May 18, 2004

Brussels Blamed For Delay In Scotch Beef Achieving PGI Status

The reputation of Scotch beef took a bashing two years ago when it emerged that a minority proportion of the product sold carrying the Specially Selected label might have come from England.

The criterion then was that the beef must have come from cattle which had completed a 90-day residency in Scotland and had been processed in a Scottish plant.

The adverse reaction prompted Quality Meat Scotland to apply to Brussels for protected geographical indicator status, which applies high standards of traceability.

At the time Jim Walker, chairman of QMS, said that the industry had no alternative but to seek PGI status, which would entail all beef sold with the Specially Selected Scotch label coming from cattle born, reared and processed in Scotland.

From June 1 Scotland's beef industry should have had its PGI status. However, it may not now be achieved until July.

QMS communications manager Louise Welsh said: "It's disappointing after all the hard work that has been put in. The trouble is the paperwork is still crunching its way through Brussels."

Scotch beef has traditionally enjoyed a premium over the rest of the UK. Currently running at 6p per kilo above the national average, this gap has been as high as 25p.

Membership of the QMS farm assurance scheme is an integral component of the Specially Selected Scotch brand. More than 90% of beef farmers are members of the scheme. That information is available at most cattle sales.

However, the advancement of technology moved up a gear yesterday in Castle Douglas where Wallets Marts became the first company in Scotland to introduce a wider range of information through an update in computer software.

Robin Anderson, managing director of Wallets said: "We are taking paperwork out of the chain by linking in with the QMS website and the information it holds on members.

"The passports are scanned in the main office and the information is fed to a laptop on the auctioneer's rostrum. From there we can show on a screen in the ring the number of animals offered, the breed, sex, how many Beef Special Premium claims have been made, the age, and, most importantly, the QMS status."

The system found favour with buyers around the ring at Castle Douglas. Margaret Kingan, who buys around 850 store animals each year, said: "It is very important that we know the cattle are genuinely Scottish. If they are not, we lose out when they come to be slaughtered."