CALLS are being made for a Welsh food or drink emoji to be added to the list of icons available for social media users.

Food and Drink Wales is calling upon the Unicode Consortium, the global organisation responsible for regulating the international emoji portfolio, known as the Unicode Standard, for the inclusion of emojis relating to Wales.

Ahead of St David's Day, a number of potential emoji options are being submitted such as Welsh lamb, Welsh cake, leek, Bara Brith and Caerphilly cheese.

Food and Drink Wales, the Welsh Government division responsible for the development and promotion of the Welsh food and drink industry, is hoping that the presence of a Welsh food or drink emoji will work to boost awareness about Wales’ culinary culture and booming food and drink sector.

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Caerphilly cheese

The move comes off the back of the long campaigned for addition of the Welsh flag to the emoji keyboard in 2017.

Lesley Griffiths, minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, said: “With a food and drink landscape and culture as rich and diverse as the one we have in Wales it would be enormously gratifying to see this reflected as an emoji in the Unicode Standard in order that it may be one of the billions of emojis sent daily.”

The Unicode Consortium releases less than one hundred new emojis every year based on submissions from individuals and organisations who present their case with evidence for why each one is essential.

Such a small number of new releases means competition is fierce and the vast majority of applications are rejected.

A poll is running on the Food and Drink Wales Twitter channel.

Suggested emojis include Welsh classics such as Welsh lamb, Welsh cakes, a leek, Bara Brith and Caerphilly Cheese:

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