Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2020/C 26/05)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘BROUSSE DU ROVE’

EU No: PDO-FR-02424 – 28.6.2018

PDO (X) PGI ()

1. Name(s)

‘Brousse du Rove’

2. Member State or third country

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product [as in Annex XI]

Class 1.3: Cheeses

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

‘Brousse du Rove’ is a goat’s cheese presented in its original cornet used for moulding. The cornet is a truncated cone mould measuring 32 mm (diameter at the top) x 22 mm (diameter at the bottom) x 85 mm (height), with three holes pierced in the base.

The cheese is produced using the milk flocculation method after heating and adding white alcohol vinegar as an acidifier. It contains a maximum of 30 grams of dry matter per 100 grams of cheese, and a minimum of 45 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese when completely dry.

Its weight is 45 to 55 grams at the end of the moulding process.

This cheese must be consumed very fresh and cannot be sold more than eight days after acidification. Its paste is white, smooth and slightly glossy, with a supple, creamy and non-granular consistency. The cheese’s principal aromas are of mildly animally fresh milk and sweet almond. It also has secondary aromas that vary depending on the goats’ diet on the day and during the lactation period (kermes oak, rosemary, broom, etc.). ‘Brousse du Rove’ does not have a creamy beige (Geotrichum) rind, which would indicate that the product had started to ripen.

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

‘Brousse du Rove’ is produced exclusively from the whole milk of Rove goats reared in the geographical area.

The goats’ feed intake is made up exclusively of:

— Grazing within the geographical area.

— Dry fodder: maximum 0,5 kilograms in raw matter per day per milking goat on average over the year. It consists of hay from a mixture of natural meadow, grasses, legumes or straw.

— Concentrated feed: maximum 0,5 kilograms in raw matter per day per milking goat. It consists of raw materials made up of simple grains and/or simple protein supplements, taken from the following list: barley, maize, triticale, wheat, oats, spelt, sunflower, rye, fatty or defatted cakes (rapeseed, sunflower, soya), dehydrated or grain legumes. Compound concentrated feed is not permitted.

Trace elements, minerals, vitamins and phytotherapeutic foodstuffs are also permitted.

Only plants and supplementary feed derived from non-transgenic products are authorised in the animals’ feed. The planting of transgenic crops is prohibited in all areas of farms producing milk for the production of the ‘Brousse du Rove’ protected designation of origin. This prohibition applies to all types of plant likely to be given as feed to animals on the farm and to all crops liable to contaminate such plants. The tolerated threshold is in line with the current rules and applies to every component of the feed.

As soon as conditions allow it, the goats graze within the geographical area on:

— natural wooded land;

— parcels of land that are not irrigated and have no irrigation system, made up of: — permanent pasture with indigenous flowers; — temporary grass, legume or mixed pasture.

The goats graze for at least five hours per day (averaged over the year) and 261 days per year. The maximum authorised density is 0,3 LU (livestock units) per hectare, or two goats per hectare. The hectares taken into account to calculate the density correspond to the areas intended for grazing.

The geographical area of ‘Brousse du Rove’ produces very little grain or dry fodder because of its low precipitation and predominantly calcareous soils. Hay and grain are grown mainly on irrigated land outside the geographical area of production for ‘Brousse du Rove’. In addition, most farmers of Rove goats have neither arable land nor the necessary equipment. The concentrated feed and dry fodder do not therefore necessarily come from the geographical area. However, given the limited quantity of concentrated feed and hay fed to the goats, and a goat’s average annual feed intake (1 100 kg), we can conclude that the feed produced in the geographical area makes up the majority of the goats’ diet and represents at least 70 % of their intake of dry matter (concentrated feed and dry fodder making up a maximum of 182,5 kg of raw matter in concentrates, or around 168,8 kg of dry matter, and 182,5 kg of raw matter in dry fodder, or around 153 kg of dry matter, per goat per year).

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

The milk is produced and turned into cheese and the cheese is moulded in cornets within the geographical area.

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

—

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

In addition to the mandatory information provided for in the rules on the presentation of foodstuffs, each cornet of ‘Brousse du Rove’ bears the identification sticker issued by the group, which indicates the registered name of the product, in a font size at least equal to two thirds of the size of the largest characters on the label, and the European Union’s PDO symbol in the same visual field. The stickers are issued in a non-discriminatory manner. Operators receive as many identification stickers as they request.

In addition, if the cornet is not the unit for sale to the consumer, each unit of sale to the consumer is marketed bearing a label indicating the registered name of the product, in a font size at least equal to two thirds of the size of the largest characters on the label, and the European Union’s PDO symbol in the same visual field.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area is composed of the following municipalities:

Department of Bouches-du-Rhône (13):

Municipalities included in their entirety in the geographical area:

Aix-en-Provence, Allauch, Alleins, Aubagne, Auriol, Aurons, La Barben, Les Baux-de-Provence, Beaurecueil, Belcodène, Berre-l’Etang, Bouc-Bel-Air, La Bouilladisse, Cabriès, Cadolive, Carnoux-en-Provence, Carry-le-Rouet, Cassis, Ceyreste, Charleval, Châteauneuf-le-Rouge, Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, La Ciotat, Cornillon-Confoux, Coudoux, Cuges-les-Pins, La Destrousse, Eguilles, Ensuès-la-Redonne, La Fare-les-Oliviers, Fuveau, Gardanne, Gémenos, Gignac-la-Nerthe, Gréasque, Lamanon, Lambesc, Lançon-Provence, Mallemort, Marignane, Marseille, Martigues, Maussane-les-Alpilles, Meyrargues, Meyreuil, Mimet, Orgon, Paradou, Pélissanne, La Penne-sur-Huveaune, Les Pennes-Mirabeau, Peynier, Peypin, Peyrolles-en-Provence, Plan-de-Cuques, Port-de-Bouc, Puyloubier, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, Rognac, Rognes, La Roque-d’Anthéron, Roquefort-la-Bédoule, Roquevaire, Rousset, Le Rove, Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon, Saint-Cannat, Saint-Chamas, Saint-Estève-Janson, Saint-Marc-Jaumegarde, Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, Saint-Savournin, Saint-Victoret, Sausset-les-Pins, Sénas, Septèmes-les-Vallons, Simiane-Collongue, Le Tholonet, Trets, Velaux, Venelles, Ventabren, Vernègues, Vitrolles.

Municipalities partially included in the geographical area:

Aureille, Eygalières, Eyguières, Fontvieille, Grans, Istres, Miramas, Mouriès, Saint-Etienne-du-Grès, Saint-Martin-de-Crau, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Salon-de-Provence, Tarascon.

Department of the Var (83):

Municipalities included in their entirety in the geographical area:

Le Beausset, La Cadière-d’Azur, Le Castellet, Evenos, Pourcieux, Pourrières, Riboux, Saint-Zacharie, Signes.

Municipalities partially included in the geographical area:

Plan-d’Aups-Sainte-Baume.

Department of Vaucluse (84)

Municipalities included in their entirety in the geographical area:

Ansouis, La Bastide-des-Jourdans, La Bastidonne, Beaumont-de-Pertuis, Cabrières-d’Aigues, Cadenet, Cheval-Blanc, Cucuron, Grambois, Lauris, Lourmarin, La Motte-d’Aigues, Mérindol, Mirabeau, Peypin-d’Aigues, Pertuis, Puget, Puyvert, Saint-Martin-de-la-Brasque, Sannes, La Tour-d’Aigues, Vaugines, Villelaure, Vitrolles-en-Luberon.

The National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) has lodged a map delineating the boundaries of the geographical area with the municipal authorities of the municipalities concerned.

5. Link with the geographical area

‘Brousse du Rove’ is a ‘fresh-type’ cheese, produced exclusively from the milk of Rove goats reared using extensive farming methods according to the silvopastoral tradition. White alcohol vinegar is used as an acidifier, which allows the milk to coagulate by ‘flocculation’.

In terms of topography and geography, the geographical area corresponds to the western part of calcareous lower Provence, bordered to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by the limestone plateaux of the Var, to the west by the floodplains of Camargue and Crau (which are outside the geographical area) and to the north by the Alpilles and Luberon mountains; the Comtat floodplain is not included. The area is unusual in that it consists of a series of secondary calcareous mountain ranges running east to west, separated by sedimentary basins. The mountains are of low altitude. Only the summits of Sainte-Baume and Sainte-Victoire reach an altitude of 1,000 metres.

The climate of the geographical area is characterised by low average annual precipitation (between 550 and 700 mm) concentrated in the autumn and early spring, average annual temperatures between 13 and 15 °C, a significant temperature range (with the number of frosts varying between 20 and 80 days per year), a strong prevailing wind (Mistral), which is cold, dry, northerly and often strong, and around 2 800 annual hours of sunshine.

In terms of geology and soil, the limestone mountains that make up the geographical area consist mainly of calcareous formations in the broad sense, of marine or continental (mainly lacustrine) origin, formed principally in the Secondary (Mesozoic) era. In these mountains, the most common soil types ‘under forest’ are carbonate soils.

The vegetation that is typical of the geographical area, which is directly linked to the limestone substrate and the climatic conditions in the area, is made up mainly of kermes oak ‘garrigue’ scrubland of varying density, often alongside Aleppo pine and holm oak stands, as well as rockrose, broom, privet, thyme and rosemary.

The tradition of rearing Rove goats and producing ‘Brousse du Rove’ goes back to the Middle Ages in the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône. ‘Brousse du Rove’ was then the main source of income for the residents of the village of Le Rove, and was a highly valued speciality in Marseille and the surrounding area. The production methods gradually spread out from the original nucleus, the village of Le Rove.

The goat herds are reared using extensive farming methods in the silvopastoral tradition (the animals are grazed in the forest to benefit from the forage under the trees and contribute towards the growth of the trees, enabling wood production and preventing fires). The goats graze on the wooded land and dry meadows of the geographical area. Rove goats enjoy the foliage of the Aleppo pine and are the only breed to eat the tough and prickly foliage of the kermes oak. Depending on the season, they also eat the foliage and acorns of the holm oak and white pubescent oak, grass in the clearings and the garrigue foliage made up of thyme, rosemary, broom, etc. In order to be able to penetrate the dense vegetation, the goats’ particularly well-adapted horns (with a span of up to 120 cm) are not removed.

‘Brousse du Rove’ is a ‘fresh-type’ cheese, which is distinguished from similar products by the following specific characteristics:

— the shape and specific dimensions of the cornet in which it is presented;

— its white, smooth and slightly glossy paste, with a supple, creamy and non-granular consistency;

— its principal aromas of mildly animally fresh milk and sweet almond;

— its secondary aromas that vary depending on the goats’ diet on the day and during the lactation period (kermes oak, rosemary, broom, etc.);

— the exclusive use of Rove goat’s milk for its production;

— the exclusive use of white alcohol vinegar as an acidifier, which allows the milk to coagulate by ‘flocculation’.

These characteristics are at the root of the long-standing reputation of ‘Brousse du Rove’ (see, for example, numerous texts from the nineteenth century). The geographical, climatic, geological and soil characteristics of the geographical area (dry Mediterranean mountain areas), lead to the presence of a specific flora, made up of kermes oak ‘garrigue’ scrubland of varying density, often alongside Aleppo pine and holm oak stands, as well as rockrose, broom, privet, thyme and rosemary. Starting from the village of Le Rove, farmers have for many centuries favoured a particular breed of hardy goats, known as Rove goats, which are physically very resilient to the rough terrain and manage to meet their dietary needs from the poor land, through extensive farming. Rove goats produce small amounts of milk, but the milk has a very good cheese yield because it is particularly rich in fat and protein. It is this milk that gives ‘Brousse du Rove’ its characteristic texture and flavours. The high fat content is one of the factors that contribute to the flavour of the milk and the cheese produced from it, as the volatile molecular compounds of the plants eaten by the animals are fixed by the milk fat. The aromas developed by ‘Brousse du Rove’ therefore reflect the goats’ diet. The characteristics of the paste of ‘Brousse du Rove’ (smooth, supple, creamy and non-granular) are also achieved thanks to the specific local know-how in the process of transformation and coagulation known as ‘flocculation’. After milking, the milk is heated in a container over a direct flame, until it reaches a temperature of between 85 °C and 95 °C, when the heat source is cut off. When the temperature of the milk is between 65 °C and 75 °C, a small amount of white alcohol vinegar is added, while stirring regularly by hand until the characteristic ‘flocs’ are obtained, marking the separation of the milk’s dry matter from the whey. Once formed, the flocs are immediately collected and moulded by hand in cornets, in which they are also sold.

The shape and specific dimensions of the ‘Brousse du Rove’ mould make the cheese immediately recognisable and also help preserve its organoleptic qualities, as they allow for moderate draining.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-BrousseRove-190320.pdf

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