Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2025-10-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Romania, Tulcea, consumer information, designation of origin, freshwater fish, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, smoked product








C_202505637EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/5637


21.10.2025






Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
(C/2025/5637)

Following 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 within three months from the date of this publication.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Batog de sturion’
                  


EU No: PGI-RO-02979 – 21.7.2023
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of PGI


               ‘Batog de sturion’
            
2.   Member State or Third Country

Romania
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.7. Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived there-from

Combined Nomenclature code

03 – FISH AND CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS AND OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES

                  0305  – Fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process

                  0305 49  – Other

                  0305 49 80  – Other
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies


                  ‘Batog de sturion’ is a food made from fish. The raw material is back fillet of sturgeon from aquaculture.
Aquaculture sturgeon possesses the properties necessary for the product’s organoleptic characteristics, as their diet is close to that of wild sturgeon. They also live in similar conditions conducive to growth and reproduction, and are reared in a controlled aquatic environment, without contaminants from the natural environment.
Sturgeon back fillet forms at least 94 % of the final product. It is taken from specimens weighing at least 7 kilograms with at least 7 % fat. It is made from one piece, which is filleted, skinned and portioned by hand. The use of sturgeon back fillet gives the product a compact structure, making it easy to slice.
The manufacturing process includes salting, using a mixture of 4 % rock salt and 2 % sugar, which helps give the finished product its specific taste; drying, which helps to obtain consistency, with the finished product having a residual moisture content of at least 35 %; and smoking with hardwood smoke, which helps impart colour and round off the taste.
The finished product is netted in string to maintain the firmness of the fillet. It has an immaculate exterior, and an elongated, oval, irregular shape. The colour on the outside is a mix of golden and golden brown tones. When cut into, it is transparent and unctuous through to the middle, tender to the touch but not too dry.

                  ‘Batog de sturion’ has a slightly smoky smell encompassing a range of tastes and aromas. The sweet and salty taste is accompanied by a meaty taste specific to the sturgeon species, which does not have a strong fishy taste.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

Making ‘Batog de sturion’ requires the raw material, which is back fillet of sturgeon from aquaculture (family Acipenseridae, species Huso huso, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii and Acipenser baerii), and the ingredients non-iodised rock salt and sugar.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Steps in making the product: reception of raw materials and processing materials, sorting, gutting, filleting, skinning and portioning, freezing, thawing, trimming, salting, checking salt levels, binding and preparation for drying, smoking, cooling and maturation.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

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

The label includes the following:






—


the name of the product, ‘Batog de sturion’;










—


the manufacturer’s name;










—


the logo of the inspection and certification body.




4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area of ‘Batog de sturion’ is the area of Tulcea County, in accordance with Romania’s administrative structure. This includes the Danube Delta (which occupies 87,73 % of the area of Tulcea County, about 580 000 ha) and the mouth of the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The application for registration of ‘Batog de sturion’ is based on its reputation as a food linked to the geographical area over several generations.
According to the Østeuropastudier – Danish Portal for East European Studies of the Department of Multicultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen, the word ‘batog’ is part of the vocabulary of Slavic languages, meaning whip or stick. The word ‘batog’ appeared in the geographical area as a result of the Slavic immigrants who settled there during the 19th century. Since their basic occupation was fishing and fish processing in the geographical area, ethnic cultural influence was passed on to the product known as ‘batog’. This is because the fillet used to make the batog de sturion, which was then processed by smoking, salting and drying, was likened to the strips of a whip from the emigrants’ culture of origin.

               ‘Batog de sturion’ has earned its reputation thanks to its sensory profile and complex aroma obtained from the traditional processing procedure, its refined taste similar to that of poultrymeat, its uniform appearance, and its delicate but firm texture, characteristic of the dorsal muscle of the sturgeon.
In the study Fauna ichtiologică a României [Romanian Ichthyological Fauna], published in 1909, Dr Grigore Antipa, a prestigious Romanian biologist who dedicated to his career to the sustainable management of the Danube Delta, mentions batogul afumat de sturion (morun).
In 1911, another reference to batog de sturion (morun) as a product from the geographical area appeared in the periodical Românul, year I, No 13, page 5, printed in Arad, in an article entitled ‘Cronica științifică’ – ‘Morunul’ [Scientific Chronicle: The Beluga].
In 1916, in the scientific work Pescăria și pescuitul în România [Fisheries and Fishing in Romania], vol. 8, No 46, published in Bucharest, Dr Grigore Antipa mentions the production of batog de sturion (morun) from fillet as a specific traditional product. In another chapter of that work, we find a second reference to batog de sturion (morun, nisetru) made from back fillet.
In 1939, in Note de călătorie – O excursie în Delta Dunării [Travel notes – A Trip to the Danube Delta], published in the magazine Natura No 8, Bucharest, Dr Victoria G. Iuga, curator of the Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History, described batog de sturion (morun) as a well-known product from the geographical area.
In 1975, the relevant ministry, through the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry – Fish Production and Industrialisation Institute, created the industrial standard for making ‘batog de sturion’, NID 161-71 N. 24, ‘Departmental Internal Standard on semi-preserved fish batog’. As the geographical area is the source of supply, the standard no longer distinguished between the raw materials beluga and Russian sturgeon, in view of their organoleptic similarities.
A handbook on gastronomic tourism, Îndreptar gastronomic pentru agroturism [A culinary guide to agri-tourism] by Mariana Drăgoi, published in 2006, proposes a menu specific to the geographical area, which includes batog from sturgeon fillet (beluga, Russian sturgeon).
Another published mention dates from 2016, when the Slow Food Foundation included ‘Batog de sturion’ as a product from the geographical area in the Ark of Taste international catalogue of endangered heritage foods. This is an online catalogue of traditionally produced foods containing over 5 900 preparations characteristic of certain geographical areas (as well as local plant and animal species) from over 150 countries, the collective work of academic staff and students from the University of Gastronomic Sciences (Pollenzo, Italy).
On the basis of its reputation, ‘Batog de sturion’ gained public attention as a quality product in September 2022 at the Rowmania-Ivan Patzaichin FEST multi-annual festival, which is dedicated to the sustainable development of the geographical area, thanks to an award bestowed on the RO-PESCADOR Association.

               ‘Batog de sturion’ has been presented at various events presenting agri-food products to the general public and specialists.
These were: ‘Mâncăm și trăim românește’ [Eating and living the Romanian way] (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development [MADR], Bucharest, Romania, November 2019); ‘International Danube Day’ exhibition (Cernavodă, Romania, 2022); local producers’ fair (Tulcea Municipality, Romania, October 2022); ‘National Day of Romanian Agri-Food Products’ fair (MADR, Bucharest, Romania, October 2022 and October 2023); ‘Geographical indications in the Black Sea Basin Network’ conference (Galați, Romania, October 2022); ‘Touristica’ tourism fair (Cluj-Napoca, Romania, February 2023); ‘Exhibition of products from the territories of Local Action Groups (LAGs) from Bulgaria, Romania and other EU member states’ (Ruse, Bulgaria, March 2023); ‘Traditional Romanian products fair’ (MADR, Bucharest, Romania, November 2023); and ‘Poftim, din Romania!’ [Here you go, products from Romania!] fair (MADR, Bucharest, Romania, December 2023).

               ‘Batog de sturion’ is therefore identified as originating in the specific geographical area.

Reference to publication of the specification


https://www.madr.ro/docs/ind-alimentara/2025/caiete-de-sarcini-2023/CS-Batog-de-sturion-revizuit-mai-25.pdf



(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).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/5637/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)