Within three months from the date of this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

Designations of origin and geographical indications of agricultural products

‘Salam Poiana Mărului’

EU No: PGI-RO-03383 – 20.12.2024

1.   Name(s)

‘Salam Poiana Mărului’

2.   Geographical indication type

PDO ☐ PGI ☒

3.   Country to which the defined geographical area belongs

Romania

4.   Description of the agricultural product

4.1.   Classification of the agricultural product in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature heading and code, as referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143

16 – PREPARATIONS OF MEAT, OF FISH, OF CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS, OR OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, OR OF INSECTS

1601 – Sausages and similar products, of meat, meat offal, blood or insects; food preparations based on these products

4.2.   Description of the agricultural product to which the registered name applies

‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ is a cooked salami which is double-smoked using hard beech wood and then dried. To make ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ a minimum of 30 % chilled leg of beef, 40 % frozen leg of pork (from the defined geographical area) and a maximum of 30 % frozen hard pork fat are used.

‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ is marketed as cylindrical sticks specially packaged in individual white casings with reddish-brown ribbons; in the local culture these are associated with the beauty of a blossoming apple orchard, a landscape specific to the geographical area, and of the birch bark in the local forests.

The manufacturing process involves several stages of preparing the raw materials before the final ground meat paste is obtained and put into artificial casings in a cylindrical shape, creating the final product and determining its texture.

Its appearance when cut is like a mosaic, leg of pork pieces being evenly spread throughout the product, and it has a diversified granulation, alternating white pieces of pork fat with reddish-pink pieces characteristic of the beef and pork leg cuts used.

External appearance: cylindrical sticks with a diameter of between 50 and 55 mm and a length of approximately 23 cm, with a clean surface, free of foreign matter and without lumps of fat under the casing. The artificial casing adheres to the salami and is undamaged, with small fine creases resulting from the production steps.

Appearance when cut: Homogeneous, compact and mosaic composition, with pork and fat pieces spread evenly throughout the salami. There are no foreign bodies, fragments of bone, pieces of cartilage, lumps of fat or spices or air bubbles larger than 3 mm. When cut, the slices remain intact.

Taste and smell: Characteristic of a product lightly smoked with hardwood, taste of spices (paprika, allspice, nutmeg), balanced seasoning. Free of foreign smell and/or taste.

Consistency: Semi-hard to firm, bonded and elastic on the inside. The salami slices have a firm but elastic consistency.

Colour: The colour when cut is uniform, from pink to ruby-red and white, with a marbled mosaic appearance, a good balance of meat and fat.

Physicochemical characteristics

Parameters analysed	Maximum limits
Water, %	40 to 48
Fatty substances, % max.	44
Salt, % max	3
Total protein, % min.	15

Ingredients

Nitrite salt; Salt; Functional ingredients: sugars: dextrose, lactose, glucose; salt; diphosphates; ascorbic acid; flavourings; Ingredients defining the final aroma: natural condiments (paprika, garlic, pepper, nutmeg), polyphosphates, salt, dextrose, sodium nitrite, natural extracts (paprika, allspice, nutmeg).

Ancillary materials

These are used in the filling process (inedible, white artificial casing with reddish-brown striations, clips, twine), in the heat treatment process (hardwood) and in the final labelling process (labels).

4.3.   Derogations on sourcing of feed (for products of animal origin designated by a Protected Designation of Origin only) and restrictions on sourcing of raw materials (for processed products designated by a Protected Geographical Indication only)

The half carcasses of pigs only come from the defined geographical area, from animals reared and fed on cereals there. The animals are slaughtered to obtain the carcasses in slaughterhouses located in the defined geographical area, and the carcases are also cut to obtain the anatomical parts used in production in that area. The characteristics of the raw materials are influenced by local husbandry and feeding practices, which are an essential element in achieving the product’s specificity.

The resulting pork leg is used frozen, according to the requirements of the technological process applied locally, and the pork fat is also used frozen to maintain the granular and mosaic structure specific to the product. The availability of the pigs reared in the defined geographical area forms the basis of the local salami-making tradition, the continuity of which is essential for maintaining the structural and sensory characteristics specific to ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’.

The beef leg used to make the product is obtained from quarters of the carcass of adult bovine animals and is used frozen. It may come from the defined geographical area or from other areas, the specificity of the product being determined by the traditional processing carried out in the Poiana Mărului area, i.e. dry salting, maturation and preparation of the ground beef in accordance with local practices applied during the production process.

4.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The production process for ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’, including rearing and feeding the pigs, slaughtering the animals, cutting the carcasses and producing the meat parts used in the technological process, manual portioning, dry salting, maturing, preparing the ground beef, filling the casings, heat treatment, hot smoking, cold smoking and drying, takes place in the defined geographical area.

4.5.   Specific rules concerning packaging, slicing, grating etc. of the agricultural product the registered name refers to

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4.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the agricultural product the registered name refers to

The name ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ must be followed by the words ‘Indicație Geografică Protejată’ (Protected Geographical Indication) or the acronym ‘IGP’ (PGI) in Romanian and the European symbol for the protection of the name. The labels will also include the symbols of the Certification Body.

5.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises the Brașov County administrative territorial unit, defined according to the Romanian territorial-administrative structure.

6.   Link with the geographical area

The origin of ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ is closely linked to the name of its birthplace.

Poiana Mărului is a scattered community in the foothills of the Poiana Mărului hilltop, on the border between the Eastern and Southern Carpathians.

The origin of the name of this village is shrouded in local legends handed down over time. According to the best-known legend, the name of the village comes from a clearing (poiana) with an apple tree in the middle, which later became the heart of the settlement. The area was initially settled by people persecuted under Turkish rule, later by outlaws and shepherds who contributed to the development of the local community.

The application to register ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ as a PGI is based on the link between the characteristics of the product and the geographical area, determined by local livestock farming traditions, the use of raw materials from the area and the constant application of a specific technological process, including dry salting, slow maturing, smoking and the use of ground beef.

Poiana Mărului is characterised by a damp, cool temperate-continental climate which has traditionally favoured the development of curing and maturing practices for meat products. These practices have been adapted by the community to local conditions and are currently maintained through the technological control of temperature and ventilation parameters during the manufacturing process.

The specific climatic conditions of Poiana Mărului, characterised by moderate temperatures and relatively constant humidity, have favoured the development and maintenance of traditional salting, maturation and smoking practices adapted to the local environment, methods that allow the biochemical changes responsible for the texture, aroma and stability of the finished product to occur gradually.

The technological practices applied in the production of ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ are the result of adaptating the production methods over time to the characteristics of the raw materials from the defined geographical area. These methods are passed down and maintained within the local producer community.

The soils in the area around Poiana Mărului favour the cultivation of cereals traditionally used to feed the pigs reared in the area. Local husbandry and feeding practices are part of the continuity of the region’s agricultural and zootechnical activities and support the development of the local sausage-making tradition. By making the product in the defined geographical area, these practices help preserve the cultural identity of the community.

The pork legs used in the processing of ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ come from farms in the demarcated geographical area, where local livestock farming and feed practices are applied. Thanks to these practices, the pork legs used in the processing of ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ are among the most tasty and nutritious pieces of pork. Their taste and tender texture are recognised by the locals. The use of this raw material is part of a local production process, together with the ground beef prepared in accordance with the recipe passed down in the community.

The technological process is based on methods traditionally used in the area, such as dry salting, preparing the ground beef and natural smoking using hardwood beech. These steps determine the technological changes and help to distinguish the product from similar salamis made in other regions.

The salting, maturing and smoking stages are carried out in accordance with the technological practices developed within the production facilities in the Poiana Mărului area. The process parameters are adapted to the characteristics of the local raw materials and the traditional way of processing, contributing to the formation of the consistency, texture and sensory profile specific to the product.

Dry salting is an essential technological step carried out by manually cutting the beef leg into cubes of various sizes and kneading it with salt, a process that promotes the development of the product’s characteristic taste, aroma and texture. The preservation of the muscle fibre structure associated with the action of the salt initiates the gradual extraction of the myofibrillar proteins (myosin and actin), which form a natural protein matrix which helps to stabilise the mixture, prevent fat separation and achieve the elasticity and compact, mosaic appearance specific to the finished product.

During production and maturation of the ground beef, the paste is stirred by hand and turned periodically, ensuring that the mixture is homogenised and aerated. At this stage, the extraction of myofibrillar proteins continues and stabilises, forming a protein matrix capable of binding the water and stabilising the fat particles. Natural enzymatic processes result in the controlled degradation of muscle proteins, contributing to the tenderness and elasticity characteristic of the product, while slow oxidative transformations of lipids lead to the development of natural aromatic compounds that define the specific sensory profile. At the same time, the physico-chemical changes during maturation favour the stabilisation of the pigments in the meat and the formation of a compact consistency and a uniform, bound and elastic texture inside typical of the finished product.

Natural hardwood smoking is a defining element of the local technological process. A specific step is curing, consisting of a short hot smoking, derived from the traditional practice of hanging products in well-ventilated attics and now carried out in premises with controlled ventilation. The continuation of this method reflects the continuity of local craftsmanship.

The production process is entirely carried out in the defined geographical area by local staff with long-standing experience of processing meat products. The technological knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation within the local community and progressively adapted to modern requirements, preserving the traditional character of the product. The situation following the Second World War indirectly helped to maintain inhabitants’ traditional occupations linked to livestock farming and the processing of animal products, including the professions of butcher and sausage maker. Among the people who helped define the recipe is local butcher Șoancă Ghiță, who is involved in establishing the technological process used and passing on the specific know-how.

Over time, the link between the name of the product and the Poiana Mărului area has strengthened in the eyes of consumers, and the product is associated with the local tradition of meat preparations and the combined use of pork leg and beef leg seasoned according to the specific recipe. The casing used refers symbolically to the legend of the locality that gave the product its name.

‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ has established itself at local and national level, and the use of the name has been documented over a long period of time. Registration of the ‘Poiana Mărului’ trade mark in 1998 and participation in international trade fairs, including IFFA Frankfurt, since 2007, have contributed to the product’s recognition, with several awards being obtained, including gold medals.

The continued use over time, in documents and commercial practices, of the name ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ for the product produced in this area has contributed to the product’s reputation and its recognition as a product specific to the geographical area.

The link between ‘Salam Poiana Mărului’ and the defined geographical area is determined by the entire production process taking place in the area, the use of raw materials from the area and the involvement of the local human factor, which together ensure the continuity of technological practices and allow the product to be distinguished from similar products produced in other regions.

Reference to the publication of the product specification of the geographical indication

https://madr.ro/docs/ind-alimentara/2026/caiete-de-sarcini-2024/caiet-de-sarcini-salam-poiana-marului-04.03.2026.pdf

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).