Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead with Dundee bakers, from left, Alan Clark, Martin Goodfellow and Iain Murray.
As the Flower and Food festival began, political dignitaries from Dundee and beyond gathered to protect one of the city’s most coveted culinary delights.
Dundee cake, believed to have been developed in the 1700s, is a key part of the city’s heritage.
However, its authenticity is now under threat from inadequate impersonators and legislators are anxious to protect it.
The plan, announced yesterday by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead, is to get Dundee cake Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status under the EU’s Protected Food Name (PFN) scheme.
PGI status effectively means that a product called Dundee cake can only be made in Dundee.
This is similar to other products such as Parma Ham, which can only come from Parma, Italy, or Champagne. Other Scottish products already with the status include Scotch Beef and Arbroath Smokies.
Mr Lochhead said: “Dundee is famous as a city of discoveries and we want the world to discover delicious, authentic Dundee cake.
“We can trace its origins back hundreds of years. Achieving PGI status for Dundee cake will ensure that consumers at home and abroad have a one 100% guarantee of the product’s authenticity.”
