Carmen Gavrilescu, the chairwoman of the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers: “Our project to acquire protected status for the Sibiu salami lasted almost two years.”
24 Februarie 2016
Bucharest, February 24th. The Association of Sibiu Salami Producers announces the steps and procedures that give the Sibiu salami Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, 20 days after the publication of the European Commission’s Implementing Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union of February 19th 2016.
The Association of Sibiu Salami Producers, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, started the procedures to secure PGI status for the Sibiu salami in mid-2014, in June.
“For a designation to be granted PGI status, at least one production stage must take place in the designated geographical area, while the connection to the respective area may be warranted by a specific quality, reputation, or other product characteristics that are linked to it. Due to the specificity of the product and its connection to a geographical area, the documentation submitted by the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met all the relevant conditions, and Romania submitted to the European Union the application for PGI registration of the Sibiu Salami. The PGI application is warranted by the product’s exceptional reputation,” said Carmen Gavrilescu, Chairwoman of the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers.
What use does PGI serve for consumers and producers?
The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) helps consumers determine the product’s origin and quality. In the absence of adequate protection, a widely-known product may be the object of false statements made, in most cases, by fraudulent businesses. In this case, the legitimate producers are harmed – they cannot reap the benefits of lucrative commercial operations and the reputation of their products is affected.
In the case of Sibiu salami, its PGI status allows the Romanian producers that operate in the designated area of origin to manufacture this type of sausage only if they follow the product’s terms of reference. The protected area comprises the counties of Bacău, Brașov, Prahova, Sibiu, Călărași, Covasna, Ilfov, and the city of Bucharest.
Achieving product recognition and increasing its competitiveness, the main objectives of the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers
“Sibiu salami is one of the most widely appreciated sausages within its designated area of origin, and is always included by Romanian producers on their product lists. Sibiu salami is a flagship culinary product which producers constantly showcase at national and international industry fairs, and is always the first to be requested at tastings. Its reputation is stellar, thanks to the industrial processing and manual work that have preserved intact the production method. The manual brushing of each sausage requires knowledge and skill that are passed down from one generation to the next. This is why the Association’s main objectives are to achieve product recognition and increase its global competitiveness, which is why over the medium term we intend to access European funding that could help us to promote our product,” said Carmen Gavrilescu, Chairwoman of the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers.