November 25, 2019 - The European Commission announced that Pag cheese is enrolled in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications

Index.hr writes that the process of protecting the name "Pag cheese”, or what you may know better as ‘Paški sir’, began in July 2017, when the Pag Cheese Producers' Association on the island of Pag submitted a request to the Ministry of Agriculture for its protection. 

The Republic of Croatia now has 24 agricultural and food products registered in the European Union as a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication. With Pag cheese, the following other Croatian products are registered: Krk prosciutto, Cres extra virgin olive oil, Neretva mandarins, Ogulin sour cabbage, Baranja kulen, Lika potatoes, prosciutto from Istria, Drniš, Krka and Dalmatia, Poljički soparnik, Zagorje turkey, Krk olive oil, Korcula olive oil, Pag lamb, Solta olive oil, Varaždin cabbage, Slavonian kulen, Međimurje meat ‘z tiblice’, Slavonian honey, Lika lamb, Pag salt, and Zagorje mince. The EU trademark or geographical indication on the packaging guarantees the consumer an authentic product.

This is yet another recognition for Croatian agricultural products after the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, and Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic confirmed the first six protected Croatian products on the Chinese market. They include Neretva mandarins, Baranja kulen, Dalmatian prosciutto, Drniš prosciutto, Lika potatoes and Dingač. They will even list a seventh product, Istrian prosciutto, but as a protected product of Croatia and Slovenia.

The geographical area of Pag cheese production includes the island of Pag and the two islands of Maun and Škrda. Pag cheese is hard sheep cheese made from whole fat sheep's milk of the original breed of Pag sheep. Milk for the production of Pag cheese is obtained from Pag sheep grown semi-extensively throughout the year in fenced pastures within the geographical area of production. 

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The good news has arrived early this year and this season's production of the famed and award winning Pag cheese will finally come with a protected designation of origin label which gives special importance to controlling the very production of the internationally appreciated Pag cheese.

As Morski writes on the 8th of January, 2019, the protected designation of origin label clearly defines the raw material, the description of the finished product, the geographical area of its ​​production, the proof of the origin of the Pag cheese, the process of the production correlation with the aforementioned geographical production area, and the details and the link between the geographical area of production and the quality and characteristics of the final product. Šime Gligora, director of Sirana Gligora, has welcomed this protection, according to a report from eZadar.

''From our very beginnings, our cheese factory has been producing exclusively from the milk of Pag sheep from the island of Pag, while the production of our other cheeses, cows, goats, sheep and mixed cheeses are made exclusively with milk from Croatia, largely from the area of ​​Northern Dalmatia,'' stated a satisfied Gligora.

Pag cheese is exclusively a sheep's milk product originating from island of Pag, its limited production is defined entirely by the number of sheep, their milk, and the production period for the end product.

The next level of protection is at the European Union level which, in addition to offering a huge level of protection, will greatly contribute to the establishment, recognition and the subsequent sale of Pag cheese in Europe and across the whole world.

Aside from that, it will certainly contribute to additional financial support and encourage the breeding of sheep for husbandry in the area of ​​the island of Pag, which hopefully ultimately means in the retaining of the domestic workforce, as well as influencing number of inhabitants on the island, cattle-breeding and agriculture, and the overall development of the dairy and cheese industries.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle page for information on Pag cheese and much, much more.

Click here for the original article by eZadar

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