EU legislation provides for the protection of agricultural products or foodstuffs produced or processed within certain geographical areas, or prepared according to traditional recipes, or consisting of traditional ingredients. Products produced in accordance with the principles of a certain quality scheme have a particular character due to the production method, the geographical area in which the production and processing takes place, or the traditional preparation methods.

There are common, European quality schemes in place in the single European market, which are laid down in European regulations. These are: protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication, traditional speciality guaranteed and organic production.

National quality schemes are laid down in the Agriculture Act. These are: designation of higher quality, delicacies from our farms, integrated production and selected quality. Quality schemes are available to all producers. Anyone entering the quality scheme must comply with statutory requirements.

Short chains and food provision for public institutions

Promoting short supply chains and local food are among the priorities of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and a strategic guideline of Slovenian agriculture and food industry. The Public Procurement Act of 2016 allows public institutions to exclude more foodstuffs from public procurement procedures and to purchase them directly from growers or processors, while, within public procurement processes, to give priority to foodstuffs covered by quality schemes, to foodstuffs produced under the national food quality regulations and to foodstuffs coming from sustainable production and processing.

There are more than 740 public institutions placing orders for food. In all educational institutions, more than 630,000 meals are prepared daily. It is estimated that the share of Slovenian food in public institutions is around 40%. Activities such as Slovenian Food Day, Traditional Slovenian Breakfast and School Scheme also contribute to a greater share of local food in public institutions.

Our Super Food

The promotion of locally produced and processed food was supported by a campaign and a website called “Our super food”, a 3-year project co-financed by the state and the involved sectors. There are efforts to constantly increase the quantity of quality food for achieving national self-sufficiency, while at the same time, to increase Slovenian consumers' confidence in local food. Our goal is to achieve a 90% customer preference for locally produced food, which would at the same time stabilise and increase local production and processing.