Romania’s Pecica bread (Pită de Pecica) has been granted a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) by the European Commission, making it a protected product in the EU.
„Pita de Pecica” is an oven-baked bread loaf produced in the Pecica region in western Romania – mostly Arad. The product’s fame is due to historical proof of its antiquity, transmitted through oral sources collected and transcribed in magazines and books to be handed down to future generations. The recipe for making this bread, preparing the dough, kneading, and the baking method, have been handed down from generation to generation, so that this traditional product can be found on the consumers’ tables to this day.
Romania already had 11 products registered in the European quality systems, ten of which are Protected Geographical Indications (PGI): Topoloveni plum marmalade, Sibiu salami, ‘Novac afumat din Tara Barsei’ smoked bighead carp fillet, smoked Danube mackerel, Plescoi sausage, Telemea de Sibiu sheep cheese, Cascaval de Saveni semi-hard ripened cheese, Tulcea pike roe salad, traditional carp roe salad, and Dobrogea pie; and Telemea de Ibanesti cheese as a Protected Designation of Origin product, reports AgerPres.
Also, approximately 20 products have been identified as eligible for European registration, namely Telemea de Vaideni cheese (Valcea County), Bran sheepskin cheese, Rhubarb jam, Gulianca cheese (Braila County), Deltaic pike roe salad, Hunedoara ‘virsli’ sausages, Nadlac salami, ‘Salinate de Turda’ salt-cured pork cuts, Copalau garlic, Pericei onion, Transylvanian ham, Toboliu cabbage, Neamt craft beer, Putna Valley smoked trout, Muscel pretzel, Samburesti smoked plums, Oltenesti spicy sausages, Voinesti apples, and other culinary delights.
