As the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union, the British government is introducing a new system of Geographical Identification for domestic foods and agricultural products. According to the new rules such products as Welsh lamb, Cornish pasties, or Scotch whiskey will be marked with special logos which will affirm their authenticity and grant them protection in terms of intellectual property.
While the new British GI rules will come into effect on January 1st 2021, the certification program will be managed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The UK scheme is planned to replace the EU marking within three years. All packages with agricultural foods produced in England, Scotland and Wales will carry polygonal labels, identifying three product categories, which will inform customers that the products they buy have protected designation of origins, protected geographical identification or guaranteed traditional speciality.
The new certification scheme will provide the British food manufacturers with legal framework ensuring a stable support for domestic trademarks and establishing an independent marking system.
The GI innovation has already been welcomed by the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales saying that it will unify a lot of UK’s iconic food brands such as Stilton, Cheddar cheese or Plymouth gin, protecting them after the Brexit process will be completed.
