Marmalade to Be Renamed Under Starmer’s EU Reset

Marmalade is to be renamed “citrus marmalade” under Sir Keir Starmer’s EU reset as Labour continues to unwind Brexit freedoms in a bid to boost trade. The Telegraph has more.

The breakfast favourite will have to be sold and labelled as “citrus marmalade” as a result of Labour’s planned food deal with Brussels.

The name change is required under a proposed reset agreement with the EU, where Britain will adopt the bloc’s food regulations in a bid to boost trade and reduce red tape for British exporters.

Brussels has relaxed its labelling rules since Brexit, meaning its legal definition of marmalade has widened to include other non-citrus fruits.

Before Britain left the EU, European regulations incorporated into UK law meant only preserves made from citrus fruits could be sold as “marmalade” in shops. Other kinds of fruit spreads had to be named “jam” or equivalent terms in other languages.

The special commercial status for marmalade stemmed from pressure by Britain in the 1970s when it sought to protect the unique status of the famous preserve made from bitter Seville oranges.

According to popular legend, a Spanish ship carrying Seville oranges took shelter in Dundee Harbour in the late 18th century. Trader James Keiller bought the cargo and his wife, Janet, created a new type of jam, distinct from the thick, solid pastes known before.

It was recognised as the first commercial brand of orange marmalade. While the original James Keiller & Sons company ceased to exist in 1992, the brand name has been used by other manufacturers over the years.

The British hold on the name ‘marmalade’ has, however, been a source of friction with other countries. Spain and Italy, for example, commonly use ‘mermelada‘ and ‘marmellata‘ for spreads made from other kinds of fruit, such as plums and figs.

In the face of a backlash in 2004, the EU agreed to relax the rule for producers selling fruit preserves at farmers’ markets in Austria and Germany.

A German MEP who had been pushing for a change after Brexit said in 2017 that the naming rules were “contrary to German linguistic tradition”.

Now Brussels has updated its rules to allow all EU countries to market non-citrus spreads as “marmalade” from June.

However, citrus-based preserves will have to be distinguished as a separate type of marmalade and sold using the new legal name “citrus marmalade”.

The new name was already set to take effect in Northern Ireland this summer, under the 2023 Windsor framework deal that sees the province align with EU food laws.

But the UK Government has now revealed the updated marmalade decree is among 76 updated EU food-related laws that will also apply in England, Wales and Scotland if its wider food deal is agreed.

A timescale for the rule change has yet to be finalised, but it is likely to take effect by mid-2027, when the wider agreement with the EU will be implemented.

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