31 Croatian Products "Protected" Since 2015, 21 Still Await Desired Label

April the 16th, 2021 - There may well be numerous Croatian products now protected at the European Union level, but many are still sitting waiting on the list, hoping to get their hands on that much desired label.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, April the 14th, 2015, was the date on which Krk prosciutto became the very first Croatian food product registered in the European Union (EU), and the Croatian Parliament passed a decision marking that day as the Day of Protected Croatian Indigenous Products.

To this day, the Republic of Croatia has 31 agricultural and food products whose names are registered with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication label, ranking Croatia ninth in the entire bloc when it comes to protected local products.

In addition, 21 other procedures for the protection of the names of various Croatian products are currently in progress. This refers more precisely to the registration of the names of edible Croatian products, and the last ones to have been registered are Dalmatian pancetta and pečenica.

According to the relevant ministry, the ultimate goal of manufacturers is not to protect their names and the registration of the label, but the added value of the products they use in marketing and achieving better sales prices for protected Croatian products, as well as the raising of competitiveness here on the local market and further afield on the highly demanding European Union market.

“The Republic of Croatia has a rich tradition of the production and preparation of various agricultural and food products that are characterised by a special quality and a traditional way of production.

The recognisability of the products is also connected with the recognisability of the area in which they're produced, which contributes to the strengthening of tourism, but also to the sustainable development of more rural areas of the country,'' pointed out Marija Vuckovic, Minister of Agriculture.

For more on Croatian products, including edible ones, as well as restaurants and recipes, check out our dedicated section.