Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2021/C 325/06)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

’Lički škripavac’

EU No: PGI-HR-02600 – 18 March 2020

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

’ Lički škripavac ’

2. Member State or Third Country

Croatia

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Lički škripavac’ is a soft, fatty cheese obtained through the coagulation of raw or pasteurised whole cow’s milk using rennet and a starter culture, and separation of the whey. The cheese is not matured and thus does not have a rind.

‘Lički škripavac’ has a soft-rubbery consistency and is cylindrical or rectangular in shape. The cheese weighs at least 240 g and its surface is milky-white in colour with no rind. The interior is smooth, with no or few holes caused by the retention of the whey during the moulding of the cheese. It has a milky-sweet and moderately salty taste. The cheese has a characteristic rubber consistency, and it ‘squeaks’ when it is eaten, hence the name ‘Lički škripavac’ [which translates roughly as ‘squeaky cheese from Lika’].

It contains at least 50 % dry matter and at least 45 % fat in the dry matter.

Its property of ‘squeakiness’ is retained, depending on the quality of the milk, for the first 5 to 7 days and can be reactivated by immersing the cheese, in its original vacuum packaging, in warm water (40-50 °C, up to 2 minutes).

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

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

All stages in the production of ‘Lički škripavac’, from production and renneting of the milk to salting, moulding and pressing of the cheese, must take place within the geographical area referred to in point 4.

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

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

The finished product must bear the date of packaging together with the following note to the consumer: ‘If 7 or more days have passed since the date of packaging, immerse the packaged cheese in warm water (40-50 °C) for 2 minutes before opening it, in order to restore the squeakiness’.

When placed on the market, the finished product must bear the common symbol of ‘Lički škripavac’. The symbol is round and the background is light blue at the top, blue in the middle and green at the bottom. The word ‘LIČKI’ appears in white against the light blue background and the word ‘ŠKRIPAVAC’, also in white, appears against the green background. In the middle of the circle there is a stylised Lika cap. All users of the protected geographical indication ‘Lički škripavac’ who produce the product in accordance with its specification have the right to use the common symbol, under the same conditions.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area in which ‘Lički škripavac’ is produced covers three administrative regions: most of Lika-Senj County and small parts of Zadar County and Karlovac County. The area in which ‘Lički škripavac’ is produced includes the towns of Gospić, Otočac and Senj and the municipalities of Donji Lapac, Karlobag, Lovinac, Perušić, Plitvička jezera, Udbina, Vrhovine and Brinje in Lika-Senj County, the municipality of Gračac in Zadar County, and the town of Ogulin and the municipalities of Rakovica, Josipdol, Saborsko and Plaški in Karlovac County.

5. Link with the geographical area

Protection of the name ‘Lički škripavac’ is based on the reputation the product has earned over many years of traditional production in the defined geographical area referred to in point 4.

Cheesemaking skills have been developed over centuries with the aim of improving the quality of people’s diets, but also in order to preserve and store milk for as long as possible. Throughout history, most cheeses have been produced so as to withstand long journeys from villages to towns, whereas ‘Lički škripavac’ came about precisely because the long winters and roads impassable due to snow and snow drifts made it impossible to transport the product out of remote villages cut off by snow to nearby towns. Indeed, the tradition of making ‘Lički škripavac’ is carried on by the inhabitants of the Velika Kapela and Velebit mountain ranges on the coastal side and of Lika. It is a specific regional product of a population engaged in livestock farming, which has produced this cheese solely for its own needs.

With reference to the history and tradition of ‘Lički škripavac’, the soft cheese came about above all to meet the nutritional needs of the local people, especially during the long, snowy, winter months typical of the geographical area referred to in point 4, when they often could not leave their homes because of the bad weather.

Another link to the defined geographical area is its property of ‘squeakiness’, which is due to the high milk fat and milk protein content of the milk, which in turn is the result of the specific diet of the cows in this area.

In addition to being useful in the daily lives of the people in the mountainous part of Primorje and Lika, making ‘Lički škripavac’ is a distinctive symbol of the producers’ regional identity.

The product’s reputation is borne out by various traditional trade and cultural-artistic events which showcase the traditions, customs and cultural heritage of the Lika region. These events include the Jesen u Lici [Autumn in Lika] annual exhibition of traditional products, which has been held in Gospić on the first weekend of October every year since 1998 and which encourages the development of local production in rural Croatia and of tourism in the area in general. At the event, the producers present their local products, one of which is ‘Lički škripavac’, and give demonstrations of the traditional method of producing such products. The event takes place in the main square of the town and brings together more than 300 exhibitors from Croatia and neighbouring countries, averaging 30 000 visitors over 3 days. As part of the event, an assessment of the cheeses is traditionally carried out, in which ‘Lički škripavac’ plays a very important role, regularly winning awards for its excellence.

Producers of ‘Lički škripavac’ also participate in other national and foreign fairs where they promote the reputation of ‘Lički škripavac’, such as, for example, the Mediterranean Fair of Healthy Food, Medicinal Herbs and Green Entrepreneurship in Dubrovnik and the cheese fair in Grubišno Polje, where high-quality cheeses are exhibited.

The quality and reputation of ‘Lički škripavac’ is attested to by the numerous awards and gold medals won by the producers of this cheese. Producers from Lika-Senj County participated with their products in the 2019 Novi Sad International Agricultural Fair, which is the largest agricultural event in south-east Europe and features the most significant producers in this sector of the economy. They received the large gold medal in the assessment of the quality of dairy products, cheeses and ice cream, with ‘Lički škripavac’ also receiving an award. At the 2019 CROAGRO trade fair in Zagreb, there were around 460 exhibitors from 28 countries. A national assessment of the cheeses was carried out as part of the event, following six assessments at regional level, and a gold medal was awarded to ‘Lički škripavac’.

Furthermore, in order to raise the profile and promote the production of traditional cheeses, among which ‘Lički škripavac’ features prominently, the Lika-Senj County tourist board launched and implemented the Lika-Senj County cheese route project.

Apart from the reputation which ‘Lički škripavac’ demonstrates at events, where it promotes its name and quality, and the visibility of the region from which it originates, its recognisability is also highlighted in various scientific papers, such as the work by Martina Marić, Mladenka Šarolić, Mirko Smoljić, Maja Macura and Marijo Ćaćić (2010) ‘Croatian and Imported Cheese in the Domestic Market’ in which they state that the ‘Lika area is famous for the production of “Lički škripavac” cheese’. This work was published in 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ‘Vallis AUREA’ 2010 pp. 779-783.

A more recent study in 2020 ‘Povezanost sira škripavca s područjem njegove proizvodnje’[‘Squeaky’ cheese’s link to its production area], by Roberta Lovrinov, a student at the [University of Zagreb’s] Faculty of Agriculture, found that as many as 76 % of people surveyed associated ‘squeaky’ cheese with Lika as the area of origin.

In 2008 ‘Lički škripavac’ was included on the Croatian Ministry of Culture’s List of protected cultural treasures (Decision of the Ministry of Culture establishing the characteristics of an intangible cultural treasure, Zagreb, 2008).

The importance of ‘Lički škripavac’ cheese as a product which defines Lika is also demonstrated by the fact that this cheese was included in the 2007 book Vodič kroz hrvatske gastro ikone [Croatian Gourmet Guide], where it was presented as a specific product of Lika. It was also included in the brochure ‘Hrvatska eno-gastronomija’ [Oeno-gastronomy of Croatia], published by the Croatian National Tourist Board in 2008, as a feature of the local gastronomy of Lika.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/hrana/zoi-zozp-zts/dokumenti-zoi-zozp-zts/Izmijenjena_Specifikacija_Licki_skripavac.pdf

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.