PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products represent excellence in European food production and are the result of a unique combination of human and environmental factors characteristic of a certain geographical area.
For this reason, there are precise regulations for their safeguarding to protect consumers and provide producers with specific rules to better identify and promote products with specific characteristics and protect them from illegal practices.
PGI also emphasises the relationship between the specific geographic region and the name of the product, where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. PGI Status generally applies to wines, agricultural products and food, including meat.
PGI Specifications
For most products, at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in the region.
The PGI mark designates a product originating in a specific place, region or country whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and at least one of the production steps of which takes place in the defined geographical area.
Only those products that demonstrate a consolidated and codified production tradition, an inseparable tie with the area of origin and which succeed in achieving the highest standard of quality, certified by external bodies of control, will obtain and retain PGI status.
Importantly, names of products registered as GIs are legally protected against imitation and misuse .
For all quality schemes, each EU country takes the necessary measures to protect the registered names within their territory. They should also prevent and stop the unlawful production or marketing of products using the PGI status.
What PGI Means for Customers
We are proud to have PGI status for our meat, because it assures our customers that we have been thoroughly checked to ensure it is every bit as local as we say it is. PGI status also gives consumers the confidence of knowing exactly what they are buying and where it comes from.
We buy our lamb and beef from local farmers, ensuring the animals travel as few miles as possible on the way to our abattoir. We’ve built up relationships with our farmers over many decades and they know exactly what we want.
We supply different types of lamb throughout the year. The start of the season brings tender, mild-tasting spring lamb, followed by Gower salt marsh lamb in the early summer. Raised on the unique herbage of North Gower’s salt marshes, these lambs develop a distinctive, sweet tasting meat that is rightly considered a Welsh delicacy. Later in the year we offer hogget, a more mature meat that has wonderful depth of flavour.
Our beef comes from Limousin and Chararolais cattle – breeds we have settled on after years of experience in farming and butchery. Like our lambs, our cattle come from local farms. By ensuring they travel only a short distance to reach us, we know that their stress levels are kept low. This is important for their welfare, and also results in meat with a better texture.
To find our more about the farmers we get our animals from click here.