An application has been submitted for Devon Cider to become a protected brand, only able to be used by companies actually producing cider within the county.
Currently, the name is not protected, meaning alcohol produced in any geographical location can sport the brand.
The application was submitted by The Devon Cidermakers Guild, a body comprising of six cider producers and two retailers.
If passed, to be called ‘Devon Cider’ the cider must be made entirely from apples grown in the county and consist of at least 90% Devon apple juice when offered for sale.
It compares with just 35% required by the National Association of Cider Makers.
The remaining 10% volume can be made up of:
- 3% can be sugars added to a fermentation;
- 6% can be added as natural sweetener or sweetening sugar;
- 0.5% can be added as malic acid;
- 0.5% is water picked up in filtration or racking and trace amounts of other
additions appropriate when producing cider.
What is PDO status?
The application calls for the product to have PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status.
PDO status is only granted to products with a strong link to the defined geographical area where they are produced.
It compares with PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status for agricultural products and foods linked to a geographical area where at least one production step has taken place.
The idea of the logos is that it allows consumers to easily recognise these traditional quality products and trust their authenticity regarding their regional origin or traditional production.
As well as providing a useful marketing tool, registration under these schemes provides producers with legal protection against imitation or misuse of the product name.
The United Kingdom has a total of 65 products with protected status. The list currently includes Jersey Royals, Orkney beef, the Traditional Cumberland sausage and Stilton cheese.
