Post-Brexit curry war hots up in UK

The European Union (EU) has been accused of an anti-British bias after the 28-nation economic bloc turned down an application for "Birmingham Balti" cuisine being offered protected name status.
Balticuisine is another form of curry dishes originating in the Indian sub-continent andmodified to suit Britain tastes and makes areference to the flat-bottomed metal dishes food is cooked and served in.
It is also a nod to the origin of the Pakistani immigrants to the northern England city of Birmingham from the region of Baltistan.
It was tipped to be offered Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status by the EUfollowing a six-year campaign by curry-lovers, alongside France's Champagne and Italian Parma Ham.

But the European Commission recently threw out the application, with some campaigners claiming it reflected a Brexit related bias.
"This is just the sort of attitude that drives people down the Brexit path. The decision smacks of the EU's obsession with mindless conformity and I also sense an anti-British bias," Birmingham Balti Association spokesperson Andy Munro told 'Birmingham Mail'.

A protected name status is designed to benefit big producers of well-known protected names as well as small industries and brands who might have a traditional way of making a product known by the region's name.
The application approved by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)was made in October 2013.

In its judgement, the European Commission said: "Some different varieties of balti are allowed; those varieties are not definitively identified. The colour of the dish changes (either lighter brown or more reddish) depending on which ingredients are added".
The additional ingredients and spices may but not have to be added. It is therefore not possible to determine what the final recipe to be followed is.
The judgement was made in May this year, nearly a month before Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23.
As it becomes public now, it will be used as an example of anti-British bias by those who had campaigned in favour of leaving the union.