The European Commission may soon decide to award the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) designation for thin pork sausages called “kabanosy” to Poland, despite Germany's protests, according to media reports.

Poland submitted the application for TSG on kabanosy in January. The Czech Republic, Austria and Germany protested and the EC obliged the countries to reach bilateral agreements within six months. Poland managed to persuade the Czechs and Austrians, but German kabanosy producers upheld their protest. Now the case is to be settled by the EC, probably in four to six months.

According to the Polish media, the EC is leaning towards Poland's initiative and will reject Germany's protests, especially since the TSG allows producers from other countries to use the same name, but signifies that a given product or foodstuff was produced according to a specific formula and standards. Thus, that Germans will still be able to make kabanosy, just not with the TSG logo.

Products protected by the TSG label include mozzarella cheese and Naples pizza. It is the lowest form of product protection, compared to the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) trademark requiring at least partial manufacture of a product within a specific region or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), which requires the product to be entirely manufactured within a specific region.