4. Dairy and Eggs

Legal Requirements

Cheeses (PGI): Dorset Blue, Exmoor Blue, Teviotdale.

Cornish Clotted Cream (PDO)

Cheeses (PDO): Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire, Blue Stilton, Bonchester, Buxton Blue, Dovedale, Single Gloucester, Staffordshire, Swaledale, Swaledale Ewes, West Country Farmhouse  Cheddar, White Stilton.

Dairy products, and in particular, cheese names are amongst the most popular food type to have legal status as ‘Protected Food Names’ within the EU via a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) or Protected Designation Origin (PDO). It means that the cream or cheeses have been made in the named areas, using recognised methods.
 
Menus using such descriptions must ensure the clotted cream or cheeses meet such legal definitions.
 
Applications for EU Protected Food Names are also currently being processed for Orkney Island Cheddar, Traditional Ayrshire Dunlop and Yorkshire Wensleydale cheeses.

Best Practice Guidelines

There is no obligation on caters to show the origin of any dairy products or eggs on their menus, but if they choose to do so, they are required by food and trading standards law to ensure that their descriptions do not mislead the customer.

When origin information such as a country, region or farm name is provided for customers, make sure this is where the dairy product or eggs actually came from.

How to Apply in Your Business

Checking labels, asking your supplier for more details on the actual source of dairy products or eggs, or buying direct from the farm or dairy may enable you to make more accurate or detailed origin claims.

Where hen eggs are supplied direct from the farm to caterers, that farm needs to be a registered packing station; supplying graded and stamped eggs.

Suppliers of eggs from ducks, geese, turkeys, quail or other minority avian species do not need to be registered, grade or stamp eggs.