The head of the Mast Food Association Jozef Fabian with Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná, from left. (source: Courtesy of the Agriculture Ministry )
Representatives of the Stupava based Mast Food Association along with Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Gabriela Matečná (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) made the first “Stupavské zelé” (sauerkraut produced in Stupava) a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) as part of the traditional Dni Zela, or Cabbage Days in English, in the town of Stupava near Bratislava.
Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná helps to select the best cabbage. (source: Courtesy of the Agriculture Ministry. )
After Žitavská paprika, paprika from the Žitava area in the south of Slovakia, Stupavské zelé is the second Slovak food that has been added to the PDO category.
The European Commission-sponsored designation means that the quality and characteristics of the product are exclusively linked to a particular geographical environment and that all stages of its production are carried out in that defined geographical area.
“The Mast Food Association along with the Agriculture Ministry have successfully applied for the cabbage from this area and the fermentation process to receive the Protected Designation of Origin label,” said Matečná as cited by the TASR newswire, adding that the PDO designation is an excellent marketing brand. “It is not at all easy to obtain something like that, as you must control the whole process - from planting and harvesting to the final product, which is the fermented sauerkraut.”
Members of the Mast Food Association hope that the designation will contribute towards increasing the interest of producers in growing cabbage and processing Stupavské zelé in the area.
“The Protected Designation of Origin label for Stupavské zelé is a guarantee for customers that the local cabbage has been processed in a traditional way without the use of any additives other than salt, and all made in Stupava,” said chairman of the association Jozef Fabian. “It is a product that cannot be tasted or bought anywhere else in the world, which gives it added value.”
The European Union protects, supports, registers and monitors products divided into three categories - the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG).
As many as 19 Slovak products have so far received one of the three labels. In addition to Stupavské zelé, these are, for example, the sheep's cheese 'bryndza', Skalický Trdelník (a cake made of leavened dough, wrapped with nuts and baked over an open flame), Oravský korbáčik (a sort of steamed cheese) and Bratislavský rožok (a fine, crescent-shaped pastry filled with nuts or poppy seeds).
