Publication of an application for the approval of a Union amendment to a product specification pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2025-07-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Scotland, United Kingdom, consumer information, designation of origin, fresh fish, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, sea fish








C_202504219EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/4219


25.7.2025






Publication of an application for the approval of a Union amendment to a product specification pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
(C/2025/4219)

Within three months from the date of this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), an opposition with the Commission.
The product specification referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 is available in the Union register of geographical indications.
APPLICATION FOR A UNION AMENDMENT TO THE PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN OR PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION
(Regulation (EU) NO 1151/2012)
Application for approval of a Union amendment in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012


                     ‘Scottish Farmed Salmon’
                  


EU No: PGI-GB-0141-AM01 – 2.5.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of product


               ‘Scottish Farmed Salmon’
            
2.   Applicant group and legitimate interest

Name: Salmon Scotland Ltd (SC152347)
Address: Floor 3, Venue Studios, 21 Calton Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8DL
            
Tel. +44 (0)131 202 6621
Email: enquiries@salmonscotland.co.uk

Composition: Producers/processors
Salmon Scotland (formerly the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation) is the trade body representing the Scottish salmon production sector. Its current membership produces 100 % of the salmon farmed in Scotland as well as upstream supply chain actors. It represents the sector in political, regulatory, technical, and public fora. The organisation has well defined, formal ties with all companies producing salmon within Scotland and provides a key route for the dissemination of information, including research and innovation outputs.
3.   Third country to which the geographical area belongs

United Kingdom
4.   Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment(s)







☒


Name of product










☐


Link










☐


Marketing restrictions




5.   Type of amendment(s)

Change of name
6.   Amendment(s)

Change of Name from ‘Scottish Farmed Salmon’ to ‘Scottish Salmon’
            
Changes in global seafood production trends as well as evolving political and legislative regimes in the region where Scottish salmon are grown has meant that the term ‘farmed’ has become redundant. Almost all Atlantic salmon available to the consumer are farmed and this has been the case since at least 1982. Scottish salmon is offered as a premium offering in all major supermarkets in the UK and across the globe and is labelled as ‘Scottish salmon’. Scottish salmon is facing increased competition from imported, commoditised product, often of lower quality, and this is leading to increased risk of food fraud.
The advent of the UK leaving the EU has meant that our sector is working harder than ever to protect, cement and improve valuable export markets – Scottish salmon exports remain the UKs single biggest food export. Our supply chains work hard to mitigate the risks of food fraud and Scottish salmon, as a premium market offering is often at risk. Amending the name of this PGI will allow the Scottish salmon sector and our supply chains, regulators and enforcement to act more quickly and definitively when investigating possible food fraud cases. This amendment aims to remove potential labelling ambiguities.
Additionally, this amendment proposal seeks to end any divergence between regulatory rules of origin and the specifications that underpin the farming conditions employed. This amendment also seeks to align nomenclature between UK and EU conventions and the French government, specifically in the context of the Label Rouge scheme.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Scottish Salmon’
                  


EU No: PGI-GB-0141-AM01 – 2.5.2024
                  


PGI (X) PDO ( )

1.   Name(s) (of PDO or PGI)


               ‘Scottish Salmon’
            
2.   Member State or third country

United Kingdom
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product (as in Annex XI implementing regulation 668/2014)
Class 1.7 Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived therefrom
Combined nomenclature code:
03 – FISH AND CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS AND OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES

                  0302  – Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 
               

                  0302 14  – Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Danube salmon (Hucho hucho)
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

Scottish Salmon must be typical of the species, Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon). Scottish Salmon have a consistent shape. The fish must have a rounded ventral body shape when viewed laterally and the body wall musculature should show no significant tendency to collapse when carcass is eviscerated. Scottish Salmon have an iridescent appearance and are silver in colour. The flesh colour must have a minimum intensity of 26 on the SalmoFan™ scale. Scottish Salmon flesh is firm with a fibrous but smooth and even texture. Scottish Salmon have a consistent flavour primarily due to rapid chilling post-harvest.
Processing practices must provide for samples of Scottish Salmon to be evaluated against defined bacteriological criteria to ensure that, overall, hygiene procedures are effective, and that the microbiological quality of the products is being maintained at a satisfactory level.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

—
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The production process can be divided into multiple stages, where salmon ongrowing must take place in the identified geographical area. The first stage involves raising the fish from ova through to the smolt stage and all this is done within a freshwater environment. At the smolt stage the fish are transferred into sea pens in lochs and inlets around the Scottish coast for a period of up to 2 years. The salmon are fed on compound rations which may include fish meal, fish oil and a basket of other ingredients to ensure that they are provided with all of their nutritional requirements.
The final stage involves the humane harvesting of the salmon using methods which ensure that they are rapidly stunned and then bled. This ensures high flesh quality, and the process is underpinned by robust hygiene protocols. They are then gutted as soon as possible and brought down to a packaging temperatures of 0-2 °C before being packed into food grade boxes/containers to protect the product during handling, storage and transit and all packing is carried out in line with stringent protocols governing temperature controls, hygiene standards and product grading. The salmon is stored and distributed to the consumer in line with strict hygiene standards, including temperature control at between 0-2 °C.
Independent inspectors rigorously enforce the quality of Scottish Salmon. Farms and packing stations undergo frequent, detailed checks.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

The entire range of ‘Scottish Salmon’ products, presentations and dishes including frozen, smoked, ready meals, salmon mousse and salmon pâté are allowed to bear this designation with obligatory mention of the place of manufacture on their label accompanied by the reference to the manufacturing process. Scottish Salmon, which is not presented as a single ingredient, fresh, chilled, product to the consumer (and not previously frozen) may benefit from the aforementioned designation but must state either ‘Made with Scottish Salmon’, ‘Made using Scottish Salmon’, ‘Contains Scottish Salmon’ or lists Scottish Salmon as an ingredient on product packaging, as appropriate.
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The coastal region of mainland Scotland, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland Isles
5.   Link with the geographical area

Scottish Salmon are grown in the Scottish marine environment. It is the salmon stage of production (the stage between smolt and harvest), in this environment, that underpins this Protected Geographical Indication. For Scottish Salmon, the designated production area provides a unique environment which produces the characteristic features of Scottish Salmon. In particular, these include:






—


High flushing rates of sea lochs and voes which provide strong currents ensuring that the salmon are continually swimming. This in turn produces the distinctive firm-textured flesh and prevents excessive fat deposition.










—


High rates of water exchange ensure a good oxygen supply which increases the salmon’s metabolic rate and leads to a beneficial effect on the size and weight of the salmon.










—


The high quality, North Atlantic oceanic water enables the salmon to grow evenly and to a consistent shape.










—


The small fluctuation in water temperature over any given year means that the fish can be cultivated in a relatively stable environment which in turn produces an even and consistent flavour and texture with no ‘off flavour’.





Reference to publication of the specification


https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/scottish-farmed-salmon__;!!DOxrgLBm!AkVppUW2QJqBLTeZG72wW7LrlXn9GqLmysy7H6BJcWRVR06sTMGc1BAy8RPv41sc9flnF3SCSFoG880ZDX2mU8ORgZl2ZvNOTw$


https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6628b6acb0ace32985a7e503/Product_Specification__Scottish_Salmon_2024_final.pdf__;!!DOxrgLBm!AkVppUW2QJqBLTeZG72wW7LrlXn9GqLmysy7H6BJcWRVR06sTMGc1BAy8RPv41sc9flnF3SCSFoG880ZDX2mU8ORgZn8TGtFTg$



(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/4219/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)