§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to seek protection for(a) Welsh and (b) English lamb under European Union law relating to food labelling requirements. [68595]
§ Mr. RookerEC legislation on the protection of food names enables products from particular regions, with a specific quality or characteristic attributable to that region, to be protected against imitators. An application to protect "Welsh lamb" has been submitted to the European Commission for approval. Cases are being developed to protect lamb from a number of specific regions of England.
As I have already announced to the House, we will shortly be implementing the recommendation of the 771W Review of the Organic Aid Scheme that rates of aid for farmers converting to organic farming should be substantially increased.