Marks of distinction

The name game

If you're a cheese lover, you may be aware that 'Yorkshire feta' is a thing of the past. Although the cheese is still made in Yorkshire, the makers lost a long battle to use the name 'feta'. They changed the name to 'Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese', and Greek Feta cheese won Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from the EU.

What's a PDO?

The terms 'PDO' and 'PGI' (Protected Geographical Indication - a close relative of PDO) can only be used for approved foods that fulfil certain criteria. The food must be produced, processed or prepared in the geographic area it originates from; and it must owe its characteristics to that area. Some might think this is typical of European interference in our food, but the protected food names scheme is benefiting far more British food producers than most of us realise.

When there's so much concern about the integrity of what we are eating, the characteristic 'ring of stars' PDO and PGI symbols signify and protect distinctive traditional local foods.

The PDO process

The PDO/PGI system came into being in 1993 and is modelled on the French appellation contrôlée system that governs wine names.

Gaining protected name status can be a lengthy undertaking, but when a food maker's application is successful, no other food can use the name of that product - hence the demise of Yorkshire 'feta'. As part of the process, the recipe for the product has to be agreed by the area's producers and, once they've been granted this approval, each individual maker is inspected every year to make sure that standards are upheld.

Continental foods

Many of the great French cheeses, such as Brie de Meaux, Camembert de Normandie, Roquefort and Neufchâtel, are protected by PDO. Protected Italian cheeses include the world-renowned Parmigiano Reggiano, Taleggio and Grana Padano. The Spanish cheese Cabrales is protected, too.

Other delicacies from elsewhere in Europe include Kalamata olives from Greece, Germany's Dortmunder Bier and Lubeker marzipan, and the nutty sweetmeat, turrón de Alicante, from Spain. Several Italian hams, such as Parma, San Daniele, and those from Modena and Tuscany, have their uniqueness assured by the legislation. Sicilian red oranges, Amalfi lemons and Calabrian clementines all have protected status.

What about British foods?

Several noble British foods are already protected, while producers of others have put in applications. Stilton, Single Gloucester, Dovedale and Swaledale cheeses are all PDO stamped, as is West Country Farmhouse Cheddar. The latter is handmade on farms in Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The most recent cheese to gain PDO status was Staffordshire cheese in 2007.

Cornish clotted cream, Jersey Royal potatoes, Shetland lamb and Orkney beef all have PDO status. Arbroath Smokies, Dorset Blue cheese, Whitstable oysters and Hereford cider have PGI status and there are numerous other quality British foods with protected name status as well.

Does PDO/PGI status matter?

Yes. You can be absolutely sure of the origin and quality of products that carry this hard-won stamp of authenticity. For instance, when there's so much cheese described as 'cheddar', buying West Country Farmhouse Cheddar guarantees it's the real thing (and even if it's made in the UK you can't always be sure the milk is British if the label doesn't say so).

According to Irene Bocchetta, EU protected food names manager at Food from Britain, gaining PDO/PGI status seals the reputation of special and distinctive foods, as well as safeguarding their future - and gives them a commercial edge here and abroad.

In countries such as Italy and France the quality and provenance of food is taken very seriously and the scheme is highly regarded.

New-found status

After a ten-year process, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie gained PGI status in October 2008. These pies are traditionally made from fresh rather than cured pork, baked free-standing (not in a mould), and made in and around the Melton Mowbray area where, traditionally, the pigs thrived on the whey from the Stilton produced nearby.

A spokesperson for the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association says, "By gaining PGI status we confirm Melton Mowbray's position [at] the heart of an important rural economy [and] promote our rural region and fine food heritage."

Not all the ingredients have to be locally sourced - the wheat, for instance, isn't. Although theoretically, even with PGI status, the pies could be made with imported pork, all members of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association use English pork; there isn't enough pork reared in the immediate area to specify that the meat must be exclusively local.

Getting recognised

If - and sometimes it's a big if - everyone involved in producing a local delicacy can agree on a recipe and a set of standards, their food can apply for a PDO or PGI seal.

For example, makers of Bakewell puddings have shared their secrets to apply for PGI status. Spurred on by the success of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie people, the Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausage makers have also embarked upon the process. As the law stands, a sausage can be called 'Cumberland' or 'Lincolnshire' regardless of where it's made or where the meat comes from.

Lakeland Herdwick Lamb and Colchester Oysters hope to have their uniqueness recognised and Wensleydale Cheese is another fine food that could in future be made only in Wensleydale.

It's a sign that we are waking up to our food heritage enough to respect and protect it the way other European countries cherish theirs - and to promote it here and abroad. There are occasional losers in the process - such as Yorkshire 'feta'; but if you see a product with a PDO or PGI stamp, you can be sure it's an exceptional food and know exactly where it comes from.

Updated January 2009

Recipes

Below are some recipes that are made with some of Britain's most distinctive and flavourful food products - or search for more recipes with the BBC Food Recipe finder.

• Risotto of Arbroath smokie and fresh herbs by Neil Forbes
• Stilton, onion and potato pie by Nigel Slater
• Game stew with Stilton and walnut dumplings by Ed Baines
• Jersey Royal stack by Mike Robinson
• Colchester oysters with tagliolini by Giorgio Locatelli
• Arbroath smokie chowder by Keith Floyd
• Cumberland sausage with red wine, rosemary and lentils by Rick Stein
• Roast fig and pancetta tart with Dovedale cheese by James Martin
• Steamed treacle sponge pudding with clotted cream ice cream by Galton Blackiston