At a time when locally produced food is in the spotlight, the second national sausage and salami competition was held in Sveti Petar u Šumi in Istria, with 123 entries of highest-quality sausages and salamis from all Croatian regions, as well as from neighbouring Slovenia. Competing sausages and salamis are judged in eight defined categories with a high degree of professionalism and expertise, making the competition a major challenge for all superior sausage producers, regardless of their production size and the region they are coming from.
Belje presented its “kulenova seka” (kulen-style salami) made from black Slavonian pig (Crna slavonska) for the first time at this competition this year.
“We sent the Kulenova seka Crna slavonska to the competition in Sveti Petar u Šumi for the first time and won a champion tile”, Mirabela Opančar, Head of Dry Cured Sausage and Bacon Production at Belje, says proudly. “Even though we are one of the largest producers of traditional deli meats in Croatia, we do everything the traditional way, lots of it by hand, to which our products owe its premium quality. We grow our own black Slavonian pigs in the Kopački rit Nature Park, which means we control the entire production process, from the highest-quality raw material to traditional smoking using beechwood. We are very proud of this award, because it has broken down the barriers between the big and the small producers, demonstrating Belje’s commitment to premium food quality”, Opančar concluded.
The municipality of Sveti Petar u Šumi has been organising the sausage fair “S klobasicom u Europu” (Taking our sausages to Europe) for many years. “The sausage and salami competition is a part of our big project ‘S klobasicom u Europu’, which we have launched ten years ago, and which included building the Croatian sausage house, called ‘Hiža od klobasic’ in the local dialect, which boasts a sensory lab and a sausage and salami competition room. We draw attention to the importance of sausages in Croatian gastronomy and the importance of their continued promotion in all our projects”, said Municipal Prefect Mario Bratulić, PhD.