COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 1185/2013

of 21 November 2013

entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Pâté de Campagne Breton (PGI))

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 Article 52(2) thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 repealed and replaced Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2) .

Pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, France’s application to register the name ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (3) .

The Netherlands stated its opposition to the registration under Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006. That opposition was deemed admissible under Article 7(3) of the Regulation.

The statement of opposition related essentially to non-compliance with the conditions set out in Article 2(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 and specifically to the fact that the raw material, i.e. pigmeat, must come from pig breeds recognised in France and is not subject to objective quality criteria.

By letter of 24 October 2012 the Commission asked the interested parties to hold appropriate consultations.

France and the Netherlands reached agreement within the stipulated six-month period. Under that agreement, minor amendments were made to the specification and the single document by deleting the paragraphs relating to the pigs’ genetics and replacing them by objective criteria introducing a causal link between the quality of the pigmeat and that of the end product.

The name ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ should therefore be entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications; the single document should be adapted and the amended version of it published,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The name contained in Annex I to this Regulation is hereby entered in the register.

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.

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

(3) OJ C 91, 28.3.2012, p. 4.

ANNEX II

Consolidated single document

Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (1)

‘PÂTÉ DE CAMPAGNE BRETON’

EC No: FR-PGI-0005-0879-23.5.2011

PGI (X) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’

2. Member State or third country

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.2. Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is a pure pork pâté made from pigmeat and pig offal. It must contain the following meat ingredients: skinned throats (≥ 25 %), liver (≥ 20 %), cooked rinds (≥ 5 %) and fresh onions (≥ 5 %). The meat ingredients and the onions must be fresh.

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is composed of several large, coarsely minced pieces distributed uniformly throughout a slice. Its colour is darkish, its texture firm and it has a pronounced taste of meat, liver and onions.

In addition to the ingredients which must be present in ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’, non-meat ingredients represent a maximum of 15 % of the total mass used, onions excluded: water (in all its forms), broth ≤ 5 %, sugars (saccharose, dextrose, lactose) ≤ 1 %, fresh whole eggs, fresh egg whites ≤ 2 % by weight of dry matter/stuffing, flour, starches ≤ 3 %, ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate (max. 0,03 % of the total mass used), jelly and pig’s G gelatin, salt: ≤ 2 %, pepper: ≤ 0,3 %, other spices (nutmeg, garlic, shallot, parsley, thyme, laurel), ciders and apple-based spirits (eau-de-vie, lambig, etc.), Chouchen, sodium or potassium nitrite, plain caramel for the browning.

The following ingredients, taken together, must not exceed 1,7 % of the total mass used: jelly and pig’s G gelatin, nutmeg, garlic, shallot, parsley, thyme, laurel, ciders and apple-based spirits (eau-de-vie, lambig, etc.), Chouchen, sodium or potassium nitrite.

During production, the diameter of the chopped pieces is varied according to the shape of the pâtés in order to achieve a satisfying appearance, whatever the size of the slice:

— For packaging sizes ≥ 200 g => diameter of pieces ≥ 8 mm,

— For packaging sizes ≥ 200 g => diameter of pieces ≥ 6 mm.

The pieces are then mixed with the fine stuffing consisting of the minced meat and non-meat ingredients. The fats may be scalded and added warm to the stuffing. The stuffing is then packed and cooked in the oven or aseptically canned (packed in a metal can, a glass bowl or a jar).

In the case of products that are presented fresh, the preparation is covered with a fresh pig’s caul and cooked in the oven in order to obtain a characteristic crust. The preserved pâtés are browned in the oven until a brown crust forms and then set and sterilised.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

In order to reduce the presence of animals bearing genetically unfavourable characteristics, the pigs must be free of allele RN less.

The meats used in the production of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ must derive from pig carcasses weighing more than 80 kilograms. Carcasses that are too light and of low nutritional and technological quality are excluded.

In order to limit stress, which is detrimental to the quality of the meat and fat, the animals must be free of the allele making them sensitive to halothane and there must be a minimum period of two hours between the unloading of the animal at the slaughterhouse and the time of slaughter.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The specification does not refer to any specific requirements.

3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

The production of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is carried out in the geographical area.

3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is presented:

— either fresh and packed in a terrine, under film or a modified atmosphere or under vacuum, or

— fresh and cut at the place of production, or

— fresh, sliced and packed under film or a modified atmosphere or under vacuum for self-service sale, or

— aseptically canned and packed in a glass bowl, a metal can or a jar.

Its weight varies between 40 g and 10 kg.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

The labelling must include the following elements: the name of the PGI, ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’, the name and address of the certifying body and, if applicable, its certified collective mark pursuant to the rules governing its use, as well as the European Union PGI logo.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area is the traditional production area of this product. It comprises the total areas of the following departments: Côtes-d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique and Morbihan.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

Historic Brittany corresponds to the traditional production area of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’. Brittany has a centuries-long charcuterie-making tradition. In the days of Ducal Brittany in the 16th century, Breton families slaughtered their pigs and made their own cured meats.

Bretons have turned this distinctive factor to good use in the production of a wide variety of charcuterie products, in particular ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’, which made it possible to avoid wasting offal and meat leftovers from the cutting up of a pig.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The specificity of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is based on a specific quality and special know-how as well as on the product’s reputation.

A. Specific quality

The liver, the throat, the rind and possibly the edible parts of the head or the heart went into making Pâté de Campagne Breton’. The liver, which was considered a fine part of the animal, gives the pâté its taste, colour, smoothness and special flavour. Throats, cooked rinds and onions are three other indispensable traditional ingredients of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’, which also contribute to the product’s specific organoleptic characteristics. The onions, found in most traditional Breton recipes, are used for seasoning.

The liver, lean meat and fat used in the product must be minced coarsely. The presence of large pieces of meat has to do with the production methods used formerly. Today, in order to preserve this special feature, charcuterie producers must master the mincing method in order to obtain pieces with a large diameter.

The presence of a caul on top of the pâté, formerly used to shape the filling and protect the product, is still an obligatory feature of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ when presented fresh, in order to preserve its traditional appearance.

This makes it possible to obtain specific organoleptic characteristics: a firm and crisp texture, a pronounced taste of meat, cooked pork, liver and onions.

B. Another characteristic: special know-how

The former practice was to use the meats immediately after the pig was cut up. In the old days, the mechanical tools (meat axes, knives) used to cut up the pig and the meats resulted in large pieces and therefore in a coarsely minced pâté de campagne.

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ used to be cooked in the baker’s or village’s bread oven, in open dishes called ‘plats sabots’ or ‘casse à pâté’ or in receptacles. Cooking in a dry oven in open dishes causes the sugars to caramelise and provokes reactions that contribute to the brown colour of the crust. Prior to cooking, the pâté was also covered with a pig’s caul intended to smoothen, shape and protect the preparation. It prevented the stuffing from running out and the product from drying. ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ owes its specificities to its production method, which has been passed on from generation to generation in the charcuterie trade and is officially recognised, as shown by the fact that a special definition of it is included in the ‘Code des usages de la Charcuterie, de la Salaison et des Conserves de Viandes’, under the category ‘Pâté de campagne supérieur’.

C. A reputation

In line with the tradition of family-based production, the small-scale production of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ has been maintained over the years. In olden times, this home-made dish was prepared after the ‘Fest an oc’h’, a feast held in connection with the sacrifice of pigs.

True to its reputation, ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ has an important place in France’s culinary heritage.

For more than 30 years, Brittany’s manufacturers have worked together to perpetuate the reputation and specificity of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’. It is a charcuterie product that is appreciated by distributors and consumers alike.

Brittany’s fish canning industry developed strongly at the end of the 19th century. Soon these companies started preserving other foods too by canning them aseptically. In fact, ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ was canned aseptically for the first time several decades ago. Nowadays, consumers appreciate both fresh and aseptically canned ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’.

5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ derives from a long tradition of pig rearing and from the processing of pigs at their place of rearing. Very early on, Brittany’s agricultural system started focusing on rearing, in particular on the rearing of pigs on each holding.

In this way producers learned to process all of the pieces of meat at their disposal. As production started immediately after the animal was cut up, the freshness of the product was guaranteed at a time when meat preservation methods were limited.

Traditionally, all the edible parts of the pig were used, which gave the product a particular texture and taste. The use of livers, considered a fine part of the pig at the beginning of the 20th century, soon became one of the principal characteristics of ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’, giving it a pinkish colour and a very specific taste.

Producers made use of the extensive range of vegetables grown locally by introducing onions into ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’. The presence of onions contributes to the product’s particular taste, because during cooking, the fruity taste of the onions comes to the fore and complements the meaty taste perfectly.

‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ results from the know-how of the producers, who have succeeded in giving the product special characteristics. In addition to the ingredients used, the coarse mincing of the meat pieces makes it easy to identify the product when it is sliced. The brown crust is linked definitively to the product through a traditional cooking process in communal ovens.

As regards the pâté’s reputation, several works classify ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ as a traditional Breton product or give its recipe. Many Breton guides, such as ‘Le Finistère gourmand 1997/1998’, contain references to the numerous Breton specialities and praise ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ in particular. Similarly, the ‘Terroir de Bretagne’ guide praises the Breton charcuterie tradition: ‘(…) Forty, even fifty, kilograms of “Pâté de Campagne Breton” are produced every week by a country charcuterie-maker. Each producer jealously guards his own recipe, although all adhere to the following basic proportions: 1/3 offal and 2/3 throat (…)’. ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ is referred to in numerous old and new cookbooks:

— ‘Gastronomie bretonne d’hier et d’aujourd’hui’ (S. Morand, 1965),

— ‘Les cuisines de France — Bretagne’ (M. Raffael and D. Lozambard, 1990),

— ‘Tout est bon dans le cochon’ (J. C. Frentz, C. Vence, 1988),

— ‘L’inventaire du patrimoine culinaire de la France, Bretagne — Produits du terroir et recettes traditionnelles’ (CNAC, 1994),

— ‘Le bottin gourmand’ 1996,

— ‘La France des saveurs’, Gallimard 1997,

— ‘Vivre ici, hors Bretagne’ 1994.

The product’s reputation is thus well linked to its name and attributable to the geographical area.

These factors taken together make it very easy to distinguish ‘Pâté de Campagne Breton’ from other pâtés and guarantee a typical method of production rooted in the product’s region of origin.

Reference to publication of the specification

[Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006]

https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCIGPPateDeCampagneBretonV2.pdf

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by 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 (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1).