Big news for Icelandic lamb

Designations of origin are important for the protection of products, guaranteeing origin and linking consumers to primary production. Not all nations have been as good in securing designations of origin. For example, Italy has designations of origin for parma ham and parmesan cheese, Greece for feta cheese and France for champagne and camembert cheese. Only producers in certain areas referred by designations of origin may label their packaging with the name.

Icelandic lamb is the first Icelandic product to have been given an Icelandic origin reference and so far the only food product in the country with such a label. This was part of the application process to get a protected origin reference from the European Union, which took almost six years. The process was long, but the Icelandic lamb meat marketing office had to demonstrate its uniqueness, that the product has remained the same for 1100 years and there is no other place in the world where you can get Icelandic lamb.

Protected designation of origin

The Icelandic lamb meat has now gained a Protected Designation of origin (PDO) designation, which is the highest level of PDO references in Europe. The Icelandic lamb meat is thus included in a group of well-known European agricultural products, but products that have acquired PDO labeling sell at twice the sale price on average in EU countries, compared to substitutes. No other Icelandic food product has obtained PDO labeling.

The purpose of the labelling is to protect the products produced and processed in a given geographical area, by using the established knowledge of local producers and raw materials obtained from the area concerned.

With its origin label, Icelandic lamb has drawn on the experience of verified foreign precedents where origin labels represent a secure origin of products and their processing, primary producers and consumers to the whole. The protection of origin is also considered to be an intellectual property, which has a great importance in the fight against food fraud.

The model of European protection of origin is the world's oldest protection system, the "appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC)," established in France for the distinction and protection of wine. Protection of French food dates back to 1411, when the government became involved in the protection of Roquefort cheese. Producers on every continent have taken advantage of the opportunity within the European protection system and some 3,500 registrations are currently in the system, which has long proved itself to be the strongest protection for products with a truly unique character.

Unique product you cannot get anywhere else

“I have no doubt that PDO labeling will add value to the Icelandic lamb, both on the domestic market and abroad. The experience of the European countries has shown that products with PDO labeling sell on average at double the sale price in EU countries, compared to substitutes. The Icelandic sheep population has remained unmixed with other breeds since the settlement of the century. The animals enjoy a lot of freedom and space, can choose grazing grass, wild herbs and berries, and have ample access to clean water. The quality and softness of Icelandic lamb gets high scores with food critics in international comparative studies. It is therefore very important that Icelandic lamb is labelled with origin both here and abroad. Since we started using Icelandic origin labeling in 2017, there has been a 15% increase in tourists’ consumption of lamb in 2017-2021. The increase will hopefully be even greater when we can now start a European designation of origin,” stated Hafliði Halldórsson, director of marketing agency Icelandic lamb.

Origin labeling makes it easier for consumers to choose Icelandic, but consumers are now demanding more information about the origin of food products and clearer information.

According to a consumer survey by Gallup, 70% of tourists ate lamb during their visit in 2021. Those who knew the Icelandic lamb’s label and understood its meaning were much more likely to consume lamb more than once, which may be considered an acknowledgment of the usefulness of marketing Icelandic lamb and not the quality of the products. In the period 2017-2019 lamb was the Icelandic product most tourists consumed, followed by cod, salmon and skyr, a press release stated.