British PDO Foods at Risk

While the details of the agreement with America (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is still being kept secret, the agreement with Canada (CETA) is now publicly available and shows that Canadian businesses will be able to produce PDO and PGI-accredited British foods and supply them to the UK if Defra does not protect these items within the deal.

Martin Allan of Lewisham StopTTIP said, “Big business has lobbied intensely for a massive trade deal with the USA (Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership TTIP) and Canada (CETA).

“While extolling the benefits to British small and medium-sized businesses, it is apparent that the winners will be big multi-nationals, including big agri business.

“The way the UK has failed to protect UK Protected Geographical Indicators (PGI) in negotiations in the CETA agreement (between European Union and Canada), highlights that when push comes to shove, our government prioritizes liberalization of the market above home-grown commerce and speciality foodstuffs.

“People have worked hard to achieve PGI and PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) status, and their very livelihoods may now be at risk. What a loss to consumers, too!

“It is impossible to be clear on detail as the negotiations on TTIP remain secret – even our MEP/MP’s are denied full access to details – but, as CETA negotiations are complete and the deal awaiting ratification (so urgent action needed), the text has been available and studied by experts. It is in CETA that we see that while other EU countries have nominated their PGI and equivalent products to be excluded, eg Feta (Greece) and Prosciutto di Parma (Italy), none have been put forward by our government so none are protected. Canada could create and market its own versions of these products using their original names. When asked, Defra replied that it simply did not put any of the UK’s PGIs forward. France nominated 42, UK zero!

“For more information and to take action, visit stopTTIP.net and businessagainstttip.org.”

Image: Keen’s Cheddar PDO