Afyon Pastırması

Afyon Pastırması is a dried cured meat product produced in Afyonkarahisar province in the Central Western Anatolia Section of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The European Commission entered it in the Union register of geographical indications on 11 June 2025, by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1136, published in Official Journal L series. Turkey's application was published in the Official Journal of the European Union as OJ C/2025/951 on 6 February 2025. The applicant body is Afyonkarahisar Ticaret Borsası (Afyonkarahisar Commodity Exchange).

The specification classifies Afyon Pastırması as Class 1.2 — Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.). The CN code is chapter 16 (Preparations of meat, of fish, of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or of insects).

What makes it distinct

Afyon Pastırması is distinguished from other Turkish pastrami types by three interlocking characteristics established in the Single Document:

Locally fattened cattle and Anatolian buffalo. The specification requires meat from cattle and Anatolian buffalo that have been fattened for a minimum of three months within the borders of Afyonkarahisar province. The animals are fed seasonal fodder, dry clover, fresh reeds (frig) from local wetlands, and — crucially — poppy seed cake, known locally as haşkeş. Turkey ranks second globally in poppy seed production; Afyonkarahisar produces 34.9% of the national output and allocates 31.3% of its provincial area to poppy cultivation (FAOSTAT 2023 / TUIK 2022 data cited in Single Document). The high unsaturated fatty acid content of poppy seed cake is identified in the specification as a direct contributor to the distinctive meaty taste of the product.

Cumin-free fenugreek coating. The fenugreek paste (çemen) used in Afyon Pastırması is prepared from fenugreek seed flour, powdered red pepper, garlic, salt and water to a thick slurry. Critically, the specification explicitly excludes cumin from the composition — a deliberate departure from other Turkish pastrami types, in which cumin is a standard ingredient. The Single Document states that the local consensus is that overuse of spices, particularly cumin, conceals the distinctive meat taste; in Afyon Pastırması, meat flavour predominates.

Tenderest cuts only. Only the soft parts of the upper carcass are used: chuck, rib, short loin and sirloin — muscles with lower activity and therefore greater tenderness. This cut selection is described in the Single Document as local knowledge directly linked to the product's characteristic texture, which dissolves quickly when a thin slice is placed in the mouth.

Pastırami summer drying. The drying process exploits the specific autumn microclimate of Afyonkarahisar. Day-night temperature differences exceed 10°C in autumn; fermentation and drying proceed during the day at 19–25°C and slow at night at 6–8°C. Water migrates from the interior of the meat chunk to the surface overnight and forms droplets by morning, accelerating the following day's drying. This period, when the region's relative humidity drops below 64%, is referred to locally as 'Pastırami summer'.

Chemical specification

The following values are taken directly from the Single Document (OJ C/2025/951):

Property	Value
Moisture	≤50%
Salt (mass in dry matter)	≤8%
Fat	≤40%
Sodium nitrite	≤50 mg/kg
pH	4.5–5.8

Fenugreek paste composition (approximate proportions from Single Document):

Component	Proportion
Fenugreek seed flour	~25%
Powdered paprika	~7%
Garlic	~18%
Water	~60%

The finished product is brown on the outside from the fenugreek coating and dark reddish brown on the inside. The flat upper and lower surfaces result from pressing during production. Internal white areas may appear from fat. The product is sold whole or pre-sliced to 2–3 mm thickness; the fenugreek layer may be removed before packaging on customer request.

Production zone

The entire province of Afyonkarahisar constitutes the PGI production area. Afyonkarahisar is located in the Central Western Anatolia Section of the Aegean Region, at approximately 37°47′–39°12′ north latitude and 29°50′–31°38′ east longitude. It is bounded by Uşak to the west, Kütahya to the north-west, Eskişehir to the north, Konya to the east, Isparta to the south-east, Burdur to the south, and Denizli to the south-west. The province has 18 districts: Merkez, Başmakçı, Bayat, Bolvadin, Çay, Çobanlar, Dazkırı, Dinar, Emirdağ, Evciler, Hocalar, İhsaniye, İscehisar, Kızılören, Sandıklı, Sinanpaşa, Şuhut and Sultandağı.

All production steps must be carried out within the province: animal fattening (minimum 3 months), slaughter, meat preparation, curing (salting), washing, pressing, drying, and fenugreek coating and drying.

Geographical context

Afyonkarahisar province has provided favourable conditions for agriculture and animal husbandry since antiquity. The Single Document identifies the province's flora as exceptionally diverse: approximately 2,000 taxa are distributed within the provincial borders, of which 330 are endemic to Turkey and 6 are endemic to Afyonkarahisar specifically. The dominant plant families in the province are Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Verbascum, along with Astragalus species; endemic species grow in green meadows and serve as animal feed, contributing aromatic compounds and flavones to the diet of the meat animals. The climate and soil also support significant forage crop cultivation — vetch, clover, silage corn and sainfoin.

Afyonkarahisar's position on the historical Silk Road gave local producers longstanding access to the spice trade during the Ottoman period, facilitating the development of the product's spicing tradition.

Production method

Cattle and Anatolian buffalo are fattened within Afyonkarahisar province for at least three months, fed on seasonal fodder, dry clover, fresh frig reeds and poppy seed cake. After slaughter, meat chunks are taken from the soft upper carcass sections (chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin). The process then follows the classical Turkish pastrami sequence:

Curing (salting): The meat chunks are dry-salted and left to cure.

Washing: After curing, the meat is washed to remove excess salt.

Pressing: The meat is pressed, producing the characteristic flat upper and lower surfaces.

First drying: The pressed meat is dried, exploiting the day-night temperature differential of the Afyonkarahisar autumn climate.

Fenugreek coating: The meat is coated with the çemen paste — a thick slurry of fenugreek seed flour (~25%), powdered paprika (~7%), garlic (~18%) and water (~60%), with no cumin.

Second drying: The coated meat is dried again to complete the process.

Control

Control authority per Register Extract (field 5): Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Afyonkarahisar Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Directorate (Audit Body), Ali Çetinkaya Mahallesi Ali Çetinkaya Bulvarı No:2 Merkez-Afyonkarahisar/Türkiye. Tel: +90(272)2137100; +90(272)2120449; afyonkarahisar@tarimorman.gov.