BYE PIE

Bad news for litigation-lovers. Northern Foods (of the not quite Melton Mowbray pork pie fame) has dropped its appeal against the decision in its unsuccessful judicial review of DEFRA’s definition of the zone from which ‘genuine’ Melton Mowbray pies can come. Northern Foods had claimed that the zone had been artificially enlarged to include a company dominant in the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, but at the same time had been drawn up in a way which excluded other companies.

Northern Food’s decision follows an assurance from DEFRA that, if the European Commission does recognise Melton Mowbray as a PGI, companies will be given 5 years to transfer production in the designated zone.

Northern Foods will also withdraw from the ECJ reference made in March of this year.

The IPKat (not a pork pie consumer himself) can understand why Northern Foods would want to avoid further costly litigation, but there’s an air of unfinished business about the whole thing. Northern Food’s case amounts to a claim that the UK Government was (perhaps unwittingly) prepared to go forward with an application to the Commission for a false zone, in order to protect the business interests of a favoured group of traders. This is a claim of a degree of seriousness that exceeds the facts of this individual case.