Some quick news from the domestic food industry. First, from various sources we hear that the Herz Salami company has received the coveted "protected designation of origin" status from the European Union for its "winter salami." As a result of the directive, which followed the earlier granting of similar status to the téliszalámi of Szeged, no one else in the world will be able to claim there are selling "Budapest winter salami." Just you go ahead and try!

Next, it seems that Szobi, the famed maker of fruit szörp may not end up being liquidated, as had been earlier feared. According to business daily napi.hu, the company has found a new owner who pledges to restart production as soon as this week. The company had earlier been bought by French firm Teisseire, but they sold out to two new owners who couldn't keep the thing going. Good luck!

Lastly, some sad, sad news from the Hungarian beer sector, where sales of local suds are said to be slower than molasses. Last week the head of the Magyar Sörgyártók Szövetségének (Hungarian Brewers' Association) said that domestic sales slumped by a full 10%, with the pain being especially severe in the cheaper segments. Word is that the barely-profitable sector could fall into loss this year, as sales of suds are expected to fall by at least 5% more. On the bright side, exports jumped by a whopping 73%, with some of that froth no doubt being slurped up along with our newly-world-famous Budapest salami.