IF you enjoy indulging now and then in some of Scotland’s finest food and drink– a nip of Scotch whisky perhaps, a slice of Stornoway black pudding, or maybe the odd Arbroath smokie – you will know there are also some pretty poor imitations out there. They might look and smell like the real thing, they might even say they are the real thing, but far too often inferior products and poor knock-offs are being passed off as genuine Scottish produce.

The makers of Stornoway Black Pudding know how true this is. The popular product has been made on Lewis for centuries using exactly the same recipe and ingredients, but a few years ago there was so much concern about poorer quality black pudding being produced outwith Lewis and being passed off as bona fide, that butchers on the island launched a campaign for their dish to be awarded special European status to protect it from the copycats.

The butchers eventually won their campaign when the European Commission granted Stornoway Black Pudding Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) three years ago and it has since helped to eliminate the unfair competition and help make it clear when a product is not what it says it is. But should the makers of another fine Scottish product, smoked salmon, have the same protection extended to them?

Their case is strong. Like Stornoway Black Pudding, consumers are often faced with smoked salmon which is labelled as “Scottish-style”. Genuine Scottish salmon also has all the special qualities of the food and drink that is already protected, such as the smokie or whisky.

And if Scotland’s top drink export, whisky, has protected status, is there any reason why smoked salmon, which is Scotland’s top food export, should not? The exports of salmon may not be on the same scale as whisky, but they are worth £450million a year – and that deserves protecting – for the sake of the producers, but for the sake of consumers too.