Cumbrian butchers are to ask the EU to trademark the Cumberland sausage.
The Cumberland Sausage Association said it was finishing off the paperwork on its bid for Protected Denomination of Origin status. If successful, qualifying sausages would have to be made in Cumbria from at least 80% meat.
In order to pre-empt opposition from other sausage manufacturers, the CSA has only applied to trademark the term 'traditional Cumberland sausage'. Borough market farmer and butcher Peter Gott said: "If we hadn't included the word 'traditional', there'd definitely have been some opposition from companies with established businesses making the sausage.
"Now those that want to join the club in Cumbria can do so, while those making inferior sausage can also carry on doing that."
The bid has had support from Food from Britain, and will now be vetted by Defra before being forwarded to Brussels. The process is likely to take at least a year.
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