The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association is a group of pork pie manufacturers in the Melton Mowbray area of England, UK. The association was set up in 1998 with the aim of helping to protect the Melton Mowbray pork pie recipe.
The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association is a group of pork pie manufacturers in the Melton Mowbray area of England, UK. The association was set up in 1998 with the aim of helping to protect the Melton Mowbray pork pie recipe.
In 1999 the association, a group of seven local manufacturers, applied to the EU to have their products categorised as having Protected Geographical Indication, to ensure that only pies made in an area around Melton Mowbray could use the Melton Mowbray name.
Northern Foods, a large food corporation, tried to prevent this move over the usage of "Melton Mowbray" on the wrappings of its own pork pies. Northern Foods viewed the situation as unfair and stated in press releases that the MMPPA's dominant member, Samworth Brothers, has made cured and uncured pork pies in Leicester and that the designation area was shaped to include the Samworth factory there. According to Northern Foods, 99% of the pork pies made under the association banner are made by Samworth Brothers. [1] Northern Foods took the matter to the European Court of Justice, [2] but the appeal was eventually withdrawn. [3] Northern Foods' move against the new requirements was dismissed by the High Court.
The PGI application was finally granted on 4 April 2008 [4] and the PGI status came into effect in July 2009.
The name Melton Mowbray can now only be applied to uncured pork-filled pies cooked without supporting hoops and made within an area around the town bounded by the M1, A45, A605, A1 and A52 but including Grantham, Northampton, Nottingham and Stamford, a total of approximately 1,800 square miles (4,700 square kilometres). Permissible ingredients are fresh pork (pies must be at least 30% meat), shortening (usually lard), pork gelatine or stock, wheat flour, water, salt and spices (predominantly pepper). Artificial colours, flavours and preservatives are not allowed.
Prior to PGI status coming into effect, Pork Farms (which had taken over Northern Foods' pork pie interests) announced that their Bowyers factory at Trowbridge in Wiltshire would close with the loss of 400 jobs. Production of the (mainly Melton Mowbray branded) pies was transferred to Nottingham, which is inside the area in which Melton Mowbray pies can be made under the PGI rules. [5]
Members argue that the association provides protection for smaller producers.
Current members [6] are:
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutland. The region has a land area of 15,624 km2 (6,032 sq mi), with an estimated population 4,934,939 in 2022. With a sufficiency-level world city ranking, Nottingham is the only settlement in the region to be classified by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Leicestershire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton district in Leicestershire, England, 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Leicester, and 20 miles (32 km) south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population of 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promoted as Britain's "Rural Capital of Food"; it is the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie and is the location of one of six licensed makers of Stilton cheese.
Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect names of agricultural products and foodstuffs, wines and spirits. Products registered under one of the three schemes may be marked with the logo for that scheme to help identify those products. The schemes are based on the legal framework provided by the EU Regulation No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs. This regulation applies within the EU as well as in Northern Ireland. Protection of the registered products is gradually expanded internationally via bilateral agreements between the EU and non-EU countries. It ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed to be identified as such in commerce. The legislation first came into force in 1992. The purpose of the law is to protect the reputation of the regional foods, promote rural and agricultural activity, help producers obtain a premium price for their authentic products, and eliminate the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavour. Critics argue that many of the names, sought for protection by the EU, have become commonplace in trade and should not be protected.
Melton is a local government district with borough status in north-eastern Leicestershire, England. It is named after its only town, Melton Mowbray. The borough also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The north of the district includes part of the Vale of Belvoir. Melton is the least populous district of its type and the fourth least populous district in England overall.
A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold. It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock in a hot water crust pastry. It is normally eaten as a snack or with a salad.
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West Bridgford is a town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Rushcliffe, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies south of Nottingham city centre, east of Wilford, north of Ruddington and west of Radcliffe-on-Trent. It is also southwest of Colwick and southeast of Beeston which are on the opposite bank of the River Trent. The town is part of the Nottingham Urban Area and had a population of 36,487 in a 2021-census.
The Vale of Belvoir covers adjacent areas of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name derives from the Norman-French for "beautiful view" and dates back to Norman times.
The Nottingham–Grantham line is a branch line between the city of Nottingham and the town of Grantham in the East Midlands of England. For most of its length it runs parallel to the A52.
Pigs, widespread in societies around the world since neolithic times, have been used for many purposes in art, literature, and other expressions of human culture. In classical times, the Romans considered pork the finest of meats, enjoying sausages, and depicting them in their art. Across Europe, pigs have been celebrated in carnivals since the Middle Ages, becoming specially important in Medieval Germany in cities such as Nuremberg, and in Early Modern Italy in cities such as Bologna.
The Newmarket sausage is a pork sausage made to a traditional recipe from the English town of Newmarket, Suffolk. Two varieties of Newmarket Sausage are made branded with the names of two different family butchers. Both are sold widely throughout the United Kingdom. In October 2012 the Newmarket sausage was awarded Protected Geographical Indicator of Origin (PGI) status. The flavourings used in a Newmarket sausage are black & white pepper, salt, thyme, parsley and nutmeg.
Lincolnshire sausages are a distinctive variety of pork sausage developed in and associated with the English county of Lincolnshire.
Winter salami is a type of Hungarian salami produced according to a centuries-old tradition. Made from Mangalitsa pork and spices, winter salami is cured in cold air and smoked slowly. During the dry ripening process, a special noble-mold is formed on the casing surface.
Pork Farms is a Nottingham-based British producer and distributor of mainly pork-based bakery products. The company grew from a pie shop founded in 1931, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1971. After several sales and amalgamations, since 2017 the brand has been owned by Lloyds Development Capital.
Bowyers was a company known for the manufacture of meat products, including a brand of sausages, which was based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. The company was acquired by Northern Foods in 1985, and passed through two other owners until the Trowbridge factory was closed in 2007. The brand is used by Addo Food Group for ranges of sausage rolls, pork pies and quiches.
Samworth Brothers is a British food manufacturer which produces a range of chilled and ambient foods, both own-label and branded. It is the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters and malt loaf manufacturer Soreen, and is also known as a maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies.
Saxby Bros Limited was a food manufacturing company based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, who manufactured pork pies, delicatessen, meat and pastry products. In 2007, the company was taken over by General Mills, which led to its closure a year later. The factory is now demolished and redeveloped for housing.
Michael Kirk is a small family firm of butchers in Wolverhampton, England, established in 1934, which has won several prizes for their pies, including National Pork Pie Champion, 2005, and for their sausages.