The cured ham dish, which is left to dry in the bora wind in the Kras region in western Slovenia, is probably as old as the settlements in the region, while its fame spread after the railway connecting Vienna and Trieste had been built, the ministry added.

The protected designation of origin label means that all phases of the production of pršut need to take place in the specific geographic area, as the quality and characteristics of the product result from the specific local influences.

Apart from pršut, four food products from Slovenia have the same label: zgornjesavinski želodec and šebreljski želodec, which are traditional air-dried meat products made from high-quality pork and bacon, prleška tünka, a meat dish, and Ptujski lük, a type of red onion grown in the area of Ptuj.

Meanwhile, the Tolminc cheese, extra virgin olive oil from the Slovenian Istra region, the Nanos cheese, forest honey from the Kočevje region, belokranjska pogača, a type of bread typical of the SE region of Bela krajina, idrijski žlikrofi dumplings from the Idria region and prekmurska gibanica, layered sweet pastry from Prekmurje, boast other EU protection designations.