Suffolk pork sells out in days due to demand for the special breed

A special type of pig from a Suffolk herd quickly sold out at a butcher's due to demand for the breed's meat.

The Gloucestershire Old Spot is one of just a few of breeds in the country to be given traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) status.

TSG status recognises the purity of a free-range herd, its traceability and high levels of animal husbandry.

A butcher said demand for the meat was so high that pork from the herd sold out within days.

In 2010, Gloucestershire Old Spots became the first species to be granted TSG status by the EU.

Teresa Cook, a pedigree Gloucestershire Old Spot breeder, said it had been difficult to register her herd in Orford, near Woodbridge.

"They didn't like the fact that I had two other breeds, so they turned me down. I think they were worried about cross-breeding," she said.

"After Brexit, it was rewritten into UK law, and only last year we were issued it under UK law."

Other food and drink schemes recognise products such as Stilton cheese, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Parma ham, but protected geographical indications and protected designations of origins are based on where products come from or are processed.

TSGs are less common, and only three pedigree Gloucestershire Old Spot herds in the UK have the accolade.

Pigs with the accolade are typically slaughtered up to two months later than commercial breeds.

Butcher Jeremy Thickitt, from the Emmerdale Farm Shop in Darsham, near Saxmundham, Suffolk, said the meat was in high demand and the last supply from Ms Cook went down well with customers.

"The last one we had, around a month ago, was cut up fresh on the counter and it all sold within a couple of days," said Mr Thickitt.

"The chops have extra fat on, but the crackling is fantastic on them and the pork flavour is absolutely gorgeous."

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