Butchers must demonstrate that they can fully identify and seperate their approved GOS meat from other produce. Traditional Speciality Guaranteed LogoGloucestershire Old Spots Pork
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed
Awarded to the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders Club		  
 

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Consumers must have confidence that when they buy some GOS meat, it is the genuine article.

Ensuring low stocking rates is important.

GOS are hardy enough to be kept outddors in winter providing they have wetherproof shelter and dry ground available

What is a TSG?
A TSG is part of the European Protected Food Names Scheme.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/industry/regional/foodname/index.htm

It is much less well known than its counterparts, PDO (Protected Designated Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographic Indication) which is not surprising since this is only the second TSG awarded to a British product, (the first was Traditional Farmfresh Turkeys, some 10 years previously). PDOs and PGIs are awarded to products such as Champagne, Parma Ham and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies and they specify quite limited geographic areas where production may take place. The GOSPBC decided early on that these more common designations would not suit their application since its members were spread far and wide throughout the United Kingdom and so it was decided to pursue the TSG status.

The following has been taken from the Defra website and states how a TSG is defined:

Open to products which are traditional or have customary names and have a set of features which distinguish them from other similar products. These features must not be due to the geographical area the product is produced in nor entirely based on technical advances in the method of production.

So the TSG demonstrates the product’s unique traditional eating qualities irrespective of where the pigs in question are produced. To achieve TSG status, the GOSPBC worked closely with Bristol University on a number of scientific tests to demonstrate its unique qualities. The GOS is the first breed ?of any species in the world ?to be awarded TSG status. However, in the following sections, we demonstrate how the breed itself and the way the pigs are farmed does impact on eating enjoyment and thus there are restrictions on the use of the logo and the use of the breed name to describe the meat.
 

Traditionally Farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots Pork
Here is a link to the actual wording as agreed by the EU Commission:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2009:238:0008:0013:EN:PDF

Please note that whilst ‘pork?is specified, it relates to all edible products derived from a pig including bacon, ham, sausages, etc. It is also covers all the derivative names for the breed such as Gloucester Old Spot, Gloster Spots etc.

Producers of TSG GOS Pork Complying with the TSG Specification
The GOS Pig Breeders Club publishes the full database of approved breeders and herds. It is available here.

 
   
  Footer graphic: GOS pig walking from right to left
 

GOS Pig Breeders Club

Want to find out more about GOS pigs? Visit the GOS Pig Breeders Club. Click Here.

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