​Pasties must be made west of the River Tamar to a traditional recipe to be called Cornish in future, after the European Commission paved the way for them to be protected by law.

The Cornish Pasty Association (CPA) yesterday announced that the delicacy is to join a select food and drink group including champagne, Roquefort cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies whose identity is safeguarded by EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status.

But the decision, due to be ratified in March, sparked a row in the county, with the PGI campaign accused of “pasty fascism” over its definition of the traditional recipe, because it allows the use of mince – generally frowned upon – but forbids the so-called ‘armadillo’ crimp on top.

Alan Adler, chairman of the CPA, said gaining PGI status was “helping to protect our British food legacy”.

“We lag far behind other European countries like France and Italy, that have hundreds of food products protected, and it’s important that we value our foods just as much,” he said.

“Today’s announcement does not stop other producers from making other type of pasties but they won’t be able to sell them as Cornish.”

The Cornish pasty joins 42 British protected products including Stilton, Cornish Clotted Cream, Newcastle Brown Ale, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Arbroath Smokies. Foreign entries include Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.

The CPA submitted the application for PGI in 2002 to ensure that “only Cornish bakers who make genuine Cornish pasties use this denomination when selling and marketing their produce.”

Authentic Cornish pasties can still be baked elsewhere in the country but they will need to be prepared in Cornwall.

Ann Muller, who makes award-winning pasties in her family shop on the Lizard, said she is worried that if she continues making her top-crimped pasties she will be fined. Hers have been made, she says, the same way in generations of her family in west Cornwall, and has pictures from 1912 to prove it.

She accused the CPA of “acting like a Medieval Guild”, also attacking the decision to allow mince as an ingredient.

“I cannot believe they have managed to get this through, it is pasty fascism,” she said.

“I have built up a reputation over 25 years, this is how my family has always made them. “And they shouldn’t be allowed to use mince, they should be made using finely-cut beef skirt or chuck steak.”

Mark Muncey, operations director of pasty company Proper Cornish, defended the classification, saying: “It protects the recipe and means manufacturers outside Cornwall cannot call them Cornish and protects the economy and jobs.”

The earliest written record of Cornish pasties dates back to 1746. In 2006, a debate raged when historian Dr Todd Gray claimed that the pasty was invented in Devon in 1510.

Simon Bryon-Edmond, of Chunk of Devon, which in April 2009 saw its “traditional pasty” named best “Cornish” pasty at the first ever British Pie Awards, accused the CPA of “protectionism”.

“They could end up with a pastiche of a pasty,” he said.

“It is just about big companies trying to protect their products.”

South West MEP Graham Watson, who supported the PGI application and took pasties to the European Parliament in Brussels last year, said: “This will not only ensure that its recipe will remain secured, but the decision can give the local economy a great boost.”

David Rodda, Cornish Pasty Association spokesman, said: “Receiving protected status for the Cornish pasty is good news for consumers but also for the rural economy.”

To celebrate the heritage of the Cornish pasty the CPA is launching a book, The Little Book of the Pasty, which will be available in stores next month.