EN Official Journal of the European Union L 302/1

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 1127/2013

of 7 November 2013

approving minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Montasio (PDO))

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, the Commission has examined Italy’s application for the approval of amendments to the specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Montasio’, registered under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 (2), as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 355/2011 (3).

(2) The purpose of the application is to amend the specification by clarifying the production method.

(3) The Commission has examined the amendments in question and decided that they are justified. Since the amendments are minor within the meaning of the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, the Commission may approve them without following the procedure set out in Articles 50 to 52 of the Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Montasio’ is hereby amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 2

Annex II to this Regulation contains the consolidated Single Document setting out the main points of the specification.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 7 November 2013. For the Commission, On behalf of the President, Dacian CIOLOȘ Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 148, 21.6.1996, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 98, 13.4.2011, p. 6.

ANNEX I In the specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Montasio’, the following amendments are approved: 1st amendment The sentence: ‘The milk used must come from the evening and morning milking, up to a maximum of four consecutive milkings’ is replaced by the following sentence: ‘The milk must come from consecutive milkings and be collected within 48 hours of the first milking’. Initially, the milk delivered within the 48 hour period came from only traditional milkings, which were 4 in number. With the introduction of automatic milking, the number of consecutive milkings possible in a 48 hour period can be increased. The time period has therefore been maintained; only the total number of milkings has been changed. From a technical and scientific point of view, the use of automatic milking systems does not affect the properties of the milk; in particular, its composition is statistically comparable, in terms of fats and protein content, to that of milk obtained by traditional milking. The cows’ health is even improved, since these systems eliminate the stress caused, during peaks of high lactation, by the practice of only two milkings. The possibility of obtaining large quantities of milk more than twice a day also has the effect of subjecting the udder and teats to less stress, improving the microbiological quality of the milk and reducing the occurrence of mastitis. The use of these systems also makes it possible to improve the milk’s rheological behaviour, which measures the coagulation capacity, leading to both a faster enzymatic reaction in the curds and making the curds resistant to the mechanical action of the curd knife. 2nd amendment Current wording: ‘The milk intended for the PDO “Montasio” must not undergo pasteurisation processes and must be accompanied by a clearly positive phosphatasia analysis.’ Amended text: ‘The milk intended for the PDO “Montasio” must not be pasteurised. Any analyses carried out on the heat-treated milk intended for the production of the PDO “Montasio” must show a clearly positive reaction to the phosphatasia test.’ For several years cheese self-monitoring dairies have subjected the milk to a systematic check by recording the milk’s transitional temperatures each day. Thus, the phosphatasia test remains an analysis method used by the monitoring body to check compliance with the specification. This check is carried out on the basis of risk analysis. 3rd amendment Current text: ‘The production of the cheese for the PDO “Montasio” is carried out according to the following operational sequence: 06) cooking at 42-48 °C and rolling away from the heat for a total of 20 to 30 minutes;’ Proposed text: 06) ‘cooking at + 42-48 °C and draining, away from the heat, for at least 10 minutes;’ It has been found that these two stages (the cooking and the successive draining, away from the heat) can vary greatly according to the prevailing technical and technological conditions. As regards equipment, the cheese dairies which produce ‘Montasio’ use either copper vats (from 1 to 1,5 tonnes) or multi-purpose steel vats with a capacity of 3,5 to 8 tonnes. Using these two types of vat is a factor which determines the time for heating the coagulated mass, since the speeds of steam heating are very different from those resulting from the process which takes place. As for the draining, away from heat, a stage during which part of the whey is removed from the coagulated mass, the latter depends on the maximum temperature reached, how quickly the mass cools, which in turn depends on the type of vat used, the quantities processed in each vat, the size of the curds’ kernels and the quantity of water contained which will be removed by the effect of the temperature and the mixing. Moreover, the decanting or withdrawal of the coagulated mass with a view to moulding can be speeded up or slowed down depending on the time needed to carry out the operation and the degree of automation present. For example, if the coagulated mass is decanted onto a moulding table from a multi-purpose vat placed above that table, the time needed for the same quantity is well below that needed for manual decanting with a linen cloth from copper vats. Taking into account the fact that the optimum moment for decanting the curds is determined by each cheesemaker according to daily assessment criteria, experience and personal know-how, etc., it is necessary to define a minimum duration for the cooking and draining away from heat.