Butcher is hoping Cork spiced beef will be granted EU seal of approval

One of Cork’s best-known food products could soon be ranked alongside champagne and Parma ham as moves are under way to seek special EU legal protection for it.

Tom Durcan — a butcher based in the English Market who sold nine tonnes of his famous spiced beef over Christmas — confirmed he has had talks with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia about securing European Protected Geographical Indication for the delicacy which is produced using a secret family recipe.

Mr Durcan said: “We have had discussions about it and we are investigating it further.

“It sounds like a good idea but there is a long way to go yet.”

One of the hurdles facing the process is the fact that other forms of spiced beef are produced elsewhere in Cork, and in Dublin.

But Phil Prendergast, Labour MEP for Ireland South and a member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, said she is willing to help.

She argued successfully for Waterford’s humble floury bread bap, the blaa, to get a PGI designation last November.

The certification gives producers protection against the product being made and marketed outside the specified region.

Speaking on the campaign trail in Cork yesterday, she said she has written to a number of spiced beef producers in Cork encouraging them to apply for the PGI. The criteria for receiving the certificate are:

-The product must come from such a specific area or region;

-It must have a specific quality, goodwill or other characteristic property, attributable to its geographical origin;

-Its production, processing or preparation must take place within the determined geographical area.

Ms Prendergast — who argued for the blaa on the basis of its cultural tradition and the inherent geographical nature of the bread roll — said these conditions also exist for spiced beef in Cork.

“A PGI will ensure that the job of producing and selling spiced beef remains with Cork-based local businesses for many years to come,” she said.

“Spiced beef and the production of spiced beef is something which is a cultural tradition in Cork dating back to the 18th century when it was used to preserve the meat.

“Spiced beef recipes date back in Cork families and businesses for generations and it would be a shame, given its increasing popularity, if these traditions were to be lost in favour of an imitation product.”

Durcan Butchers have been selling their version of spiced beef since the mid 1980s. It has been on sale in SuperValu for over a year, alongside their own corned beef product.

Mr Durcan said he is in talks with other large retailers in the Irish market who want the products on their shelves, and with a large British retailer who wants to sell them in the UK.

Export orders for Durcan’s spiced beef have risen steadily over the years, with some 500 sides of the beef being sent overseas during Christmas — some to places as far away as Abu Dabi and Hong Kong.

Other Irish products given EU protected geographical status include Connemara Hill lamb, Timoleague brown pudding, Imokilly Regato cheese, and Clare Island salmon.