From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, today welcomed the launch of the next phase of consultation on Ireland’s application for PGI status for Irish Grass Fed Beef by the European Commission.
Minister McConalogue said:
“I welcome that the application has progressed to this stage of the process following the European Commission’s scrutiny. It is now open to other Member States and third countries having a legitimate interest to make submissions on the application with the Commission within a three-month period. A huge amount of work has gone into this. ”
Minister McConalogue also stated:
“In regard to the possibility of extending the geographical area of the PGI to include Northern Ireland at the appropriate time, my Department and Bord Bia continue to liaise with their counterparts in Northern Ireland, and I understand that the Commission will now be available to join those discussions as needed. I am keen to see the PGI application extended on an all-island basis as I believe it can be beneficial to all our beef farmers.”
Note for Editors
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.C_.2021.492.01.0012.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2021%3A492%3ATOC
Under EU quality schemes, the names of products for which an intrinsic link exists between product qualities or characteristics and geographical origin are protected. There are:
Protected designations of origin (PDO) for agricultural products and foodstuffs, and wines
Protected geographical indications (PGI) for agricultural products and foodstuffs and wines
Geographical indications (GI) for spirit drinks and aromatised wines
Traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) for food and agricultural products
Further information on Geographical Indications, including Protected Geographical Indication, is available here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/a7412-geographical-indications-protected-food-and-drink-names/
After an extensive consultation process with stakeholders in Ireland, a PGI application for Irish Grass Fed Beef from Bord Bia, on behalf of producers, was submitted to the European Commission in November 2020 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Between May and October 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Bord Bia responded to European Commission queries as part of the Commission’s scrutiny of the application.
The consultation procedure now launched allows third countries or a Member State (other than Ireland – where a National procedure was held in 2020 before the application was sent to the European Commission) having a legitimate interest to lodge a notice of opposition with the Commission supported by a reasoned statement of opposition. The three-month period for opposition may be extended by the European Commission.