The revision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ensures greater safeguards through a simplified ‘protected geographical indication’ (PGI), and the UK’s register has now been updated to reflect this.
It amends the PGI from ‘Scottish farmed salmon’ to just ‘Scottish salmon’, preventing that phrase from being misused, and carries a strict geographical designation covering the coastal region of mainland Scotland, Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland Isles.
It remains a requirement for all seafood on sale in the UK to list production method on packaging and the change of PGI name does not affect this statutory requirement – meaning products will continue to make clear that salmon is farm-raised.
Scottish Salmon is the UK’s largest food export, with international sales of £581 million last year – led by demand in France.
Speaking in Barcelona at the Seafood Expo Global, Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said:
“Scottish Salmon is increasing in demand from consumers across the globe, so we are pleased that the UK Government has taken steps to update the legal protections for our iconic Scottish product.
“We know when consumers talk about ‘Scottish salmon’ they are talking about the salmon produced by our member companies, and the update to the PGI is a small but important clarification.
“That the changes take effect during the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona – which brings together thousands of buyers from more than 160 countries across the world – can only help to grow the country’s number one food export.”
