Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what work his Department has undertaken in the last two months to protect protected geographical indications?

In the last two months my Department has provided support to a number of new applicants to the EU Geographical Indication schemes protecting spirits, wines and agricultural products, including 7 for potential new protected food names.

We continue to engage with and support the organisations which deliver scheme protection on the ground. This has ensured the products (including 84 from the UK) that are currently registered under these schemes are receiving appropriate protection within the UK.

During this period we have taken action to resolve the misuse of the protected food names of 3 UK and 6 EU products on sale in the UK. This has ensured consumers can have confidence that they are getting the product that they expect.

We are planning to use the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to transfer into domestic law the EU schemes that currently protect our geographical indications. This will ensure that UK geographical indications remain protected in the UK after we leave the EU. Defra officials are working closely with officials from other government departments, the Devolved Administrations, and the Crown Dependencies on this.