Welsh leeks are currently under consideration for registration as a UK Geographical Indication.
The independent Geographical Indication (GI) schemes were launched after the end of the Brexit transition period and, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), are designed to ensure that popular and traditional products from across the country can obtain special status to mark out their authenticity and origin.
Defra believe that the introduction of the schemes mean that shoppers can buy their favourite food and drink with confidence, and producers whose foods are granted GI status benefit from intellectual property protection, so that others cannot imitate them.
The leek has been associated with Wales since the Saxon Era over 1,000 years ago. The new application follows the success of meat produced from lambs born and reared on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, gaining full protection and recognition as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) back in October 2021.
The protection was given as Gower Salt Marsh Lamb producers were able to demonstrate their meat’s characteristics are essentially and exclusively due to its particular area of production.
The Welsh leek is expected to undergo the same process of evaluation within the coming months.
