Slovenia, which has already obtained a special EU status for eleven of its traditional food products, is now seeking for "kranjska klobasa" to be granted the protected designation of origin (PDO).

To qualify for a PDO, the product must have qualities and characteristics which are essentially due to its region of production; it must also be produced, processed and prepared exclusively within that region.

The European Commission published a notice on "kranjska klobasa" in the EU's Official Journal in February, and member states and third countries now have six months to lodge an appeal.

Austria has already announced it will oppose granting the Slovenian sausage the requested status, according to a report by the Austrian press agency APA.

Once the Commission has established whether the potential appeals are justified, it will call on the countries involved to reach an agreement. If that fails, the Commission will re-examine the application with the help of an expert committee.

The Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that the application for PDO followed after "kranjska klobasa" obtained national protected geographical status in Slovenia in 2008.

Such designation means that at least one of the production procedures must be conducted within a specified geographic region, so that the raw material for example may come from outside that region.

The request by "kranjska klobasa" producers for protected geographical status was filed with the Agriculture Ministry as early as 2005.

"Kranjska klobasa" contains at least 68% pork and up to 20% of bacon and 12% of beef, plus salt, garlic and black pepper.

The other Slovenian food products to have been registered with the European Commission include the Nanos and Tolminc cheeses (W), extra virgin olive oil from the Slovenian Istra (SW) and the forest honey of Kočevje (SE).

Also on the list is prleška tünka cured meat stored in minced lard from the region of Prlekija (NE), belokranjska pogača, a type of bread typical of the SE region of Bela krajina, idrijski žlikrofi dumplings from Idria region (W) and prekmurska gibanica, layered sweet pastry from Prekmurje (NE).

The list also contains zgornjesavinski želodec (N) and šebreljski želodec (W), which are traditional air-dried meat products made from high-quality pork and bacon, and Ptujski luek, a sort of red onion grown in the area of Ptuj (NE).