FIGHT TO SAVE HISTORIC 'CIDER BRANDY'

1.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 4th Oct 2007

A local Euro MP has joined the fight to save the name of one of the region's oldest distilled drinks. New draft EU regulations covering spirits have been published and omit the term cider brandy, a drink that can trace its origins back to 1678.

Liz Lynne, MEP for the West Midlands region, was alerted to the omission by a producer in her constituency, the Hereford Cider Museum Trust, and has now co-tabled an urgent European Parliamentary Question to the Commission to try to save the name before the final regulations are published.

Liz Lynne said:

"I was naturally alarmed to hear that a drink of such international reputation and historical importance has been left out of this new draft legislation.

"Any forced name change would do untold financial damage to producers in Herefordshire, Somerset and Normandy, not only a loss of sales created by the name confusion, but also the re-labelling and marketing which would be necessary. It may also hurt associated business such as the Cider Museum in Hereford.

"I will do whatever I can to ensure this mistake is corrected and we can continue to enjoy this historic tipple with its traditional name intact."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

On the 27th of September, Liz Lynne co-tabled the following Priority Written Question to the European Commission with Graham Watson (LibDem, South West & Gibraltar) and Dutch Liberal MEP Jules Maaten:

1. Is the Commission aware of the impact the current wording of proposal 2005/2006 (COD) on spirit drinks will have on producers of Cider Brandy, such as those in Somerset, Hereford and Normandy? Previous regulation on spirit drinks (1576/89) included reference to 'cider brandy', but the new wording omits this in place of 'cider spirit' (Section 10). It is of huge importance to the producers of Cider Brandy that its name remains the same. Cider Brandy dates back to 1678 and in 2007 has a worldwide reputation.

2. What steps can the Commission take to help producers of cider brandy stuck in this position?

More information on the Hereford Cider Museum Trust can be found at: http://www.cidermuseum.co.uk