EN Official Journal of the European Union C 70/7

Publication of an application for approval of a minor amendment in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2016/C 70/04)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF A MINOR AMENDMENT

Application for approval of a minor amendment in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)

‘MONTASIO’

EU No: IT-PDO-0117-01380 — 2.10.2015

PDO ( X ) PGI ( ) TSG ( )

1. Applicant group and legitimate interest

Name: Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Montasio Address: Vicolo Resia, 1/2 33033 Codroipo (UD) ITALIA Tel. +39 0432912052 Email: info@formaggiomontasio.net

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

3. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment(s)

— ☒ Product description — ☐ Proof of origin — ☒ Method of production — ☐ Link — ☐ Labelling — ☐ Other [to be specified]

4. Type of amendment(s)

— ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, which requires no amendment to the published single document. — ☒ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, which requires an amendment to the published single document. — ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, for which a single document (or equivalent) has not been published. — ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered TSG to be qualified as minor in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

5. Amendment(s)

Description of product

In order to create more clarity both for consumers and sales outlets, commercial classifications are added which indicate the different stages of maturing more transparently and unequivocally.

Current wording: ‘“Montasio” cheese may be marketed whole or in portions after a minimum maturing period of 60 days.’

Amended text: ‘“Montasio” cheese may be marketed whole or in portions after a minimum maturing period of 60 days.

“Montasio” cheese may be marketed as “fresco” (young) after a minimum maturing period of 60 days; as “mezzano” (semi-mature) after a minimum maturing period of 120 days; as “stagionato” (mature) after a minimum maturing period of 10 months; as “stravecchio” (extra mature) after a minimum maturing period of 18 months.’

Method of production

An express reference to the use of cross-bred livestock has been added.

Current wording: ‘The main breeds reared are Brown Swiss, Italian Red Pied and Black Pied.’

Amended text: ‘The main breeds reared in the geographical production area are Brown Swiss, Italian Red Pied and Black Pied, and their cross-breeds.’

With regard to the feed ration, the percentage range for raw cereals, dry and green fodder and silage is removed and replaced by a single minimum proportion. This enables producers to manage their livestock more rationally and allows the inspection body to monitor compliance with the requirement more effectively.

In particular, removing the maximum percentage for the amount of fodder in the feed allows cows in late lactation to be fed with only fodder, which is part of normal livestock rearing practice and is aimed at facilitating the drying-off and adapting the feed to the cows' reduced nutritional needs after lactation.

Current wording: ‘The cows' feed comprises 75 to 85 % raw cereals, dry and green fodder and silage. The remaining 15 to 25 % raw feed comprises concentrates and protein cattle-cake. The use of mineral and vitamin supplements is authorised. At least 60 % of the feed comes from the geographical area.’

Amended text: ‘The cows' feed comprises at least 60 % raw cereals, dry and green fodder and silage. The remaining proportion comprises concentrates and protein cattle-cake. The use of mineral and vitamin supplements is authorised. At least 60 % of the feed comes from the geographical area.’

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘MONTASIO’

EU No: IT-PDO-0117-01380 — 2.10.2015

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name

‘Montasio’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

‘Montasio’ is a cheese made from cow's milk, with medium or long maturing, cylindrical in shape, with a straight or almost straight heel and flat or slightly convex sides. ‘Montasio’ cheese is made from unpasteurised milk using only natural lactic bacteria or authorised starter cultures; it must be matured for at least 60 days and the moisture content is checked on the basis of samples after 10 and after 60 days of maturing. After 60 days of maturing, ‘Montasio’ PDO cheese must have the following characteristics: a maximum moisture content less than or equal to 36,72 %; fat content over dry matter: at least 40 %; weight: 6-8 kg; diameter: 30-35 cm; heel: at most 8 cm; rind: smooth, regular and elastic; body: compact with some eye-holes; colour: natural, slightly straw-coloured; aroma: distinctive; flavour: agreeable, tending towards spicy in the case of long-matured ‘Montasio’.

‘Montasio’ PDO cheese may be marketed as ‘fresco’ (young) after a minimum maturing period of 60 days, as ‘mezzano’ (semi-mature) after a minimum maturing period of 120 days, as ‘stagionato’ (mature) after a minimum maturing period of 10 months and as ‘stravecchio’ (extra mature) after a minimum maturing period of 18 months.

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The PDO ‘Montasio’ is produced from milk from farms located in the production area. The main breeds reared in the geographical production area are Brown Swiss, Italian Red Pied and Black Pied, and their cross-breeds. No preservatives are added and no temperature treatment is authorised, except for cooling to a minimum temperature of 4 °C.

The cows' feed comprises at least 60 % raw cereals, dry and green fodder and silage. The remaining proportion may contain concentrates and protein cattle-cake. The use of mineral and vitamin supplements is authorised. At least 60 % of the feed comes from the geographical area.

Feed which traditional cheesemakers regard as adversely affecting tyrosis is banned, such as fodder from marshy land or located beside busy roads. Also not authorised are vegetables, fruit, rape, the by-products of processing rice, meal of animal origin, industrial feed for medical use, moist or ensilaged fresh beet pulp, by-products of beer or of distilled products, ensilaged fodder (except ensilaged hay and ensilaged maize) and fermented substances from the industrial processing of fruit, beet, beer and distilled products.

3.4. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The whole production process (cattle rearing, milk production, coagulation, processing of the curds, forming, draining, salting and maturing of the cheese) must take place within the area indicated in point 4.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product to which the registered name refers

—

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product to which the registered name refers

The product is identified by marking, at the outset, in a specific mould which states the producer's code, the provincial acronym and the production date (year, month, day). The ‘Montasio’ PDO origin mark consists of the word ‘Montasio’ printed diagonally the right way up and upside-down (see Figure 1).

The ‘stamp of origin’ is put on all the products of the associated and non-associated holdings, provided that the product has been obtained in compliance with the specification.

Figure 1

The logo for the designation consists of a stylised capital M below which appears the word ‘MONTASIO’. This logo must always be reproduced using the ‘HORATIO’ font. It must comply with the proportions of Figure 2 (for example, 8 cm wide and 6 cm tall).

Figure 2

Where the entire production process, from production of the milk to the minimum 60-day maturation period, takes place in parts of the ‘Montasio’ PDO cheese production area that qualify as mountainous under the national legislation in force, the term ‘prodotto della montagna’ may be used in the labelling. In these cases, a label with the letters ‘PDM’ (the acronym for ‘prodotto della montagna’) is impressed on the heel of the cheese.

On ‘Montasio’ cheese, which has matured for more than 100 days, the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Montasio may, at the request of all the associated or non-associated producers, brand the logo of the name, after its prior verification, onto the part of the heel intended for that purpose (Figure 2).

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area for ‘Montasio’ PDO cheese consists of: Friuli-Venezia Giulia — the whole region; Veneto — the whole of the provinces of Belluno and Treviso and part of the provinces of Padua and Venice, as follows: along the boundary of the province of Padua from where it intersects with that of the province of Treviso to the A4 motorway (‘Serenissima’), continuing to the motorway bridge over the Brenta river and then along the river to its mouth.

5. Link with the geographical area

The natural factors are those linked to the climate in the production area, which consists largely of mountains and foothills where mountain and pasture grazing are still practised, contributing in turn to the quality of the cows' fodder.

‘Montasio’ cheese appears in price lists from San Daniele and Udine from 1773 and 1775, which shows that it was traded and thus produced not merely locally or for own consumption. The product's strong link with the production area is shown by the extent to which it has stimulated the growth of production cooperatives. ‘Montasio’ cheese and the particular technique for producing it spread quickly in Friuli and eastern Veneto, not only because of human factors and the equipment used (the new dairy cooperatives or the foundation of the cheese-making college), and by the 1960s there were more than 650 active dairies. This growth would not have been so steady, however, in a less conducive environment than that in which the technique originally spread.

As regards the characteristics of the production area, the eastern part of Italy has always been and is still marked by considerable spring and autumn precipitation, which favours pasture and cereal-growing (wheat and barley), which is the basis of dairy cow feed. Maize-growing and therefore the use of maize as fresh feed and for silage also gained in importance over time. In the past few years, the growing of soya as a protein supplement has also become a typical feature of the production area.

The main characteristic of ‘Montasio’ is its great suitability for medium- to long-term maturing. In the range of national cheeses, ‘Montasio’ is among the semi-hard cheeses, but as it can be matured for up to 36 months, it is also in the rare category long-matured hard cheeses.

Another characteristic of ‘Montasio’ is in the dimensions of the mould.

Moreover, the PDO ‘Montasio’ has retained the ban on pasteurising the milk in its specification, thereby preserving to the absolute maximum extent possible the spontaneous bacterial load of the milk produced in the production area.

The cheese's suitability for medium- to long-term maturing is the result of a ‘soft’ technology: small doses of lactic fermenting agents are used (about 1 %), cooking is done at low temperatures (between 42 and 48 °C) and the draining and pressing give the cheese a medium firmness, with a moisture content at 2 months (which corresponds to the minimum level for marketing the cheese) of about 36 %.

The environment in which ‘Montasio’ developed has microbiological characteristics adapted to its development and dissemination. ‘Montasio’ is characterised by the presence of a thermophilic microbial flora which has always made it possible to obtain a unique cheese product, to be consumed young (at least 2 months' maturing currently as it is produced from non-pasteurised milk) but it can also be matured for up to 36 months; this cheese therefore has organoleptic characteristics, a consistency, flavours and aromas which vary over time, precisely thanks to the bacterial load naturally present in the meadows/pastures and the fodder in the production area.

In fact, at 2 months' maturity ‘Montasio’ is a medium-firm cheese with a delicate flavour reminiscent of the milk from which it is produced. As maturing is extended and substances concentrate, ‘Montasio’ acquires more marked and slightly spicy flavours and the cheese becomes harder and more crumbly.

With the improvement in rearing methods, crop rationalisation and the introduction of ever more hygienic milking methods, it became necessary to enrich the milk with cheese micro-organisms useful for the production of ‘Montasio’. Thus milk starter cultures and selected fermenting agents (high in cocci and low in bacilli), from the milk in the production area, started to be used, a practice which subsequently became widespread.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

The consolidated text of the product specification is available on the internet: http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or alternatively:

by going directly to the homepage of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (at the top right-hand side of the screen) and then by clicking on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all'esame dell'UE’.

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

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