Last week I was asked by a Shetland Sheep breeder in England if the EU protected food name regulations prevent their advertising and labelling the meat from their flock of Shetland sheep as Shetland Lamb. The enquiry came to me because I have flocks of Shetland Sheep both on Shetland and the Scottish mainland.

The short answer is that lamb of the Shetland Breed can be marketed as Shetland Lamb.

Here is the official word from Defra’s Food Policy Unit: -

“Under the provisions of the legislation for protecting food names, it is not possible for producers to reserve exclusive use of a breed name for themselves. Therefore other producers of lamb from the Shetland breed are able to use the name ‘Shetland Lamb’ where that meat derives from the Shetland breed. If labelling of lamb of the breed ‘Shetland’ not produced on the Shetland Isles is clear about provenance then there is no breach of the protection granted to Shetland Lamb by virtue of its PDO status as the production area of the lamb is clearly identified.”

Since this was written the regulations have been amended, and require all protected food name products to be labelled with the appropriate symbol beside the product name. In the case of Shetland Lamb it is the red and yellow “Protected Designation of Origin” logo

Policed by Trading Standards Officers, The EU Regulations protect a group of more than 40 products from,
• Imitation
• Evocation
• False or misleading indication as to the provenance
• Exploitation of the reputation
• Direct misuse of the name
• Indirect misuse of the name
• Any other practice liable to mislead the consumer!

I interpret this to mean that there must be no suggestion of association with Shetland terrior and the area of production should be unequivocal on my labelling and in my advertising. For my lamb produced in East Lothian, I use the trading name Briggs’ Lamb & Mutton and I state "Produce of East Lothian" next to and in bolder type than “Shetland lamb” on my label.

What I may not do is use the PDO logo on lamb labelling and advertising unless it was born, raised and slaughtered in Shetland.

May sunshine in 2013 has enabled me to get the early clipping done outside. A first in several years. Usually I have to set up a clean area inside, gather the sheep under cover when they are dry, and work away whatever the weather. However, it is a much easier job if the sheep have the sun on their back to soften the lanolin in the wool and create a natural rise in the wool for the clippers to slide into.

Clipping is all about rhythm and horned rams do their best to disrupt things with their horns. Each has its own style of head gear and you never quite know when an individual will try and spear you with a point. During sparing within the group, they get very skilled at picking the moment to use their implements to best advantage. Most awkward of all is my old Suffolk. No problem with horns here or even kicking. The difficulty comes from his bulk and the fact that he has learned that the best way for him to object to not getting his own way is to play dead. The only way to get the job done is to drag him in range of the machine, clip what can be reached, stop to manhandle the hulk into a different position, and do some more.

It is always a relief to move on to the ewes, even if they do wriggle a bit if you give them a chance.

Yesterday the vet came to scan the batch of ewes due to start lambing on 16th February. The primary objective is to identify the pregnant sheep who will get supplementary feed an closer attention as lambing time approaches.

The ulta-sound scan instantly shows the placenta if the ewe is pregnant.  Sometimes you can see a
beating heart or a backbone

Back home today after five days in Turin taking part in Slow Food’s International Congress which ran alongside their Terra Madre food conference and their Salone Del Gusto food market. My head is full of
discoveries; new flavours, wonderful people and worldwide issues. Plenty of stories to fill my blog pages in the coming weeks. Overriding all that is the thought that I should be selling Reestit Mutton.

The Slow Food keeps a register called The Ark of Taste. It is a listing of traditional foods that have been side-lined by the mainstream food industry. They are just waiting to be discovered by those prepared to look outside the supermarket shelf or buy with one click on the internet. In simple terms the mutton is pickled in brine and air dried.

Familiar to Shetlanders, Reestit Mutton is one of Shetland’s traditional foods that are included in The Ark of Taste. I took some to Italy to be included as one of the offerings of Scottish Crofting Produce at Salone Del Gusto. Judging by the reaction of visitors from every continent, it has a worldwide appeal. Whilst I have no ambitions to feed the world, with the help of The Royal Mail, I can make it available to all UK mainland post codes. Next year I will endeavour use my own mutton but for now I can source it from my local butcher J & K Anderson