{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2017-1106/annex/division-1/division-4/division-4.3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2017-1106/annex/division-1/division-4/division-4.3.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2017/1106",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1106 of 21 June 2017 entering a name in the register of traditional specialities guaranteed (Пастърма говежда (Pastarma govezhda) (TSG))",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2017-1106",
  "path": "annex/division/1/division/4/division/4.3",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "4.3",
  "heading": "Description of the key elements establishing the product's traditional character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)",
  "text": "In 1930, Prof. G. Dikov claims in the textbook Higiena na mesoto (Meat hygiene) that in Bulgaria beef has been processed into pastarma through salting and drying from time immemorial. Over Bulgaria's thousand-year history ‘Pastarma govezhda’ embodies the wisdom of Bulgarians, who are practical, yet demanding with regard to food. That is why this product has a salty taste and the genuine colour and smell of meat; it is long-lasting and keeps easily.\nIn his book Iz stopanskoto minalo na Gabrovo (From Gabrovo's economic past) (1929) Dr P. Tsonchev elaborates on the technological use of carcasses of bovine animals in the region 150 years ago. ‘On average 70 kg of pastarma can be produced from an ox of 250 kg …’\nThe handcrafted production of ‘Pastarma govezhda’ in the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century was typically carried out seasonally in natural drying chambers in the mountainous regions where the weather conditions were suitable. The traditional production method characterised by the drying process is what has made the product a Bulgarian speciality. During drying, certain parameters are maintained: air temperature and humidity, creating favourable conditions for the development of the country-specific micrococci (M. varians) and lactobacilli (L. plantarum, L. casei), which give this product its characteristic taste (Valkova, K. Tehnologia na mesnite produkti (Meat products production methods), Plovdiv, 2005; Boshkova, K., Mikrobiologia na mesoto, ribata i yaytsata (Microbiology of meat, fish and eggs), Plovdiv, 1994). Due to its popularity and the advent of air-conditioned drying chambers which maintain the natural environment drying parameters, the production of ‘Pastarma govezhda’ has spread to all regions in the country and become industrialised, while the quality characteristics and the recipe of the product have been preserved intact right up to the present day.\nThe first production and trade standards for ‘Pastarma govezhda’ were published in 1942 by the Supreme Institute of Veterinary Hygiene and Control of Animal Products. In describing the production process Dr M. Yordanov and T. Girginov interpreted the jargon used in the past: ‘drying and pressing are repeated until the product is completely ready — the traditional producers used the word “baked”.’\nThe composition and the quality requirements for ‘Pastarma govezhda’ were standardised for the first time in 1955 in Bulgarian State Standard BDS 2014 55 (Beef and buffalo-meat pastarma). Rules and standards for the technological process ensuring this high-quality product have been established. The production method for ‘Pastarma govezhda’ was described in Sbornik tehnologicheski instruktsii po mesnata promishlenost (Collected articles on the technological instructions in the meat industry) (1958), Proizvodstvo i plasment na mesni produkti (Production and marketing of meat products) (1963) and Sbornik tehnologichni instruktsii za proizvodstvo na mesni proizvedenia (Collected articles on the technological instructions for the production of meat products) (1980), the composition and method of preparation having been kept unchanged over the years. In his memoirs Dr Chilingirov, a long-serving specialist at the Rodopa meat factory in Shumen in the 1960s, stated: ‘The main traditional production method has been fully preserved despite the modern technical equipment and air-conditioned chambers’.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2017/1106/annex/division/1/division/4/division/4.3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:44:51.350410+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}