The UK’s Upper Tribunal has granted permission for an appeal in a legal challenge against a controversial decision to remove the word “farmed” from the official designation of Scottish salmon.
The case concerns the UK government’s approval of an application by the Scottish salmon farming industry to amend the product specification for its Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from “Scottish Farmed Salmon” to simply “Scottish Salmon.” The change was approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) under retained EU regulation (Regulation 1151/2012), as amended by UK law following Brexit.
The appellants—non-governmental organisations Animal Equality and WildFish—argue that dropping the term “farmed” misleads consumers by failing to distinguish farm-raised salmon from wild-caught fish. They maintain that the term “true origin” in the relevant regulation should be interpreted to reflect not only the geographical source of the product (Scotland), but also the method of production.
The UK’s PGI scheme, modelled on EU protections for regional food products, is designed to ensure transparency and consumer confidence in origin-labelled goods such as cheeses, meats, and seafood.
The initial appeal was dismissed by the Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), who ruled that “true origin” referred solely to geographic origin, and that consumers would not be misled since the product still came from Scotland. However, in an unusual move, the Chamber President has now granted permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal—effectively allowing his own decision to be challenged—on what he described as an “exceptional” basis.
The Upper Tribunal is part of the United Kingdom’s judicial system and hears appeals on points of law from lower tribunals. It does not re-examine factual evidence but considers whether the law was properly applied in the original decision. The case will now proceed to this higher level of judicial review.