DECISION ON PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION FOR KALINOVIK STELJA PRESENTED

MOSTAR, SEPTEMBER 2 /SRNA/ - A decision granting geographical indication protection to the food product Kalinovik Stelja /cured sheep meat product/ has been presented, the Food Safety Agency of BiH said.

Slobodan Dojčinović, deputy director of the Agency, and Dragan Brenjo, head of the Agency’s Food Certification and Labelling Department, presented the decision to Branka Bozalo, president of the Kalinovik Stelja Association, at a ceremony in Kalinovik.

Kalinovik Stelja is a cured meat product made from a whole sheep carcass that is completely deboned, with the exception of the bones of the forelegs and lower legs, then dry-salted exclusively with table salt, cold-smoked, and dried.

The production of Kalinovik Stelja is based exclusively on fresh mutton from well-fed sheep more than three years old that have been removed from the breeding flock for various reasons. The quality of the product is significantly influenced by the altitude and mountain pastures.

“The tradition of livestock farming - particularly sheep farming - in the Kalinovik area was documented as early as the Austro-Hungarian census of 1895. Sheep breeding and the production of Stelja have remained unchanged over time, preserving their original, high quality,” the Agency said.

An altitude of more than 1,000 metres, combined with specific air currents and low humidity, creates ideal conditions for the natural drying of meat.

The Agency said that protection of the geographical indication helps preserve traditional production methods, increases the market recognition of local products and creates added value for local producers and rural communities.

“Kalinovik Stelja is an example of a product whose distinctiveness is inextricably linked to the Kalinovik area, its traditions and natural conditions,” the Agency added.