At the 11th Days of Croatian Prosciutto, held at the end of April in Šibenik, only gold and silver medals were awarded. The quality of the twelve prosciuttos that competed in the finals was such that no bronze medals were awarded, and the title of winner was claimed by the Dalmatian prosciutto Barić from Opskrba Trade in Split. This is the first time that the prosciutto of brothers Domagoj and Ivan Barić has been awarded a winning medal at the Days of Croatian Prosciutto, where only protected domestic products are presented. Therefore, four types of Croatian prosciutto are allowed to compete: Krk, Drniš, and Dalmatian, which carry the protected designation of geographical origin in the European Union, and Istrian, which has a protected designation of origin in the EU.
The Days of Prosciutto were held in an atmosphere of inflation, African swine fever, and a customs war, which brings new difficulties. It is possible that due to this, prosciuttos from Italy and Spain, the main countries in prosciutto production, will remain in Europe instead of reaching the market in the United States. In that case, Italian and Spanish prosciuttos could also appear on the Croatian market, for which about 550,000 pieces are produced annually instead of the needed one million.
Strict Inspections
Such a gap arises due to insufficient domestic production of pork, which must therefore be imported, and since appropriate supervision is required for high-quality meat, it is not simple to produce enough high-quality prosciutto. The Barićs do not have their own pig breeding, so they have sourced raw materials from multiple suppliers, from Croatian meat industries to meat from Hungary and Austria. In recent years, Domagoj Barić pointed out, they have imported the most from Hungary due to favorable pig genetics and the fact that ‘Hungarian’ pigs are largely animals raised in Croatia. More specifically, due to small slaughter capacities in our country, pigs are, he said, transported to Hungary for slaughter and returned to Croatia as processed hams.
– Opskrba Trade is exclusively engaged in the production and sale of certified traditional products of Dalmatian prosciutto and Dalmatian pancetta, products protected at the level of the European Union. The European protected designation of geographical origin for Dalmatian prosciutto was granted in February 2016, and for Dalmatian pancetta in 2021, along with Dalmatian pečenica. The awarded designation means that these products are produced according to precisely specified procedures in precisely defined areas. Each of these products has a European label that appears next to the product name and confirms the purchase of an authentic and controlled product of recognized quality. We sell our prosciutto whole, sliced, and in cubes. The same goes for pancetta, which we also offer in three products: as a whole rind, i.e., slab, sliced, and a piece of about three hundred grams. In our prosciutto slicing shop, we also offer slicing and vacuum packaging services for prosciutto, pancetta, and sausages for private individuals – explains Barić.
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