EN Official Journal of the European Union C 155/5

Publication of an application 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

2014/C 155/05

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).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

‘FINOCCHIONA’

EC No: IT-PGI-0005-01120-27.06.2013

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Finocchiona’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.2. Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

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

The ‘Finocchiona’ PGI salami is characterised by the aroma of the fennel contained as seeds and/or flowers in the mixture, and the soft texture of the slices, which sometimes tend to crumble. The colour of the slices ranges from meat red in the lean parts to white/pinkish in the fatty parts, the parts being well mixed together with indistinct boundaries. Fennel seeds and/or flowers may also be visible. The pronounced aroma of fennel and slight aroma of garlic give the salami its characteristic pleasant smell. It has a fresh and appetising taste, which is never acidic. The product has the following chemical properties: total proteins: not less than 20 %; total fats: not more than 35 %; pH: between 5 and 6; water activity (wa): not more than 0,92; salt: not more than 6 %.

The product is a cylindrical sausage, coated with the characteristic feathery mould that develops during maturation. The size varies from small salamis weighing from 0,5 kg at the time of casing to larger ones weighing up to 25 kg at casing. The salami is released for consumption loose, vacuum packed or packed in a protective atmosphere whole or in thick slices, or vacuum packed or packed in a protective atmosphere in thin slices.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

To prepare ‘Finocchiona’, PGI fresh meat is typically used, which must not have been frozen, obtained from carcases of:

— heavy pigs, raised for at least nine months until they achieve a heavy weight and their meat is ideal for producing ‘Finocchiona’ PGI, which have specific genetic properties (the breeds usually used are the Italian Large White, the Italian Landrace and the Italian Duroc, or boars of those breeds, boars of other breeds or selected hybrid boars with the same genetic properties). Use of these breeds ensures the maintenance, distribution and qualitative composition of the fats in the meat, the production of carcases graded as heavy within the limits of the corresponding central classes and a heavy slaughter weight and high slaughter age. All the above, along with a specific feed regime for the animals based mainly on cereals, constitute essential requirements for the correct maturation and organoleptic profile of Finocchiona;

— pigs of the Cinta Senese breed, entered in the breed register, reared and slaughtered within the territory and fed according to tradition.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The feed ration of heavy pigs varies as regards both its composition and the method used. It is divided into two stages and is predominantly based on the by-products of cheesemaking and on cereals. The feed authorised during the first stage (up to 80 kg live weight) is the same as that authorised in the second stage in a suitable concentration, with the dry matter in the cereals accounting for not less than 45 % of the total: soybean meal, corn silage, corn gluten feed, deseeded carob, distiller’s grains, lipids with a melting point of over 36 °C, fish meal, protein lysates and buttermilk. The feed authorised in the second, fattening stage, when the dry matter in the cereals must account for not less than 55 % of the total, is: cereals and minor cereals, brans and other wheat processing by-products, dehydrated potato, pressed and ensiled beet pulp, soybean meal, sunflower meal, manioc, molasses, coconut meal, maize-germ meal, field peas and/or other legume seeds, dried beet pulp, sesame meal, linseed cake, apple and pear residue, grape and tomato skins used as supplements, lucerne meal, beer yeast and/or torula yeast, lipids with a melting point of over 40 °C, whey and buttermilk. Pigs of the Cinta Senese breed, reared in the open or using a mixed system, feed by grazing in woods and/or on bare land sown with forage and cereal plants. Daily feed supplements may be given to pigs over four months of age and but must not amount to more than 3 % of the animal’s live weight.

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

The steps in the production of ‘Finocchiona’ PGI that must take place in the geographical area defined in point 4 are cleaning and trimming of the authorised cuts of meat; mincing; kneading; filling the casings; drying and maturation.

The Cinta Senese meat comes from animals reared in the geographical area defined in point 4 of this document.

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

For packed, sliced ‘Finocchiona’ to be released for consumption, both slicing and packing, including in a vacuum or in a protective atmosphere, must be carried out exclusively in the production area defined in point 4 under the control of the authorised inspection body in order to guarantee product quality and, in particular, to prevent any deterioration in the characteristics described in point 3.2.

The mixing of finely minced piece of lean meat and fat makes the slices particularly delicate, during both actual slicing and handling. Preparing the product for slicing involves removing the casing, directly exposing the edible part to the external environment. Exposure to uncontrolled environmental conditions for an indeterminate period causes a deterioration in the characteristics of the product, giving rise to oxidation, changes in colour and an excessive loss of moisture, with a degradation in the particular consistency of the slices and the pronounced aroma that should characterise this salami. In order to guarantee and maintain the product’s original characteristics it is essential that those doing the slicing are in contact with the product under specific conditions and for a limited amount of time.

If the product intended for slicing is stored for an indeterminate period under conditions other than those laid down, undesirable characteristics inconsistent with those for which the product is known could develop, such as rancidity, drying, the formation of abnormal mould, swelling or browning, that could generate tastes, aromas and a consistency other than those the product should exhibit.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

The name ‘Finocchiona’ must be in distinct, indelible lettering of a colour that strongly contrasts with that of the label and that is clearly distinguishable from and larger than any other writing on the label and of a minimum of 3 mm and must be followed immediately by the words ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ [Protected Geographical Indication] or the letters ‘I.G.P.’ [P.G.I.]. The label must always bear the Community PGI logo, possibly together with wordings in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 628/2008. The use of indications referring to companies, names, business names, private trademarks and consortia is also permitted on the label, provided they have no laudatory purport and are not such as to mislead the purchaser or consumer. Reference to the name of the pig farms on which the pigs from which the product comes were raised is allowed only if the raw material comes solely from those farms.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area of ‘Finocchiona’ PGI covers the entire territory of mainland Tuscany, excluding the islands, which is the area in which the production of this typical product has become established over time.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The production area of ‘Finocchiona’ PGI has a mountainous area in the north and east, marking its boundaries, and an extensive upland area, with vineyards, woodlands and pasture land for livestock rearing in the open, sloping down to the coastal plains in the west.

Until the 1970s, the ‘mezzadria’ - agricultural holdings organised on the basis of sharecropping, now replaced in large part by farmer-proprietors, preserved the farming of pigs of the historical Cinta Senese breed, which has in the meantime also faced and overcome the risk of extinction, and white breeds of pigs, from which the raw material for Tuscany charcuterie comes, and handed down the specialised know-how and craft processing methods used for ‘Finocchiona’.

Meat, wine and the widespread presence of wild fennel have helped develop the taste of charcuterie producers, who are the custodians of expert, craft production methods, a heritage of age-old techniques and customs that have come down to today’s processing undertakings, located throughout the production area.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The main characteristic that marks out ‘Finocchiona’ and makes it unique in the world of charcuterie is the pronounced and unmistakable aroma of the fennel seed or flowers used in the mixture and the tenderness of the slices, which sometimes tend to crumble on cutting. It has a fresh and appetising taste, which is never acidic.

The pieces of fat are distributed in the slice in such a way that they surround the pieces of meat so that the product remains tender even after a lengthy maturation period. The fatty and lean parts, in medium-sized pieces, have no distinct boundaries. The colour of the slices ranges from meat red in the lean parts to white/pinkish in the fatty parts. Fennel seeds and/or flowers may also be visible.

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 historical reputation of ‘Finocchiona’ is evidenced by numerous documents. For instance, Rigutini and Fanfani’s ‘Vocabolario della lingua parlata’ of 1875, the 1889 edition of the ‘Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca’, which demonstrates the link between ‘Finocchiona’ and Tuscany, and the work of Professor Italo Ghinelli, who in 1977 confirmed the Tuscan origin of the product. ‘Finocchiona’ is one of the most widely available forms of charcuterie in Tuscany and is regularly referred to in the weekly charcuterie product bulletins published by an authoritative nationally distributed specialised magazine.

‘Finocchiona’ owes its characteristics to the interactions over the centuries between the Tuscan environment in which it originated and human factors, which have given rise to the production method. The original choice of ingredients, particularly fennel, which is typical of so much of the regional cuisine and which is native to the production area, an established tradition of charcuterie production, the specialised know-how of qualified workers with manual and craft skills, who know how to select and trim the best cuts and ensure the correct balance between fat and lean meat and understand when the ‘Finocchiona’ has the right consistency and tenderness, contribute to producing a unique and unequalled product, whose reputation is now firmly established. The addition of wine to the ‘Finocchiona’ mixture, in accordance with the historical production method, is proof of the strong link with the local area, whose wines are known throughout the world. The production of quality meat from the Cinta Senese breed has allowed processing undertakings to establish themselves throughout the region, helping to further affirm the character of the product and consolidating its reputation and the link between ‘Finocchiona’ and Tuscany in the minds of consumers.

A plate of Tuscan cold cuts is unthinkable without ‘Finocchiona’, which has also spread beyond national borders and is now found in many countries of Central Europe and countries outside the European Community.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

The Ministry launched the national objection procedure for the application to register ‘Finocchiona’ as a Protected Geographical Indication in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 18 of 23 January 2012.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following website: http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3) See footnote 2.