Campaigners behind a bid to win protected status for the Melton Mowbray pork pie yesterday welcomed a company's decision to drop its legal challenge.
People living in and around the Leicestershire birthplace of the famous pastry are battling to get the same safe-guards enjoyed by Champagne and Parma ham.
Under "protected geographical status", a manufacturer must be based in a certain area to lay claim to making a product bearing the place's name.
But a Defra-backed application to European commissioners by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association for such status was opposed by Northern Foods.
The Leeds-based company took the case to the High Court, claiming it would unfairly benefit a rival based in the East Midlands.
Now, the business has announced it is withdrawing the appeal because it has been given five years to move its own Melton Mowbray pork pie production to within the protected area.
Association chairman Matthew O'Callaghan said: "Our campaign to register the pie has always been about ensuring consumers are not misled when they buy a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie.
"This is a good day for British regional foods and hopefully an end to this costly and unnecessary legal battle."
The pies are made in their own unique way, with fresh pork instead of cured, and baked free-standing so they are bow-sided.
Carol Williams, Head of Legal at Northern Foods, said: "We have consistently argued that the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie application represented a cynical misuse of EU rules by the dominant producer in the market, for its own commercial advantage. The clarification we have obtained from Defra vindicates our approach and ensures a level playing field for the industry."
