Listen
Quality Meat Scotland
07/08/2009
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) was today represented at the Protected Food Names Roadshow in London.
Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:
"This was a welcome opportunity for QMS to highlight our delicious Scotch Beef and Lamb and the benefits of PGI status. They were of course the first fresh red meats to be awarded the coveted status and it's extremely pleasing that Scotland continues to produce higher volumes of PGI-bearing produce than anywhere else in Britain.
"PGI status is widely recognised as a sign of true quality and has undoubtedly helped increase valuable export sales while enhancing Scotland's reputation for having some of the best produce in the world. Clear and accurate labelling helps let customers know about the outstanding quality of our produce and can ensure higher returns from the market. Scottish consumers, whether they buy food to cook at home or choose it when eating out, need to know with confidence where it comes from.
"Our new national food and drink policy supports better choices in terms of provenance, health and environmental sustainability, with a key focus on origin labelling. We are also working with retailers to encourage better labelling of Scottish produce and have asked the Food Standards Agency to produce advice and guidance on this issue for consumers. Our new toolkit for the food service sector will help them source local, quality ingredients and better inform consumers about where food comes from.