EN Official Journal of the European Union C 265/23

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

2010/C 265/12

This publication confers the right to object to the amendment 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

‘CHORIZO DE CANTIMPALOS’

EC No: ES-PGI-0005-0632-17.07.2007

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’

2. Member State or third country:

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Product type:

Class 1.2: Meat-based products

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

‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ is a cured sausage product made from fresh fatty pork, with salt and pepper as basic ingredients, to which garlic and oregano may also be added, and subjected to a drying and maturing process, over 40 % of which takes place in natural curing houses. It may be put up whole or in thick or thin slices.

The various formats in which the chorizo may be put up are:

— ‘Sarta’: Chorizo-style sausage of 25-35 mm in diameter, of a piece,

— ‘Achorizado’: Chorizo-style sausage of 30-50 mm in diameter, tied or wired together to form a string of several chorizo sausages, and

— ‘Cular’: Chorizo-style sausage in pig-gut casing of more than 35 mm in diameter, of an irregular cylindrical shape which varies according to the casing.

‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ must present the following characteristics:

Morphological properties, according to format

— ‘Sarta’: The surface of the sausage must be dark red in colour, smooth or slightly wrinkled and no bits of fat must show on the outside.

— ‘Achorizado’: The surface of the sausage must be dark red in colour, smooth or slightly wrinkled and no bits of fat must show on the outside; the outside must have a floury whitish mould.

— ‘Cular’: Part or all of the surface of the sausage must have a floury whitish mould, over a greenish hue caused by oxidation of the casing.

Chemical and physical properties

— Moisture content of between 20 % and 40 %.

— Fat in dry matter: Maximum 57 %.

— Protein in dry matter: Minimum 30 %.

— Hydroxiproline in dry matter: Maximum 0,5 %.

— Total carbohydrates expressed as a percentage of glucose in the dry matter: Maximum 1,5 % when put up in Sarta or Achorizado format and maximum 3 % in Cular format.

— Chloride, expressed as sodium chloride in the dry matter: Maximum 6 %.

— pH of between 5,0 and 6,0.

Organoleptic properties

— Consistency: They must be uniformly firm, without being excessively hard or soft, throughout their length.

— Appearance on slicing: Intense red colour when sliced, with red-tainted white spots due to the presence of bits of pigmented fat. The filling must be well bound, that is to say it must be homogenous, compact and free from any fatty bits larger than 0,5 cm in diameter.

— Aroma: The intrinsic aroma must be made up of a number of components arising from the maturing process of the meat, slightly acid, smooth and of medium intensity, together with that of the permitted spices which are added to it, while none of them should stand out above the others.

— On the palate, its consistency must be juicy and cohesive, easily chewed, not very fibrous and free from undesirable matter (such as fascia, bone fragments, ganglia or tendon). As a whole, its taste must be pleasant and not spicy.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

The meat must be from heavy-pig varieties, white-pig breeds of either sex, although males must be castrated, fed in the last three months before slaughter with a minimum 75 %, in the dry matter, of barley, wheat and rye, slaughtered at an age between 7 and 10 months, with a live weight of between 115 and 175 kilograms.

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

There is no restriction as to the provenance of the feed.

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

In particular, the manufacture, maturing and drying of the chorizo is carried out within the defined geographical area.

In addition to the particular characteristics of its method of production, natural drying is the most essential stage linked to the identified area to produce chorizo of the characteristics set out in the section ‘Description of the product’.

The process takes the following steps in the order indicated:

First the meat is prepared in the workshop, at an ambient temperature less than 12 °C for a period not exceeding two hours. All excess fat or parts of tendons which it may contain are removed. The temperature of the meat at the time of mincing must be between 0 and 2 °C. The mincers have plates with holes of varying diameter. For Sarta and Achorizado chorizos, their diameter must be between 8 and 16 millimetres and between 18 and 26 millimetres for Cular chorizos.

The mincing process mixes the ingredients and authorised additives to form a homogenous mass which is then rested in refrigerated rooms at a temperature of between 2 and 7 °C for a period of between 12 and 36 hours. The mixture should have a pH between 5,5 and 6,5.

After refrigeration, the mixture is stuffed into a casing. Care must be taken to ensure that no air gets in. This is then wired or tied with thread of three different colours (red, black and white) depending on its format, and subsequently cured.

The curing process has a minimum duration of 21 days for Sarta chorizo, 24 days for Achorizado chorizo and 40 days for Cular chorizo. This should produce a shrinkage of at least 25 % from the initial mixture and the finished chorizo. The curing process must comprise two sections: maturing and drying.

The chorizo is cured in curing houses at a temperature between 6 and 16 °C and a relative humidity of between 60 and 85 %.

The drying process must take place in natural curing houses for over 40 % of the total curing time.

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

The chorizo may be sliced, grated or packaged by registered plants.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

The wording or labels on packages identifying ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ intended for consumption must include the terms ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida’ and ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ (‘Protected Geographical Indication’ and ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’).

The product will also carry a back label, issued by the inspection body and identified by an alphanumeric code, to be affixed by the registered manufacturer in such a way that it cannot be reused, allowing guaranteed traceability. Such labels must bear the words ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida Chorizo de Cantimpalos’, its logo, and with the form in which the chorizo is put up: ‘Sarta’, ‘Achorizado’ or ‘Cular’.

Products prepared using ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ PGI as the raw material, including those which have undergone processing, may be released for consumption in packaging bearing the following reference to the PGI, ‘Elaborado con Indicación Geográfica Protegida Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ (prepared with ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ Protected Geographical Indication), but without the Community logo, provided that ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ PGI, certified as such, is the sole component of the product group concerned. The manufacturers or processors concerned are asked to notify the control body accordingly.

When ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ PGI is not used exclusively, the protected designation may be mentioned only in the list of ingredients of products containing it or obtained from its processing or preparation.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The geographical area in which the chorizo is manufactured consists of the following municipalities of the province of Segovia:

Abades, Adrada de Pirón, Aldealengua de Pedraza, Arahuetes, Arcones, Armuña (excluding Carbonero de Ahusín), Basardilla, Bercial, Bernardos, Bernuy de Porreros, Brieva, Caballar, Cabañas de Polendos, Cantimpalos, Carbonero el Mayor, Casla, Collado Hermoso, Cubillo, Encinillas, El Espinar, Escobar de Polendos, Espirido, Gallegos, Garcillán, Ituero y Lama, Juarros de Riomoros, La Lastrilla, La Losa, La Matilla, Labajos, Lastras del Pozo, Marazoleja, Marazuela, Martín Miguel, Marugán, Matabuena, Monterrubio, Muñopedro, Navafría, Navas de Riofrío, Navas de San Antonio, Orejana, Ortigosa del Monte, Otero de Herreros, Palazuelos de Eresma, Pedraza, Pelayos del Arroyo, Prádena, Rebollo, Roda de Eresma, Sangarcía, San Ildefonso o La Granja, Santa María la Real de Nieva, Santiuste de Pedraza, Santo Domingo de Pirón, Segovia, Sotosalbos, Tabanera la Luenga, Torrecaballeros, Torreiglesias, Torre Val de San Pedro, Trescasas, Turégano, Valdeprados, Valleruela de Pedraza, Valleruela de Sepúlveda, Valseca, Valverde del Majano, Vegas de Matute, Ventosilla y Tejadilla, Villacastín and Zarzuela del Monte.

These 72 municipalities cover a 40 kilometre-wide strip on the north face of the Sierra de Guadarrama, with a surface area of 2 574 square kilometres.

This geographical area is marked by its altitude of over 900 metres and its tradition of producing sausage for over 50 years.

The identified area brings together conditions of average annual temperatures of less than 12 °C, moderate relative humidity and less than 15 days of mist per year, conditions which favour the natural curing of the chorizo.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The orography and climate of the geographical production area give rise to climatic conditions which favour the drying of the chorizo in natural conditions, essentially as a result of its altitude of over 900 metres, low temperatures, moderate relative humidity and very few days of mist per year, in comparison with other areas nearby.

These characteristics are not present in neighbouring areas, as to the south is the Sierra de Guadarrama, a colder and more humid mountainous area with a higher altitude; and to the north are plains with a lower altitude and more mist. Nor is there a tradition of producing chorizo in the vicinity.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The specificity of the product arises from:

— the use of particular pieces of meat: flank, neck end, trims of cuts of topsides of beef and ham, dried hams and dried topsides of beef from which the fibrous parts, tendons and fascia have been removed, taken from pigs that have been reared on a diet of at least 75 % cereals (barley, wheat and rye),

— the small size of the plates used for mincing,

— the fact that the meat mixture is allowed to rest before insertion into the casings, which allows the flavours of the meat and other ingredients (salt, pepper, garlic, etc.) to mix, while at the same time a bacterial flora develops, lowering the pH and facilitating the subsequent drying process,

— at least half of the pepper used is Pimentón de La Vera PDO.

This gives the chorizo specific characteristics such as the absence of tendons, an intense red colour, small bits of pigmented fat, firm consistency and a non-spicy flavour.

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 quality of the ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ is the result of the careful selection of the meats used in its manufacture, the fact that the meat mixture is allowed to rest before insertion into the casings and the special curing and drying conditions in a geographical area whose altitude and very few days of mist result in a very well-cured product.

This final quality has conferred a reputation on this chorizo attested to by many historical and literary references since the beginning of the 20th Century, when the industrial manufacture of the chorizo first began in the area.

There are commercial documents dating from 1928 and 1933 regarding the exportation of ‘Chorizo de Cantimpalos’ to Mexico warning of imitations of the product.

Even Camilo José Cela, winner of the Nobel prize for literature, talks about ‘Cantimpalos, famoso por sus chorizos’ (‘Cantimpalos, famous for its chorizos’) in his book of 1956 ‘Judíos, moros y cristianos’.

This reputation extends to the three traditional formats as they present the same organoleptic characteristics on the palate.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://www.itacyl.es/opencms_wf/opencms/system/modules/es.jcyl.ita.extranet/elements/galleries/galeria_downloads/calidad/pliegos_IGP/IGP_Chorizo_de_Cantimpalos.pdf

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