The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, TD, and Mr. Andrew Muir MLA, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland, hosted a joint event in Donegal on the 1st of March 2024, to mark the registration of Irish Grass Fed Beef as an all island Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Bord Bia and the Livestock and Meat Commission, the applicants for the PGI joined the Ministers on behalf of producers and processors.
Speaking at the event, Minister McConaloge said: “The collaboration between my Department (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine), Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Bord Bia and the Livestock and Meat Commission is reflective of the valuable and ongoing north-south co-operation on agricultural matters and our positive engagements in the interests of farmers and processors across the island.”
Securing the PGI status was hailed as recognition of premium Irish standards and places Irish Grass Fed Beef on the same pedestal as world-renowned products such as Champagne, Parma Ham and Roquefort Cheese.
Bord Bia will soon launch a campaign to promote Irish beef with PGI status across European markets. The initial focus will be on the Italian market which has been identified as having the highest recognition of products with this status. Planned marketing activities include a trade campaign, a pilot consumer campaign, and engagement with chefs, influencers, and relevant media to build the awareness and understanding of Irish grass-fed production methods. The PGI symbol will help consumers to identify Irish Grass Fed Beef products in key export markets. Research has identified markets such as Belgium, Switzerland, France and Germany as the main markets to be targeted in the future.
Irish Grass Fed Beef now joins spirit drinks such as Irish Whiskey, Irish Cream and Irish Poitín as an all island Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Read more about PGI here.
