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Just in time for Christmas: IP protection on a plate

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

You may know Lapin Poron kuivaliha like this ...

With the prolonged end-of-year festive season looming ever closer, Santa Claus is probably already working hard in his North Pole HQ to ensure that his elite team of reindeer will be ready for the challenge of delivering presents to the European Union's 100 million children without falling foul of the myriad of regulations under EU and national law governing health and safety at work, the transport of quadruped mammals rangifer tarandus, the monitoring of potential paedophiles and the minimum and maximum sizes of chimneys through which the presents must be delivered.

... but to others he looks more like this

Now Santa has one more thing to deal with: the proper appellation of his reindeer. Only a couple of short weeks ago the European Commission passed Commission Regulation (EU) No 970/2010 of 28 October 2010 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Lapin Poron kuivaliha (PDO)). With his vast and unparalleled knowledge of European languages the IPKat soon spotted that this was not a French lapin, otherwise known as a rabbit, but a Finnish one -- a reindeer, and a very tasty one at that.

For those who need to distinguish one reindeer from another, here's some helpful information.  According to the specification for this PDO,

Lapin Poron kuivaliha (dried Lapland reindeer meat) is made from whole muscle (muscle groups) and pieces of muscle. The connective tissues between the muscles are visible, but hardly any fat can be seen in them with the naked eye. The meat is very fine-grained and dense, and the fibres cannot be distinguished on the cut surface. It is finer-grained than other dried meats. Depending on the dryness of the product, the structure of the cut surface is dull matt and smooth. The cut surface is darker than in other types of meat; a brown tinge is another distinguishing feature.

Good news for small children who prefer to play with their food rather than with their toys is that

Although the product is soft inside, it does not separate easily when bent, but does separate when chewed, and the effect is delicate and not stringy. The ease with which it separates is a characteristic feature, and the connective tissues between the muscles also separate easily and are easy to swallow.

Will Lapin Poron kuivaliha ever catch on as a big brand among Europe's protected indications of origin, asks the IPKat? Only time will tell.  Merpel, ever cynical, hopes that some kind person will send her some data -- preferably publishable -- on how much money and effort is spent in Europe on securing EU Regulations for the hugely powerful protection which is accorded to a large number of fairly descriptive and in some cases highly obscure product names.  Is it really worth the effort and the expense, he mewses.

Winterval here
Reindeer recipes here and here
Copyright-protected reindeer here
World's most celebrated deer fatality here

Full post as published by IPKat on November 11, 2010 (boomark / email).