EN Official Journal of the European Union C 32/2

Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2006/C 32/02)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in a Member State, in a WTO member country or in a third country recognized in accordance with Article 12(3) within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

‘MANTEQUILLA DE SORIA’

EC No: ES/00326/20.11.2003

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary has been produced for information purposes only. For full details interested parties, in particular the producers of products covered by the PDO in question, are invited to consult the complete version of the specification, obtainable at national level or from the European Commission (1).

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Subdirección general de sistemas de calidad diferenciada, Dirección General de Alimentación, Secretaría General de Agricultura y Alimentación, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación de España Address: Paseo Infanta Isabel, no 1. E-28071 Madrid Telephone: (34) 913 47 53 94 Fax: (34) 913 47 54 10 E-mail: sgcaproagro@mapya.es

2. Group:

2.1. Name:: Asociación Soriana de Elaboradores de Mantequilla (ASOEMA)

2.2. Address::

Avenida de la Victoria, 5 — E-42003 Soria Telephone: (34) 975 212 443

2.3. Composition:: Producers/processors (X) Others ( )

3. Type of product:

Group 1.5: oils and fats

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name of product: ‘Mantequilla de Soria’

4.2. Description of product: The Designation ‘Mantequilla de Soria’ will cover the production and certification of butter obtained by pasteurising cream from the milk of Friesian or Pardo-Alpina breeds of cow or cross-breeds between the two, and coming from dairy farms in the province of Soria. Protection will cover the three traditional types: natural, salted and sweet.

Physical and chemical characteristics:

Organoleptic characteristics:

Colour verging between ivory and straw-yellow. Weak to medium smell of diacetyl. Very slightly acidic flavour. Melts in the mouth moderately quickly. Average viscosity. Aroma of fresh cream. Moderate aftertaste.

Physical and chemical characteristics:

Organoleptic characteristics:

Colour verging between bone and ivory. Slightly granular appearance when cut. Smell of faintly ripe cream. Intense salty flavour. Melts in the mouth moderately quickly. Average viscosity. Aroma of cream. Short aftertaste.

Physical and chemical characteristics:

Organoleptic characteristics:

Colour of bone, except for the garnish, which will have an orange or pink hue. On cutting, has the appearance of froth which ranges from faintly to slightly open but which is compact and has irregular gaps whose size ranges from that of a grain of white sugar to that of a grain of rice. Smell of diacetyl with a hint of caramelised sugar. Intense sweet flavour which is faintly acidic. Melts in the mouth quickly/moderately quickly. Average viscosity. Aroma of cream, faintly plant-like. Moderate to persistent aftertaste.

4.3. Geographical area: The production area comprises the following 169 municipalities, all in the province of Soria:

Abejar; Adradas; Ágreda; Alconaba; Alcubilla de Avellaneda; Aldealafuente; Aldealices; Aldealpozo; Aldealseñor; Aldehuela de Periáñez; Aldehuelas, Las; Alentisque; Aliud; Almajano; Almaluez; Almarza; Almazán; Almazul; Almenar de Soria; Arancón; Arcos de Jalón; Arévalo de la Sierra; Ausejo de la Sierra; Barca; Bayubas de Abajo; Bayubas de Arriba; Beratón; Berlanga de Duero; Blacos; Bliecos; Borjabad; Borobia; Buberos; Buitrago; Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma; Cabrejas del Campo; Cabrejas del Pinar; Calatañazor; Caltojar; Candilichera; Cañamaque; Carabantes; Carrascosa de Abajo; Carrascosa de la Sierra; Casarejos; Castilfrío de la Sierra; Castillejo de Robledo; Castilruiz; Centenera de Andaluz; Cerbón; Cidones; Cigudosa; Cihuela; Ciria; Cirujales del Río; Coscurita; Covaleda; Cubilla; Cubo de la Solana; Cueva de Ágreda; Dévanos; Deza; Duruelo de la Sierra; Escobosa de Almazán; Espeja de San Marcelino; Espejón; Estepa de San Juan; Frechilla de Almazán; Fresno de Caracena; Fuentearmegil; Fuentecambrón; Fuentecantos; Fuentelmonge; Fuentelsaz de Soria; Fuentepinilla; Fuentes de Magaña; Fuentestrún; Garray; Golmayo; Gómara; Gormaz; Herrera de Soria; Hinojosa del Campo; Langa de Duero; Losilla, La; Magaña; Maján; Matalebreras; Matamala de Almazán; Medinaceli; Miño de San Esteban; Molinos de Duero; Momblona; Monteagudo de las Vicarías; Montenegro de Cameros; Morón de Almazán; Muriel de la Fuente; Muriel Viejo; Nafría de Ucero; Narros; Navaleno; Nepas; Nolay; Noviercas; Ólvega; Oncala; Pinilla del Campo; Portillo de Soria; Póveda de Soria, La; Pozalmuro; Quintana Redonda; Quintanas de Gormaz; Quiñoneria, La; Rábanos, Los; Rebollar; Recuerda; Renieblas; Reznos; Rioseco de Soria; Rollamienta; Royo, El; Salduero; San Esteban de Gormaz; San Felices; San Leonardo de Yagüe; San Pedro Manrique; Santa Cruz de Yanguas; Santa María de Huerta; Santa María de las Hoyas; Serón de Nájima; Soliedra; Soria; Sotillo del Rincón; Suellacabras; Tajahuerce; Tajueco; Talveila; Tardelcuende; Taroda; Tejado; Torlengua; Torreblacos; Torrubia de Soria; Trévago; Ucero; Vadillo; Valdeavellano de Tera; Valdegeña; Valdelagua del Cerro; Valdemaluque; Valdenebro; Valdeprado; Valderrodilla; Valtajeros; Velamazán; Velilla de La Sierra; Velilla de los Ajos; Viana de Duero; Villaciervos; Villanueva de Gormaz; Villar del Ala; Villar del Campo; Villar del Río; Villares de Soria, Los; Villaseca de Arciel; Vinuesa; Vizmanos; Vozmediano; Yanguas.

4.4. Proof of origin: The inspection and certification procedures comprise the factors proving that the product originates in the area.

The milk will come exclusively from livestock farms listed in the Regulatory Council's register of livestock farms. The natural and salted butter will be produced and packaged exclusively in establishments listed in the register of milk plants. The sweet butter will be produced and packaged exclusively in establishments listed in the Regulatory Council's register of pastry plants.

The livestock farms, milk plants and pastry product plants will have to undergo an initial assessment with a view to registration, and periodic follow-up assessments in order to remain in the register concerned.

Only butter which has passed all the procedural checks will be placed on the market with a guarantee of origin endorsed by the Regulatory Council's label.

The number of labels or back labels supplied by the Regulatory Council to the milk plants will depend on the quantities of milk delivered to them; those supplied to pastry plants will depend on the quantities of natural butter acquired.

The Regulatory Council will check the method used by the livestock farms to produce and preserve the milk; it will inspect the method of production used at the milk and pastry plants, check documentation, stocks, sampling and product testing.

The Regulatory Council will, where appropriate, apply the penalties regime provided for in its rules should any infringements be detected.

4.5. Method of production:

Production of milk in the livestock holdings

The milk will come from Friesian or Pardo-Alpina breeds of milk cow or cross-breeds between the two.

The livestock holdings will have to have a milk refrigeration tank with sufficient capacity to store the milk produced for two days until it is collected. It will be stored at a temperature below or equal to 5 °C. The period between milking and collection will not exceed two days. During transportation to the milk plants, the temperature of the milk will not be allowed to exceed 9 °C.

Production of ‘natural’ Mantequilla de Soria

In the milk plant, the milk will undergo heat treatment using a plate heat exchanger, followed by centrifugation to skim and clean it.

The cream will be obtained at a temperature of 30 to 40 °C and have to have a fat content of 38 to 45 %, and an acidity of less than 13° Dornic. It will be pasteurised and cooled so that it reaches the maturation tank at a temperature of 12 to 15 °C. A mixture of the lactic cultures Lactococcus lactis lactis, L. lactis cremoris and L. lactis lactis diacetylactis will be added to the tank. Maturation will take place over 12 to 15 hours, at a temperature of 12 to 15 °C, with the cultures added 3-4 hours after commencement of the ripening process. Once the cream reaches an acidity of 18 to 28° Dornic, it will be cooled down to slow the ripening process. From there, the cream will be taken to the churn and churned for two to three hours. The amount placed in the churn will constitute approximately 40 % of the churn's capacity, in order to promote homogenisation. The whey will be removed by gravity, the fat will then be washed twice using drinking water, and there will be a process of draining the whey and churning. The fat will then be kneaded slowly for 60 to 120 minutes in a non-continuous butter churn until the butter is formed. From there, it will go to the packing plant where it will be shaped using different nozzles. It will be packaged in the plant itself, in the containers in which it is to be marketed.

Production of ‘salted’ Mantequilla de Soria

Production of the salted butter will involve the same steps as for the natural butter, except that, when kneading begins, there is a final addition of up to 2.5 % m/m of salt. Similarly, it will be packaged in the plant itself.

Production of ‘sweet’ Mantequilla de Soria

A water and sucrose mixture will be prepared and boiled until syrup is obtained. It will then be mixed together with ‘natural’ butter by churning, and packed in the plant itself. The packaging will be stiff and open at the top, and the visible surface will be garnished with sweet butter previously coloured with beta-carotene or cochineal extract. The garnish will not exceed 15 % of the contents.

4.6 Link:

Historical/literary

There are numerous literary references, some of which have been found in Soria's public library:

‘SORIA. 1845-1850’ (facsimile edition) by PASCUAL MADOZ.

This is a dictionary containing geographical, statistical and historical information about the province of Soria. It mentions the land and villages which together made up the Valle de Tera, a valley where the dairy herd was concentrated and where the butter was produced. Page 203 states that the ‘the manufacturing industry outside the workshops and factories in the main towns .. is limited to the production of cow's butter’. Page 268 goes on to mention the ‘production of the delicious and renowned Soria butter’ .

‘EL NOTICIERO DE SORIA’OF 25 OCTOBER 1899

This newspaper carries an advertisement announcing that Silvino Paniagua's pastry shop ‘La Azucena’ will be producing butter. The shop is stated as being a purveyor to the royal household and as having won a prize for butter production at the Logroño Regional Fair.

‘NOMENCLATOR HISTÓRICO, GEOGRÁFICO, ESTADÍSTICO Y DESCRIPTIVO DE LA PROVINCIA DE SORIA’ (1909) BY MANUEL BLASCO JIMÉMENZ

This describes the characteristics of Soria's villages. The chapter on Valdeavellano de Tera again mentions butter from Soria: ‘because the renowned Soria butter, which is still delicious, is made from its milk’.

‘LA REGIÓN DE EL VALLE’, BY ANASTASIO GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ (LAS HERAS PRINTING PRESS, 1931)

Pages 29, 30 and 31 detail the process for producing the butter and the equipment used, referring to the jargon or terminology specific to the region of El Valle. The only date mentioned is 1910, in connection with the Soria Dairy Cooperative Society and the latter's developing more modern production processes at its Valdeavellano butter production plant.

‘MANTEQUILLA DE SORIA’, BY PEDRO J. IGLESIA HERNÁNDEZ (CELTIBERIA No 14, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SORIANOS 1957)

This work deals specifically with butter from Soria, in the context of the first National Bromatology Congress. It refers to Soria butter as one of the things for which Soria was famous not only in Spain, but also in Latin America via emigrants from the province.

Natural

The characteristics of butter from Soria are linked to the fact that it is made from the milk of cows whose food comes from an area with a high average altitude (1 026 metres above sea level). Soria is thus one of the provinces with the highest average altitudes and most rugged terrains in the meseta. This, together with the extremely harsh weather conditions, produces a distinctive livestock diet: the toughness and dryness of the pasture, alongside the characteristic flora, give the milk specific qualities which are passed on to the butter.

Human and production factors

In the past, natural butter was produced by using a manzadero [wooden tube where milk was beaten]; it is now produced using a non-continuous churning cylinder. Both systems involve the binding together of fat globules. In the case of the manzadero, the globules were beaten by hand with a piston-like action until they fused. The non-continuous churning cylinder used nowadays produces a similar effect through the pressure created by the churn's movement. Also distinctive is the fact that lactic cultures are not added until 3 or 4 hours after ripening commences. For its part, the syrup of the sweet variety is prepared in accordance with the old recipes, and the product is presented in a way which retains the aesthetic appearance and shapes of the past.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Consejo Regulador de D.O. «Mantequilla de Soria» Address: Polígono Industrial Las Casas. Calle C. Parcelas 3-4, E-42005 Soria Telephone: (34) 975 23 16 26 Fax: (34) 975 23 16 36

The activities of the Regulatory Council for the Designation of Origin ‘Mantequilla de Soria’ comply with standard EN 45011: ‘General requirements for product certification bodies’ as amended, 1998.

4.8 Labelling: Butter which is protected and intended for human consumption will carry the Regulatory Council's conformity mark. This will be tamper-proof and non-reusable and form the back label which the Regulatory Council supplies to milk and pastry plants which are registered in accordance with the Quality Manual rules. The back labels will carry the Designation logo and an alphanumeric key allowing traceability. The key for natural butter will be on a golden strip, for sweet butter on a pink strip and for salted butter on a blue strip.

4.9 National requirements:

— Law No 25/1970 of 2 December 1970 on rules governing viticulture, wine and spirits.

— Decree No 835/1972 of 23 March 1972, implementing rules for Law No 25/1970.

— Order of 25 January 1994, specifying the correlation between Spanish legislation and Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for agri-food products.

— Royal Decree No 1643/1999 of 22 October 1999 laying down rules on the processing of applications for entry in the Community Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications.

(1) European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, Agricultural products quality policy unit, B-1049 Brussels.