaking during the event at a beef farm in his native Donegal Minister Charlie McConalogue confirmed the significance of PGI status for European consumers.
“The securing of PGI status will help to ensure that accredited Irish beef will receive priority shelf locations in retail outlets: it will not be regarded as a commodity product,” he said.
McConalogue also affirmed that the new PGI will help to deliver premium returns for Irish beef farmers into the future.
“Irish beef has always been a fantastic product. We here in Ireland are totally aware of its uniqueness. All of this derives from the fact that our industry is grass-based and our cattle grass-fed.
“We are so lucky that we can achieved all of this. Irish farmers have an amazing capacity to produce high quality grass,” he said.
Quality
According to Minister McConalogue, the vast bulk of the beef produced internationally derives from cattle that are managed in sheds.
“These systems are more grain-based than grass-based and that makes a difference. Grass-fed beef represents an entirely different taste experience: it tastes so much better.
“Its production, based off grass, gives it a real quality,” he said.
The minister believes that levering the new PGI status will allow the Irish meat industry to communicate the benefits of Irish beef to retailers and consumers throughout Europe and beyond.
“It’s about communicating the distinctiveness of the meat and profiling its true benefits.
“This means that maximum prices and value can be secured on behalf of Irish farmers in relation to the work they are carrying out and the beef they are producing,” he said.
“It‘s vitally important that we have this capacity on both domestic and international markets in relation to Irish beef getting the recognition and price that it deserves.
“Securing the PGI status on an all-island, north-south basis is also highly significant. It demonstrates what we all can do when working together,” Minister McConalogue concluded.