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CREED WELCOMES PROTECTED DESIGNATION STATUS FOR ORIEL SEA SALT AND ORIEL SEA MINERALS

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed T.D. today expressed his delight that the European Commission has approved the addition of Oriel Sea Salt and Oriel Sea Minerals to the quality register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO).

Minister Creed said “This is great news for the producers of two special products from the bay of Port Oriel in County Louth. Oriel Sea Salt and Oriel Sea Minerals join the list of recognised and protected EU food names with a unique link to a particular locality in terms of quality, characteristics and tradition.”

The Minister continued “This GI (Geographical Indication) system provides brand protection for producers of traditional local foods and taps into strong consumer interest in local provenance, tradition and quality. The Oriel Sea Salt and Oriel Sea Minerals names will enjoy the same protection recognition as Imokilly Regato PDO, Connemara Hill Lamb PGI and the Waterford Blaa / Blaa PGI .“

Minister Creed noted that, following national consultation, two further applications had been submitted to the European Commission this year – a PDO application for Sneem Black Pudding and a PGI application for Wexford Blackcurrants – and wished them success.

Acknowledging that the application process was quite rigorous, Minister Creed said that his Department was actively engaging with a number of producers with a view to progressing applications to national consultation stage. The Minister said “I think that there is real prospect that this engagement could result in Ireland doubling its PDO/PGI products. I really would also like to see a successful Irish application for Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status so that Ireland would feature in each of the three food GI regimes. This emphasis on quality recognition is entirely consistent with national policy for the development of the food sector and builds on Ireland’s already strong international reputation as a producer of world class food “

Note for Editors
"Oriel Sea Salt" is harvested from the bay of Port Oriel located in County Louth. It is almost powder-like to the touch and is naturally crystal white so it does not need to be washed or rinsed. "Oriel Sea Salt" is affected by the deep water currents, cleanliness, mineral content and purity of the water in this location and of the process used to make, preserve and refine these characteristics. Harvesting of sea salt in Port Oriel dates back centuries when salt was a vital ingredient in preserving fish landed at the harbour for consumption, storage and subsequent transport to market. "Oriel Sea Minerals" which are concentrated sea mineral salts in liquid form also become Protected Designation of Origin today. They represent a really good food supplement providing minerals to the body. With these two names, Ireland now has seven food names protected in the EU quality register.
· Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) :
is a product which originates in a specific place or region whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin in which at least one of the production steps takes place in the defined geographical area.


Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) :
identifies a product which originates in a specific place or region, whose quality or characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors and all production steps take place in the defined geographical area
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) : highlights traditional or specific
character, either in composition or processing or production method, or use of raw materials or ingredients with proven usage on the domestic market for 30 years or more that allows transmission between generations.

GIs are a type of intellectual property. In Ireland GIs are protected by Regulations, most recently, S.I. No. 296 of 2015 , against misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the products or services is indicated and expressions such as ‘’style’’, ‘’type’’, ‘’method’’, ‘’as produced in’’, ‘’imitation’’, or comparable terms.
Irish Protected Products
Ireland currently has four food PGI products -Clare Island Salmon, Connemara Hill Lamb, Timoleague Brown Pudding, Waterford Blaa/ Blaa and one PDO product -Imokilly Regato .
Clare Island Salmon - seasonal availability
Connemara Hill Lamb - (production peaks in September – www.connemarahilllamb.ie)
“Timoleague Brown Pudding” is currently not in production
“Waterford Blaa/ Blaa” (www.waterfordblaa.ie) (celebrated locally, also exported)
“Imokilly Regato PDO” manufactured in Mogeely Co. Cork, exported mainly to Greece. (www.dairygoldfoodingredients.com/Speciality-Cheese)

Spirit Drinks
Ireland also has three all-island protected spirit drinks under spirit drinks Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 – Irish whiskey, Irish Cream and Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín)