Stornoway Black Pudding Gets EU Green Light

A consortium of local Stornoway Butchers, Western Isles Council and Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) have been making moves to see Stornoway Black Pudding join the likes of Arbroath Smokies, Champagne and Parma Ham as a protected quality EU product. Smith has already advised a number of Scots producers on how to achieve EU status and has pledged his support for the campaign.

Smith said:

"Commissioner Fischer Boel's letter provides us with the clarification we need to take this forward. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the next step, as it is Defra which checks the application to make sure that it meets all appropriate conditions of the relevant European regulation.

"Once the checks have taken place then the process moves back to the European Commission for the final decision.

"This is not an easy process and is likely to take some time, but I am glad to see that we are all moving in the right direction. Now it is important to keep the pressure on Defra to ensure that the campaign continues to move forward and that Stornoway Black Pudding gets the recognition it deserves."