Slovakia: TSG protection for shepherd’s hut cheeses

Two cheeses made from sheep’s milk in shepherd’s huts have become the first Slovak products to be registered as Traditional Specialities Guaranteed.

TSGs are entered into a register established by EU law for food products made with traditional raw materials or with a traditional composition or method of production. Only groups of producers/processors can apply to register their product as a TSG, which preserves its distinctiveness from other similar food products.

TSG registration can (but does not have to) be made with reservation of the name for products corresponding to the published product specification. Only products complying with the product specification would then be able to indicate TSG status on their labelling.

TSG status was applied for by the association of sheep cheese producers in Turiec. As they did not seek to reserve the name of either cheese, similar products made elsewhere in the world may still use the name but may not carry the TSG mark on their labelling.

‘Ovčí hrudkový syr – salašnícky’ is a cheese shaped by hand into a lump which gets its characteristic taste from the traditional technology used during fermentation in shepherd’s huts.

‘Ovčí salašnícky údený syr’ is a smoked cheese also made in shepherd’s huts which is often formed into specific shapes (such as hearts, cockerels and other animals).

Applications to register a further five Slovak products as TSGs have already been published, four of them submitted jointly by the associations of producers from the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.

Law: Council Regulation (EC) No 509/2006 on agricultural products and foodstuffs as traditional specialities guaranteed