Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2021/C 59/10)

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).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be consulted in the Commission’s eAmbrosia database.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘LAGUIOLE’

EU No: PDO-FR-0120-AM09 – 3.9.2020

PDO (X) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Laguiole’

2. Member State or Third Country

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

‘Laguiole’ is a pressed, uncooked cow’s milk cheese with a dry rind and cylindrical shape. It has a minimum fat content of 45 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation, and the total dry matter content must not be less than 58 grams per 100 grams of cheese.

‘Laguiole’ is in the shape of a cylinder of 30 to 40 centimetres in diameter, with a height to diameter ratio of 0,8 to 1 and a weight of 20 to 50 kg.

Ripening lasts for at least four months calculated from the renneting date.

The paste of the cheese is ivory to straw yellow in colour, and its whitish to light-grey rind may turn amber brown to granite grey during ripening.

Its milky taste is average to intense, depending on the degree of ripening, balanced, with a specific character expressed in nuances that vary in taste from fresh hay to dry hazelnut. It is persistent in the mouth and it has the typical characteristics of a cheese made from raw milk.

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

The basic ration of the dairy herd is provided for by fodder from the geographical area. The only coarse fodder authorised is composed of local flora from grassland and natural or permanent pastures and of grasses and forage legumes cultivated on temporary grassland. The presence of maize silage, grass silage, wrapping or any other wet-preserved fodder is prohibited.

When grass is available, weather permitting, the basic ration of the dairy herd is composed principally of pasture grass grazed during a minimum combined annual period of 120 days. During this period, the intake of fodder supplementing the ration of pasture grass must not exceed 3 kg of dry matter per day and per dairy cow on average for the herd during the grazing period.

The amount of complementary feed added to the basic ration has been limited to an average of 6 kg per lactating cow per day for all lactating dairy cows over a period of one year. The complementary feed need not come from the geographical area, as that area does not have sufficient agricultural resources.

Only plants, by-products and complementary feed derived from non-transgenic products are authorised in the animal feed.

Only raw materials and additives specified in a positive list are authorised in the complementary feed of the dairy herd.

‘Laguiole’ is made exclusively from raw whole cow’s milk that is non-standardised in terms of fat and protein. All physical treatment is prohibited.

The milk used to make ‘Laguiole’ must come exclusively from dairy herds consisting of cows of the Simmental française (breed code 35) or Aubrac (breed code 14) breeds or of cows obtained from crossing these two breeds of certified descent. As regards the latter, after the first generation, only cows obtained from crossing with a male of the Aubrac breed (breed code 14) are authorised in the dairy herd.

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

The milk is produced and the cheese manufactured and ripened in the geographical area.

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

‘Laguiole’ may be presented in portions, cubes, sticks, nuggets, shavings, slices, grated or shredded.

If the cheese is sold in pre-packaged pieces, each piece must have part of the designation’s distinctive rind, with the exception of:

— individual portions and slices of less than 70 grams,

— cubes, sticks, nuggets, shavings, grated and shredded cheese, which may not have any rind.

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

In addition to the compulsory information provided for by legislation on the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs, the labelling of cheeses must include, in the same field of vision:

— the name of the designation of origin in characters at least two-thirds the size of the largest characters on the label,

— the European Union PDO logo.

The word ‘buron’ may be used on the labelling and in advertising, invoices or commercial documents, subject to the following conditions: the word ‘buron’ is used only for cheeses made from milk from a single herd that is milked during the period of transhumance (25 May to 13 October) and grazes during that period in high grassland areas at an altitude above 1 000 metres. In order to be able to be qualified by this word, the cheeses must be produced in buildings that are intended for cheesemaking and have been built in these high grassland areas for use by a single herd per workshop. Mobile or light structures, such as shelters made of boards, are not authorised.

The labelling may be replaced by direct printing on the rind of the cheese or by affixing a pre-printed bandaging onto the rind.

The cheese may also be identified by an embossed stamp comprising the Laguiole bull and the word ‘Laguiole’ and by an identification mark placed on the cheese.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area is delimited by the following municipalities or parts of municipalities:

Department of Aveyron: The municipalities of Argences en Aubrac, Campouriez, Cantoin, Cassuéjouls, Castelnau-de-Mandailles, Le Cayrol, Condom-d'Aubrac, Coubisou, Curières, Entraygues-sur-Truyère (right bank of the Lot and left bank of the Truyère upstream of the confluence of the two), Espalion (right bank of the Lot), Estaing, Florentin-la-Capelle, Huparlac, Laguiole, Montézic, Montpeyroux, Le Nayrac, Pomayrols, Prades-d'Aubrac, Saint-Amans-des-Cots, Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac, Saint-Côme-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot), Saint Geniez d'Olt et d’Aubrac (right bank of the Lot), Saint-Laurent-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot), Saint-Symphorien-de-Thénières, Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot), Soulages-Bonneval.

Department of Cantal: The municipalities of Anterrieux, Chaudes-Aigues, Deux-Verges, Espinasse, Fridefont, Jabrun, Lieutadès, Maurines, Saint-Martial, Saint-Rémy-de-Chaudes-Aigues, Saint-Urcize, La Trinitat.

Department of Lozère: The municipalities of Banassac-Canilhac (right bank of the Lot), Les Bessons, Brion, Le Buisson, Chauchailles, La Fage-Montivernoux, La Fage-Saint-Julien, Fournels, Grandvals, Les Hermaux, Marchastel, Nasbinals, Noalhac, Peyre en Aubrac (for the territory of the delegated municipalities of Aumont-Aubrac, La Chaze-de-Peyre, Fau-de-Peyre, Sainte-Colombe-de-Peyre) Prinsuéjols-Malbouzon, Recoules-d'Aubrac, Saint-Chély-d’Apcher, Saint-Germain-du-Teil, Saint-Juéry, Saint-Laurent-de-Muret, Saint-Laurent-de-Veyrès, Saint-Pierre-de-Nogaret, Les Salces, Termes, Trélans.

5. Link with the geographical area

‘Laguiole’ is made from the milk of cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds, which take best advantage of the grass and dry fodder produced in the geographical area. The use of this milk in its raw and whole state combined with a production method consisting of draining and a long ripening period at a low temperature give ‘Laguiole’ its characteristics, in particular its high dry matter content and its balanced and aromatic taste.

The geographical area is marked by distinctive features related to the nature of its soil, climate, high altitude and natural boundaries by virtue of the landscape. Its soil is rich in basalt and granite. The varied and harsh climate results from a confrontation between the continental and mountain influences of Auvergne, which are the reasons behind the long, cold, windy and often snowy winters, and those of the Midi, which bring warmth and heavy, tumultuous rain. At the heart of the area, the Aubrac mountains form a homogenous unit at an average altitude of 1 000 metres. To the west and the south, the geographical area is naturally delimited by the Truyère and Lot rivers. The soil, climate and altitude combine to bestow remarkable qualities on the pastures, in particular a rich, aromatic and abundant flora. Much more frequently than in other areas, typical plants rich in aromatic molecules (terpenes) can be found there, e.g. Apiaceae, such as spignel (Meum athamanticum), Geraniaceae (Geranium sylvaticum), composites (Achillea, Centaurea) and labiates (Prunella grandiflora, Thymus).

Cheese has been produced in this region for a very long time. Starting in the 12th century, the monks of the abbeys of Aubrac and Bonneval laid down rules for the production of ‘Laguiole’ so that the milk produced in the summer could be used to feed pilgrims in the winter. They were imitated by the area's farmers. In 1897, the hill farmers got together to sell their cheese through a syndicat de vente, which became a syndicat de défense in 1939, and culminated in the recognition of the designation in 1961.

Today ‘Laguiole’ is still made from raw whole milk obtained from cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds, which are adapted to the environmental conditions of the geographical area (mid-range mountains) and feed principally by grazing or on hay from the geographical area, without any wet-preserved fodder and with a limited amount of complementary feed. The genetic selection carried out within these breeds has made it possible to reinforce the protein content of the milk at the expense of the fat content and to obtain milk suited to cheesemaking. The diet of the animals is another contributing factor, as the ban on the use of maize in the fodder aims at limiting the fat content of the milk.

‘Laguiole’ ripens for a long time in a cold (6 to 12 °C) and damp cellar, and the success of this process depends, in particular, on a specific production technique (where the purpose of the double draining, first in the tomme press and then when being placed in the mould, is to increase the dry extract) and regular treatments (rubbing and turning). These operations are guaranteed by the skills and know-how that have been preserved in the geographical area.

‘Laguiole’ is a large (20-50 kg) cheese made from raw whole milk. Its pressed, uncooked paste has a high dry matter content of at least 58 %. It is ripened for a minimum of four months.

Its milky taste is medium to intense, depending on the degree of ripening, balanced, with a specific character expressed in nuances that vary in taste from fresh hay to dry hazelnut. It is persistent in the mouth.

At first, milk production in the geographical area of ‘Laguiole’ was very seasonal. Milking in parallel with the suckling of the calf was possible only when the natural fertility of the soil in the geographical area enabled the growth of an abundant flora to cover the animals' needs. In order to preserve and defer the use of this milk, breeders in the geographical area developed a large, long-keeping cheese, the ‘Laguiole’.

As this cheese is made from whole milk, its keeping quality depends on milk production and cheesemaking conditions that favour a milk that is suited to cheesemaking, rich in protein but with a limited fat content, and that can be drained intensively both in a tomme press and in presses after moulding, in order to obtain a pressed, uncooked paste with a high dry matter content.

Dairy cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds are particularly well adapted to the environmental conditions of the geographical area. Thanks to their hardiness, they are able to benefit fully from the fodder production in the geographical area despite the restrictions imposed by the long, harsh winters. The fodder on which they feed is rich in aromatic plants, which give a fragrance to the milk and consequently to the ‘Laguiole’ made from it.

The raw milk used to produce the cheese and the long ripening period at a low temperature result in the typical characteristics of ‘Laguiole’ related to the lactic flora of the raw whole milk.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-90d6b8cf-7708-4493-8879-136160fd5256

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