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A butcher at work: How much Black Forest is there in Black Forest ham?
Photo: Patrick Seeger / dpa
Black Forest ham can also be called that when it is cut and packaged outside the Black Forest.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe decided in a legal dispute that has been going on for 16 years.
A complaint by the "Protection Association of Black Forest Ham Manufacturers" was rejected.
The association wanted to enforce a more precise specification of the protected geographical indication.
The meat product was protected as a specialty since 1997.
However, every ham can bear the coveted title as long as it was smoked in the Black Forest - all subsequent work steps are also possible outside of it.
Ham quality not affected
The association of regional producers did not agree.
He applied to the German Patent and Trademark Office for a stricter use of the term, in 2005 and then again in an amended version in 2007. Initially with success: the Federal Patent Court had agreed with the manufacturers and decided that the meat should also be used in the Region needs to be packed and cut.
A company that manufactures its ham in Lower Saxony lodged a complaint.
When the patent office decided against changing the specification, the association went to court.
In 2019, the Federal Patent Court finally ruled against the ham manufacturers' association, whereupon they lodged a legal complaint with the BGH.
This complaint was unsuccessful.
The BGH found no legal errors in the assessment of the Federal Patent Court.
Accordingly, Black Forest ham does not have to be sliced and packaged in the Black Forest, neither to "maintain quality" or to "guarantee origin or control of specification".
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rai / afp