Improvement of production and placement of traditional dairy products in Serbia

Abstract

Traditional food products represent a heritage and are the result of accumulated empirical knowledge that is passed through the generations. Dairy products, including cheeses and kajmak, have a long tradition of production and consumption in Serbia. The two known groups of autochthonous Serbian cheeses are white brined and pasta filata cheeses which are represented in central and south parts of Serbia, respectively. Kajmak is a dairy product with unique composition and sensory properties and with great potential to be recognizable brand of domestic agriculture. Nowadays, the most of these products are usually produced in households and small craft dairy plants which are poorly organized. Such manufacturing methods of traditional dairy products differ greatly from region to region, yielding products of uneven quality and safety with wide variation in composition and characteristics. All of these are certainly the main reasons why such a delicious dairy products are not recognized as traditional products with protected origin as well as have been left out of the world market and remains only significant on a local level. This paper discusses the main problems and difficulties of the traditional dairy products manufacture such as organization of primary milk production, quality of raw milk, conditions in the production dairy plants, lack of knowledge etc. Also, the available and missing resources in traditional dairy products manufacture were considered in order to indicate the possibilities and the main ways for improvement of traditional production and placement on market. The main goals in future should be based on the detailed defining of composition, properties and method of production of selected dairy products, establish better control, better connection between different public and private Institutions, associations and collective actions of producers on market, the education of producers as well as consumers etc. The increasing of the supply of products with tradition and geographical designation of origin should be an important commitment for rural development as well as overall agriculture in Serbia. All of these can help for better positioning and distribution of valued traditional Serbian dairy products on domestic and world markets.