‘Help us find the next Champagne’ says speciality food group

The organisation is hunting for distinguished food and drink products from the East Midlands to put forward for the famous protected food name status. European delicacies already on the list include Parma ham, Brie de Meaux and probably the most well-known, Champagne. Closer to home and within the region, protected food name status has been achieved by a handful of products including Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies. But the number of British food and drink favourites on the list is far fewer than the number of gastronomic delicacies from places like Italy and France. So now the search has begun to add some of the region's best-loved food and drink products to this exclusive gourmet club. "Gaining protected status is tremendously valuable for food and drink firms, and also for consumers, as it's recognition of the provenance of the produce," said Jo Murphy, from East Midlands Fine Foods. "It helps to prevent cheaper, inferior copycats, and gives producers exclusive rights to their food and drink. It also benefits retailers who sell the produce, especially now when interest in regional food is booming. Provenance is definitely a buzz word in the food and drink sector at the moment." Birmingham recently hit the headlines with a bid by the city to have the balti recognised as a protected food, claiming it originated there. East Midlands Fine Foods is hoping that food producers across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland will put themselves forward for the status if they are producing something that qualifies for one of three different protected status levels drawn up by the European Union. "We would love to see more protected food names from the East Midlands region, which produces a wonderful wealth of produce," said Jo. "We're asking producers to get in touch with us if they want to know more, and encouraging customers who buy a product that they think could fit the bill, perhaps at their local market, to mention the scheme to the producer." Food and drink producers who would like to know more about protected food status should contact Jo Murphy or Jo Stevenson at East Midlands Fine Foods on 0115 9758810.