Cornish pasties’ unique status at risk post Brexit Cornish pasties could lose their protected status and pasties made elsewhere could use their traditional name, according to comments made […]

Cornish pasties could lose their protected status and pasties made elsewhere could use their traditional name, according to comments made by the business minister Andrew Griffiths.

As the i exclusively revealed last week, Cornish pasties and Scotch whisky are among the products that could carry a “Made in America” tag after Brexit. i report detailed how US lobbyists have been calling for the UK to drop geographical name protections to allow supermarkets to import American copies.

No cast-iron assurance

At business questions in the Commons yesterday (Tuesday), Business Minister Andrew Griffiths told MPs that after Brexit there was no “cast-iron assurance that UK products will remain protected.”

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Currently, Cornish pasties have a protected EU status which means only pasties made in Cornwall from a traditional recipe can be called Cornish pasties.

The pasties were given this protected geographical indication (PGI) status by the European Commission in 2011.

Specific quality

A PGI is given to protect regional foods that have a specific quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to that area. It stops manufacturers from outside a region copying a regional product and selling it as that regional product.

Mr Griffiths comments were responding to South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray, who asked: “Can he assure me that protected status for Cornish produce like the Cornish pasty will not be compromised post Brexit?”

Mr Griffiths responded: “All of those products will achieve UK geographical indications and will continue to be protected in the UK after EU exit. As negotiations are ongoing I cannot right now give her a cast-iron assurance that UK products will remain protected in the EU after exit. But I can categorically state that this is the Government’s clear objective.”

US competitors

If these protections are dropped when the UK leaves the EU it could pave the way for US competitors to sell rival products in the UK.

Negotiators will also want to consider the issue of whether a pasty can only be considered as Cornish if it is made there.

While many of the products US businesses could export to the UK could be copies of Europeans goods some could also be replicas of UK favourites such as Scotch whisky or Cumberland sausages.