Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef were granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission in July 2003 and November 2002 respectively and HCC considers the status of PGI to be of enormous economic importance to the Welsh red meat industry, as it identifies the origin and unique qualities of both Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef. From 1 January 2021 all product names protected in the EU also became protected under the UK GI scheme.
HCC has a legal responsibility to act as guardians of the PGI Welsh Lamb and PGI Welsh Beef designations and in order to fulfil its responsibilities and to ensure that the integrity of the designations are protected, HCC has implemented a verification scheme for abattoirs and cutting plants. This scheme provides for strict control and monitoring to ensure that only lamb and beef which meet the specifications is labelled as Welsh.
Control and monitoring throughout the rest of the supply-chain is undertaken by local authority Trading Standards Officers. This ensures that only lamb and beef which meet the specifications is sold to consumers as Welsh.
A list of HCC approved abattoirs and cutting plants can be viewed here.
