Cucumber growers in bid for EC protection

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Oct 2011, 00:27 BST

THE Cornish pasty has it and so does the Melton Mowbray pork pie – and now cucumbers could join them after growers applied for protected status from the European Commission for the salad item.

The Lea Valley Growers’ Association (LVGA) in Hertfordshire has made a bid for the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label, which would see its cucumbers officially renamed and sold as Lea Valley cucumbers.

Lea Valley is the UK’s largest cucumber producer and is responsible for 80 million each year – accounting for 75 per cent of the country’s total – the association says.