Japan gives Staffordshire Cheese protected status

Staffordshire is home to one of the UK's biggest cheese events

Staffordshire Cheese has been designated with protected status in Japan, along with a range of other British food and drink products.

Other products to be protected include Cornish Pasties and Anglesey Sea Salt., which will now be safeguarded against imitation in the East Asian country.

The government said businesses in the UK had welcomed the announcement.

It is understood a second group of protections will be announced once further work has concluded.

A government spokesperson said: “Japan’s population of 125 million has a strong appetite for international food and drink.”

They added: “Securing geographical indications for iconic British products such as Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Welsh Beef and Staffordshire Cheese prevents counterfeit products being placed on the Japanese market, ensuring UK businesses can export with confidence and consumers receive authentic, high-quality products.

Food and farming minister Mark Spencer said the protection offered a “guarantee of quality” and an “assurance” to Japanese consumers over the goods they were buying.

'Traditional British cheese'

Mary Button from Cheddleton-based Staffordshire Cheese Co said it meant anybody seeking to make a Staffordshire cheese must meet strict criteria in order to use the name.

These spell out the geographical area it comes from, how it is made, and its size.

“If somebody produced a cheese and weren’t following the specifications that would get them in trouble,” said Ms Button.

She described Staffordshire Cheese as being based on a traditional, hard-pressed, British cheese.

It is thought to have been made in the county for hundreds of years.

Ms Button said her company was the only producer currently making it.

Alongside the new protections in Japan, the UK will also be protecting the geographical indications of several Japanese food and drink products, including Hokkaido wine and Hiba beef.