EN Official Journal of the European Union C 257/10

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2012/C 257/05

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PRES-SALES DE LA BAIE DE SOMME’

EC No: FR-PDO-0005-0604-11.05.2007

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Name:

‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’

2. Member State or Third Country:

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

Class 1.1. Fresh meat (and offal)

3.2. Description of product to which the name in point 1 applies:

Meat covered by the designation ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ comes from lambs aged less than 12 months which have been reared on salt marshes for a minimum of 75 days in a manner that respects the natural balance of this environment, where their main source of feed is the halophytic pasture of the salt marshes.

The breeding rams belong to the Suffolk, Hampshire, Roussin, Ile de France, Rouge de l'Ouest, Boulonnais and Vendéen breeds. Except in specific cases of flock restocking, which are declared to the relevant monitoring bodies, the breeding females are the offspring of ewes reared on salt marshes by breeders entitled to use the salt marshes as pasturage.

The carcases display the following features:

— minimum weight: 16 kg,

— conformation: straight to subconcave profile and average to high muscle development (class U, R or O on the EUROP grid),

— state of fat cover: slight to covered with fat (class 2 or 3 on the EUROP grid),

— firm, white to creamy-white external and internal fat.

The meat is pink in colour. It remains very juicy during cooking and throughout the mastication process and produces intense, lasting flavours in the mouth. The meat is offered for sale chilled, or thawed and chilled.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

—

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

The lambs and ewes feed mainly on maritime pasture on the salt marshes.

The lambs are reared in three successive stages:

— a post-natal period during which they are fed mainly on mother's milk. This period lasts for a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 90 days. At the start of the animal's life, the mother's milk may be supplemented with milk powder, forage or concentrates,

— a period of at least 75 days during which the lambs graze on maritime pasture for at least 7 hours a day for 60 days and at least 4 hours a day for the remaining days; they spend this time on independent, identified grazing areas. The maritime pasture period may be interrupted, either at the end of the day when the animals are withdrawn to retreat zones less than a kilometre from the independent tract of pasturage concerned or at times when the salt marsh is covered by the spring tides and the animals are withdrawn to retreat zones. During the maritime pasture period, concentrates are prohibited, forage being the only feed supplement which the lambs and ewes are allowed.

Days spent in the retreat zones do not count as maritime pasture days,

— an optional finishing period not exceeding one day for every four days of maritime pasture or a total of six weeks.

Lambs undergoing finishing are fed on a diet based on forage and concentrates. In the case of finished lambs, the maritime pasture period, including days when the salt marsh is covered by the spring tides, is equal to at least half of the animal's lifetime.

All of the forage and at least 65 % of the dry feed distributed each day come from low-altitude plots in the geographical area which contain soil composed of recent marine sediments and are subject to sea spray.

Forage consists of fresh grass, grazing grass or grass preserved as hay or haylage with a dry matter content of over 50 %, roots, tubers and vegetables.

Concentrates consist of cereals, wheat bran, oilcakes made from soya, rape, sunflower and linseed, vegetable pulp, molasses, dried alfalfa, and mineral and vitamin supplements.

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

Birth, rearing and slaughter.

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

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

Meat covered by the designation of origin ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ is identified and labelled, after being granted the designation at the end of the primary chilling period, by attaching an identification tag marked ‘Prés-salés BS’ in indelible ink to both sides of the carcase.

Up to the final distribution stage, the carcase and pieces of meat cut from it are accompanied by a label displaying at least:

— the designation,

— the European Union PDO logo and the words ‘protected designation of origin’,

— the breeder's name,

— the number of the holding,

— the national identification number of the lamb,

— the date of slaughter.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The geographical area surrounding the salt marshes of the Baie de Somme and the Baie d'Authie, within which the lambs are born, reared and slaughtered, is composed of the following cantons and municipalities of the departments of Pas-de-Calais and Somme:

— department of Pas-de-Calais: — the entire cantons of Campagne-lès-Hesdin, Hesdin and Berk; — the canton of Fruges, excluding the municipalities of Ambricourt, Coupelle-Vieille, Crépy, Hézecques, Lugy, Matringhem, Mencas, Radinghem, Senlis, Verchin and Vincly. The canton of Montreuil, excluding the municipalities of Calotterie, Cucq, Merlimont, Saint-Josse and Touquet-Paris-Plage; — the municipalities of Azincourt, Fontaine-l'Étalon, Gennes-Ivergny, Grigny, Humbert, Le Quesnoy-en-Artois, Saint-Georges, Tollent, Tramecourt, Vacqueriette-Erquières and Wamin,

— department of Somme: — the entire cantons of Abbeville-Nord, Abbeville-Sud, Crécy-en-Ponthieu, Friville-Escarbotin, Nouvion, Rue and Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme; — the canton of Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher, excluding the municipalities of Long and Mouflers. The canton of Ault, excluding the municipalities of Mers-les-Bains and Oust-Marest. The canton of Moyenneville, excluding the municipalities of Grebault-Mesnil, Saint-Maxent and Tours-en-Vimeu; — the municipalities of Beaumetz, Domart-en-Ponthieu, Érondelle, Franqueville, Fransu, Ribeaucourt, Surcamps and Vauchelles-lès-Domart.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The animals used to produce ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ are reared in a location where there is a balance between the sea and the land — the salt marsh known locally as ‘mollières’ — and on the territory of the neighbouring municipalities which form the Picardy maritime plain. The salt marshes, which consist of sea mud known as ‘tangue’, are covered by the sea for at least 50 days of the year, resulting in the growth of halophytic vegetation (Puccinellia maritima, Halimione portulacoides, Triglochin maritima, etc.), which is relished by the sheep. The ‘mollières’ are drained by a network of erratic natural channels which make it difficult for the sheep to move around. Beyond the ‘mollières’, at times when the salt marshes are flooded and during winter, the sheep are kept within the Picardy maritime plain, which consists of polders and sand dunes.

The fact that permanent fencing cannot be erected in view of the public nature of the salt marshes and the regular flooding to which they are subject, the summer transhumance practised on account of the distance from the sheep farms and the risk of animals getting stuck in the muddy channels are all factors which have maintained the collective tending of flocks and the presence of shepherds to guide them. The difficulties associated with moving around on soft ground intersected by channels has led breeders not only to select strains of ewe which are adapted to walking and possess excellent maternal qualities but also to place on the ‘mollières’ lambs which are old enough to cope with the constraints of the environment.

The control and exploitation by breeders of grassland areas providing essential shelter and nourishment for animals when the salt marshes are flooded by the spring tides have been developed and organised all round the bay.

In addition, in view of natural differences in the growth rates of individual lambs within the flock, resulting in the coexistence of early and later developers, breeders have established the necessary know-how for finishing slower-developing lambs, which takes place on the farm.

As regards local relations between breeders, wholesale butchers and slaughterers, this particular sheep-rearing process has resulted in consistent use being made of slaughterhouses where the means and know-how for slaughtering sheep have been maintained. The specific know-how for slaughtering the animals involves in particular a short waiting period in comfortable conditions between arrival at the slaughterhouse and sacrifice, and a particularly careful form of slaughter, cutting up and evisceration which preserve the fat cover and prevent any contamination of the carcase. There are also rules governing primary chilling and maturing. It is only when these processes are completed that producers decide whether carcases comply with the characteristics of the designation of origin ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’, basing themselves mainly on the quality of the fat and the appearance of the carcases.

The local importance of this sheep-rearing is also reflected in the fact that ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ lamb is the focal point of many tourist and gastronomic events. For example, on the occasion of the sheep festival held during the first weekend of October, several thousand visitors come to take part in activities related to sheep-rearing: tasting sessions, sheepdog demonstrations, sheep parade, etc.

5.2. Specificities of the product:

The term ‘pré-salé’ refers to sheep fattened on coastal pastures periodically flooded by the sea. Lambs intended to be covered by the designation of origin ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ are relatively old (135 days to 1 year). Most are offered for consumption between July and November. The lambs are born on farms within the geographical area and are the offspring of crossbreeds adapted to the environment; the mothers have sound maternal qualities and are good milkers. The carcases have a conformation consisting of a straight to subconcave profile and average to high muscle development. The degree of fat cover is slight to covered with fat and they have firm, white to creamy-white external and internal fat. Distinguishing features of the meat are its pink colour, fibre length and marbling (intramuscular fat). The meat remains very juicy during cooking and throughout the mastication process and produces intense, lasting flavours in the mouth.

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):

The link between the characteristics of ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ meat as described above and the local area lies mainly in consumption of the particular vegetation of the salt marshes, especially alkali grass, and the physical exercise taken by the sheep in seeking out the vegetation in this often hostile environment (risk of getting stuck in the deep muddy channels, lack of protection against sea spray and against the sun and heat in summer).

The link is significantly reinforced and maintained by local sheep-farming practices and control of the specific conditions of slaughter. Of the local know-how cited with a view to obtaining the designation of origin ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’, the selection and use of animals adapted to these difficult grazing conditions thanks to their slow muscle growth and maternal qualities are decisive factors.

In addition, the lambs are taken to the salt marsh after the end of the winter and stay there day and night without interruption, apart from periods when they are withdrawn due to flooding, until they are slaughtered or finished. Accordingly, a tradition has been established of using summer shepherds — a familiar feature of the salt marshes — who despite the dangers constantly move the grazing animals around in order to preserve the natural balance of the resources. The long grazing period (minimum of 75 days) deriving from these practices, the existence of retreat zones used during flooding, the adaptation of the lamb-breeding season to coincide with the growth of vegetation on the ‘mollières’ and the breeders' ability to recognise which lambs will require finishing in order to comply with the characteristics of ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ result in heavy but not very corpulent lambs whose muscle is a strong pink colour while their fat is firm and white.

The existence of this sheep-rearing has made it possible to develop and maintain in the slaughterhouses of the geographical area a specific know-how which respects the quality of the raw material (for example by keeping the fat cover intact and prohibiting spraying), while facilitating compliance checks on the carcases by local butchers and breeders. The fact that the animals are subjected to a journey of less than an hour, thereby minimising stress induced by transport, means that the organoleptic qualities acquired during rearing can be preserved. This quality is at the root of the reputation of ‘Prés-salés de la baie de Somme’ meat, which is acknowledged by its substantially higher selling price compared with that charged for standard lamb (between 50 % and 100 % more, depending on the time of year).

Reference to the publication of the specifications:

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

http://agriculture.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/CDC_Pres-sales_de_la_baie_de_Somme-2_cle4e6ec2.pdf

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