Black pudding is the latest food to find itself at the centre of a cross-border row, with Stornoway and Bury, in Greater Manchester, both laying claim to its origins.
Producers in both areas are seeking geographical protection from the European Union for their version of the blood sausage.
With the support of their government, food producers can apply to the EU for Protected Geographical Indication. This has been granted to regionally designated foods such as Arbroath smokies, Parma ham and Melton Mowbray pork pies to protect them from imitators.
While both bids could succeed, experts have indicated it may be difficult because they would have to prove they were distinct from each other and unique to each area.
Black pudding makers in Stornoway, whose bid is backed by the Scottish government, claim their dish, known as marag dubh, has been made by crofters for centuries from pig’s blood, onions, suet, oatmeal and spices.
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However, producers in Bury argue their version predates it and was brought by monks from mainland Europe who settled there in the 16th century.
The row comes weeks after England laid claim to haggis, believed to have been a Scottish invention. Catherine Brown, a food historian, discovered references to haggis in an English recipe book dated 1615, 171 years before Robert Burns penned his poem Address to a Haggis.
The Stornoway bid is being spearheaded by local butchers backed by Western Isles Council and local politicians.
Robert Smith, of WJ Macdonald butchers, said: “In the old days the crofters used to make full use of the animal because times were hard. That has been happening here for hundreds and hundreds of years. Everybody claims they did it first but ours is certainly the most well known. I have never heard of the Bury black pudding before.”
Iain MacLeod, of Charles MacLeod butchers, added: “I don’t know how they do it in Bury but we are very particular about our ingredients, so hopefully we can show that ours is distinctive.”
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Alyn Smith, the nationalist MEP who has been lobbying the EU on behalf of Stornoway producers, said: “Any black pudding aficionado knows in his heart that the Stornoway black pudding is the king of black puddings and far superior to this effort from Bury. If it comes to it, we will fight them for this geographical indicator.”
Rhoda Grant, Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said the Stornoway black pudding deserved protection.
But Debbie Pierce, of the Bury Black Pudding Company, said her town had the stronger claim. “The monks brought it over from Europe and settled in Bury, that’s why Bury is famous for black pudding,” she said. “It arrived here first.”
And Bury council said: “Bury black pudding is sold in outlets such as Harrods. It is acknowledged as a local delicacy.”
Adam Arthern, from Bury, is the World Black Pudding Throwing Champion and said he favoured the dish from his home town.
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“My stepdad is from Falkirk so we have had this debate many times,” he said. “The black pudding has been here all the time I have been growing up and I associate it with Bury. I have only had the Scottish one a couple of times but I prefer the Bury black pudding.”
There is some evidence that black pudding has been made for thousands of years. In the Oxford Companion to Food, the food historian Alan Davidson states: “Book 18 of Homer’s Odyssey, around 1,000 BC, refers to a stomach filled with blood and fat and roasted over a fire.” Other countries also have versions, such as the French boudin noir, German blutwurst and Spanish morcilla.
Both versions of the British black pudding use herbs and other ingredients that are kept secret and passed down from generation to generation.
Irene Bocchetta, the EU protected food names manager at ASAD, a consultancy that advises food producers on behalf of the government, said although both bids were aimed at stopping imitators, each area would have to meet strict criteria.
“If they wanted to keep the regionality associated with the dish they would have to make a very strong case as to the connection between their land and the product,” she said.
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“They have to prove a historical link, a tradition of making of the product and prove that the local community have always known it. It doesn’t mean to say that there can’t be two black puddings but they have to prove there is a distinct difference from another area that has a similar product. Each application has to be able to stand alone and show it is unique.”