Campaigners all fired up by new status of the Arbroath smokie

THE Arbroath smokie, one of Scotland’s best known culinary delights, yesterday joined some of the biggest names in food and drink such as Champagne, Roquefort cheese and Parma ham in being granted special protection by the European Commission.

Hailed as the Angus town’s greatest gift to the world after the Declaration of Arbroath, the smoked haddock will now carry the commission’s distinctive protected-product symbol to prevent fake smokies being produced anywhere else in Europe.

The award marks the culmination of a two-year battle by Bob Spink, an Arbroath councillor and the former chairman of the Arbroath Fish Processors’ Association, whose family has been making smokies in the town for five generations.

Mr Spink, the former managing director of RR Spink and Sons, the town’s largest fish processors, launched his campaign to secure official protection for the smoked haddock after becoming infuriated about the quantities of smokie imposters flooding the supermarket shelves.

The supplies included "Arbroath" smokies which had been made in factories on the Humber and as far afield at Cornwall.

Mr Spink, who was backed by Angus Council and the local processors’ association, yesterday told The Scotsman of his delight at securing victory after the EC ruled that, from now on, the name "Arbroath smokie" can only be used to describe haddock which is salted, dried and then smoked in the traditional manner within an 8km radius of Arbroath.

RR Spink and Sons, of which Mr Spink is still a director, plans to use the ruling to spearhead a major relaunch of the smokies from its Arbroath plant. The ruling will also provide a boost for the 12 smaller "cottage industry" operations which produce smokies in the backyards of houses in the town’s harbour area.

He said: "This is tremendous news. It’s going to give exposure to the smokie all over the UK and, incidentally, the name of Arbroath, which is going to give the town’s tourism industry a major boost. And it’s great news for the fishing industry."

He explained: "I took umbrage that I was coming across ‘Arbroath’ smokies in supermarkets which had never seen Arbroath, didn’t look or taste like an Arbroath smokie, and hadn’t even been processed in the traditional way.

"Some of the top London stores were even selling ‘Arbroath’ smokies which had been made in England. I discussed the situation with the council and we decided to go for European protection.

"I was engaged as a consultant to the council to take on the campaign and I had to write down a precise definition for the smokie - something that has never been done before - and to prepare a detailed submission to the commission.

"Now people can produce a smokie if they like, but they can’t produce an Arbroath smokie outside here any longer."

The secret recipe for the smoked haddock has been passed down through the generations by word of mouth. There is an apocryphal story that the smokie began being produced in the 16th century, when fishermen going through the remains of a burned-down cottage found a haddock which had been smoked in the fire.

What is beyond dispute, however, is that the Arbroath smokie actually originated in the fishing village of Auchmithie, two miles north of the town.