Scotland is famed for the quality of its food and drink with exports making up a significant part of the economy. Increasingly the special geographic products are being recognised and protected. Orkney seems to have had a real push to have their unique food heritage recognised.
Here is a list of protected labels : I may add to it over time.
Meat
Orkney beef |
PDO |
1996 |
Limited to products produced and reared on Orkney, using traditional methods. The cattle must be slaughtered and prepared on Orkney. |
North Ronaldsay sheep, Orkney lamb |
PDO |
1996 |
Limited to products produced and reared on Orkney, using traditional methods. The lambs must be slaughtered and prepared on Orkney. |
Scotch beef |
PGI |
2004 |
Limited to products produced in Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney. Products must be produced from cattle reared, slaughtered and dressed in Scotland. |
Scotch lamb |
PGI |
2004 |
Limited to products produced in Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney. Products must be produced from lamb reared, slaughtered and dressed in Scotland. |
Shetland lamb |
PDO |
1996 |
Limited to products produced, processed and prepared on Shetland, using traditional methods. Products must be produced from lambs no more than 12 months old at the time of slaughter. |
Meat Products
Stornoway black pudding |
PGI |
2013 |
Limited to products produced using a traditional recipe with a prescribed ratio of ingredients and within the vicinity of Isle of Lewis and “the surrounding ‘Stornoway Trust’ area”. |
Cheese
Orkney Scottish island cheddar |
PGI |
2013 |
Limited to cheese produced on Orkney, using milk from locally grazed cows. |
Teviotdale cheese |
PGI |
1998 |
Limited to cheese produced within a 90 km radius of the summit of Peel Fell. The product must be produced using unpasteurised whole milk from Jersey cows. The product must have a minimum fat content of 48% and a maximum water content of 48%. |
Fish and Shellfish
Arbroath smokies |
PGI |
2004 |
Limited to products produced within “a coastal corridor with an inland boundary 8 kilometres radius from Arbroath Town House and extending to the community of West Mains in the north and the community of East Haven in the south” and purchased at designated Scottish fish markets. Products must be produced using traditional methods. |
Scottish farmed salmon |
PGI |
2008 |
Limited to Atlantic salmon that have been “conventionally and organically” farmed on the west coast of Scotland, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. |
Scottish wild salmon |
PGI |
2012 |
Limited to Atlantic salmon caught up to 1500 metres from the coast of Scotland, using prescribed methods. |
Wool and Textiles
Native Shetland wool |
PDO |
2011 |
Limited to products produced on Shetland, using traditional methods. Products must come from pure bred Shetland sheep who have been grazed organically on Shetland. |
Harris Tweed |
Act |
1993 |
Must be made from pure virgin wool which has been dyed and spun on the islands and handwoven at the home of the weaver in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. |
Drink (OK Whisky)
Scotch whisky |
PGI |
2008 |
Limited to whisky that is produced in Scotland. The final product must not be sweetened or flavoured, other than the addition of plain caramel as a colouring. The product must have an abv of at least 40%.[77] |

- Protected Designation of Origin (PDO): this designation covers products that are “produced, processed and prepared” in a specific area, using a particular, usually traditional, method.
- Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): this designation covers products whose “production, processing or preparation” takes places in a specific area.
- Harris Tweed Act 1993 https://www.harristweed.org/about-us/guardians-of-the-orb/
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