At the 12th International Exhibition of Cheese in Austria (Die internationale Käsiade), which was held from 6 to 8 November in Hopfgarten im Brixental, in the Austrian province of Tyrol, BiH cheeses won gold medals.
In cooperation with the Faculty of Agriculture and Food, University of Sarajevo and with the support of the USAID / Sida FARMA project, the Cheese Producers Association from Bosnia and Herzegovina presented itself at the 12th International Exhibition of Cheese in Austria with three cheeses from our country: Livno cheese (dairy Eko-Puđa), Vlašić cheese (ZZ Eko Vlašić / Katun) and Prozor cheese (ZZ ProMilk). The cheeses from Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented among a total of 409 cheeses from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy and Luxembourg, including Slovenia and Croatia. They competed in the category “Cottage Cheeses” i.e. non-industrial cheeses, which included 192 cheeses.
According to the decision of the jury, which consisted of 42 members, three cheeses from Bosnia and Herzegovina were awarded a gold medal: Vlašić cheese from sheep milk of the cooperative Eko Vlašić, Livno cheese of the dairies Eko-Puđa and Prozor cheese of the dairy ZZ ProMilk!
“Winning the gold medal in such fierce competition is very good, but to get three is a great promotion for our cheeses,” said Omer Mrakić, President of the Cheese Producers Association BiH. We are happy and proud. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in this exhibition, which won three gold medals! I must mention that this is the first time that we presented ourselves here, which makes our success unexpected and particularly significant.
Cheeses from Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented for the first time at this international exhibition which is held every two years since 1992. Scoring was done on the basis of standardized characteristics for a particular cheese, including exterior and interior appearance, texture, aroma and taste.
“With the support of the USAID / Sida FARMA project we have done much to standardize the quality of our cheese, and the result is confirmed by the gold medals. It will, as it seems, take some time before we will be able to export cheeses from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union, but I believe that the competent institutions are doing everything they can to resolve this issue,” said Mrakić.
During this exhibition they made a large number of contacts with manufacturers and distributors of cheese in Austria. They also promoted the Catalog of Cheese Producers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with information about 15 producers. Buyers from Turkey have been long interested in Vlašić cheese, but the issue of land transportation of cheese through the EU needs to be resolved first. Vlašić cheese is very well sold on the domestic market, but exports could increase production and employment of people.
(Source:ekapija)
