Devon cream tea campaign put to government

Campaigners say Devon cream teas should come from the county

Campaigners are travelling to London in their fight to protect the name of Devon cream teas.

They are meeting the Department of Food and Rural Affairs which they hope will take the case for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status to the EU.

If the Devon cream tea wins PDO status, it will join Cornish clotted cream and the Cornish sardine.

PDO would mean teas must be produced, processed or prepared in Devon.

The bid, which has been launched following calls to BBC Radio Devon, was prompted by concern over poor-quality versions of the cream and jam-laden scones and tea.

If successful, Devon cream teas will join other protected names such as Stilton Cheese, Jersey Royal Potatoes and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies.

Paul Winterton, general manager at Langage Farm, told BBC News: "We are very confident we can pull this off.

"We have been working on this for some months so we have most of the evidence.

"I think it should be quite a straightforward process."