10 February 2019 - Deputy prime minister and agriculture minister Milutin Simović recently visited Kolašin and said that the famous leafy cheese from Kolašin (the name is derived from its specific texture – thin, almost transparent layers) is going to be the 6th Montenegrin protected product, which means it will get a brand new value and thus additional income for its producers.
Minister Simović said at the meeting with the representatives of the Association of Producers of this famous leafy cheese from Kolašin, who submitted the request for obtaining the official mark of origin, that is, protection of this product at the national level, to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The president of the Association, Milovan Vlahović, said this procedure started three years ago along with the project of the Employment Agency of Montenegro when it was decided to set up an association that would assist the local farmers.
“Then we decided to initiate the process of protecting the geographical origin and branding of the leafy cheese from Kolašin,” said Vlahović.
The process itself is in its final phase, i.e. there is one more month to be completed entirely, according to him.
The protection sign will mean a new step forward for Montenegro in the area of product quality policy, improvement of domestic producers, and creation of new jobs and more dynamic development of local and entire Montenegrin economy.
Montenegrin prosciutto is the most recent product that was approved under protection in Montenegro, taking place in December 2018.
“According to the Producer’s specification, Montenegrin prosciutto is the durable, dried meat product, processed from the ham of pig, dryly salted and coldly smoked and then it went through the process of drying. This entire process lasts at least one year. The application of the traditional production procedure, without any additions, other than sea salt, with the process of burning of the beech tree, results in the product that has recognizable smell, texture and taste”.
Before this, in the last two years, five products have been protected: “Njeguški pršut” (Prosciutto from Njeguši), “Pljevaljski sir” (Cheese from Pljevlja), “Cronogorski goveđi pršut” (Montenegrin beef prosciutto)“ and “Cronogorska stelja”.
