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

(2003/C 207/03)

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 recognised 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.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO ( ) PGI (x)

National Application No: 62

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 del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación

Address: Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, 1, E-28071 Madrid

Tel. (34) 913 47 53 94

Fax (34) 913 47 54 10.

2. Applicant group 2.1. Name: Grupo de trabajo de la Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea

2.2. Address: Carretera El Sadar, Edificio El Sario s/n, piso 3o, E-31006 Pamplona (Navarra)

Tel. (34) 948 23 85 12

Fax (34) 948 23 20 70

2.3. Composition: Producer/processor (x) other ( )

The working group comprises both producer and processor bodies and organisations: Instituto Técnico y de Gestión Ganadero, Sindicato Agrario UAGN, Sindicato Agrario EHNE, Asociación de Ganado Vacuno Pirenaico de Navarra, Matadero La Protectora, Cooperativa de Vacuno de Navarra, Gremio de Carniceros y Charcuteros de Navarra.

3. Type of product: Class 1.1. Fresh bovine meat.

4. Specification (Summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name: Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea.

4.2. Description: The protected product is fresh bovine meat from bull and heifer calves, born, reared and slaughtered in Navarre, which fulfil all the requirements of the specifications. The protected geographical indication concerns essentially the Pirenaica (Pyrenean) breed of cattle, indigenous to the area, which currently provides around 90 % of the protected beef. Cattle belonging to the Pardo alpina, Blonde d'Aquitaine and Charolais breeds, all of which are appropriate for the environment, and their cross-breeds, are also covered.

Meat which is to be protected may come only from cattle entered in the PGI register.

The animals are of two types based on their sex and age at slaughter:

- Bull calf: male animal from the above breeds, born in the production area referred to in point 4.3 and aged between 9 and 13 months at slaughter.

- Heifer calf: female animal from the above breeds, born in the production area referred to in point 4.3 and aged between 8 and 12 months at slaughter.

The conformation of the carcases will meet S.E.U.R. standards of the SEUROP model for classifying bovine carcases. Fat cover will correspond to grades 2 and 3 of the European standards and the pH value determined 24 hours after slaughter will be less than 6.

The colour of the meat must be red in accordance with the limits of the standard for the quality of bovine meat, i.e., it will be between values "2" or pink, "3" or slightly red and "4" or red.

4.3. Geographical area: The geographical production area in which the cattle providing "Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea" veal are born, reared and slaughtered is made up of the following:

- Area I: North-West (all)

- Area II: Pyrenees (all)

- Area III: Cuenca de Pamplona (all)

- Area IV: Tierra Estella (all)

- Area V: Navarra Media (all)

- Area VI: Ribera Alta (all)

- Area VII: Ribera Baja: (part).

Of area VII, only the following municipalities are concerned: Valtierra, Arguedas, Castejón, Corella, Fitero, Cintruénigo, Tudela, Murchante, Cascante, Tulebras, Monteagudo, Barillas, Ablitas, Fontellas, Cabanillas, Ribaforada, Fustiñana, Buñuel and Cortes.

The abovementioned areas and municipalities account for 95,97 % of the total area of Navarre.

The geographical area for producing the product is the same as the area for breeding and fattening the animals.

4.4. Proof of origin: Carcases of animals born and reared on PGI-registered holdings located in the geographical area defined above alone qualify for a PGI.

The animals are identified by attaching tags to both ears before they are 20 days old.

Where the farm for fattening is different from that of birth it is monitored via the declaration of sale which must be drawn up by the cattle farmer and sent to the Regulating Council. The ear tags must be kept during slaughter. When the carcases are being weighed they are classified by a qualified technician and the compulsory traceability marks are affixed.

Twenty-four hours after slaughter the slaughterhouses concerned inform the Regulating Council inspectors that slaughter has taken place. These inspectors then measure the pH and carry out the necessary tests with a view to granting the labels.

Once these checks have been completed, the labels establishing a link between the ear tag and the carcase are issued. Four labels for affixing to the carcase, corresponding to its different parts, are issued to the processor.

Where the carcase is to be sent to a cutting plant, each part will be identified in the plant and marked using the corresponding label. Where it is to be sent to a traditional butcher's business, identification of the parts will take place there.

In any event, all animals presented will be subject to the control and certification rules contained in the quality and certification manual for the PGI Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea.

4.5. Method of production: The bull/heifer calves protected by the PGI must be born and reared in the specified geographical region. The cattle will be fed according to the traditional grazing methods of Navarre and the typical features that have traditionally characterised meat production in its various regions, bound up with the geographical and sociological factors of the autonomous community of Navarre.

The animals must be suckled for at least the first four month of their life and, after, weaning, their feed must consist of cereals, legumes and concentrated feed authorised by the Regulating Council. The calves will be slaughtered and processed in authorised and approved slaughterhouses in the production area specified.

After the post mortem inspection the carcases of the slaughtered animals are placed in a refrigeration room for 24 hours until the interior muscle temperature is 7 °C (± 1). Until they are dispatched the carcases will be kept in refrigerated premises at a temperature ranging from 2 °C to 4 °C with a humidity level of 85 % to 90 %. The maturation period will be at least seven days. The average pH 24 hours after slaughter must be less than 6. Carcases of protected animals may not be frozen.

4.6. Link (a) Historical

The tradition of grazing in Navarre dates from ancient times.

In 1241 the Community of Roncesvalles enjoyed grazing rights beyond the river Adour. A document from 1358 says that the herdsmen of Navarre brought their cattle to the Bordeaux Landes. Historically the meadows of the valleys and mountains of Navarre have been populated by cattle perfectly adapted to the natural environment, ideal for the production of both milk and meat.

The bovine population on both sides of the foothills of the Pyrenees were made up of indigenous animals which in Navarre were known as "our breed" (nuestra raza), "Basque breed" (raza vasca) or "breed of the country" (raza del país).

According to V. Laffitte, what was called by A. Staffe "the Basque bovine breed" is "a native of the Spanish Navarre, from which it was brought to French territory". The breed was also known as "ours" or "the country's" to distinguish it not only from cattle imported from abroad but also from cattle from other Iberian areas.

The ancestors of the Pyrenean breed were smaller than today's breed.

In the mid-nineteenth century Pyrenean cattle were reared mainly in the open air; the cows and their young were traditionally taken to the natural pastures of each village "around 12 May" each year. Mating took place freely, no selection being made among the bulls.

In the beginning of the twentieth century the Pyrenean breed, which had been virtually the only one on the land for centuries, was crossed with more specialised foreign breeds (Friesian, Parda, etc.). This, together with other reasons such as the abandonment of the indigenous breeds and the initial success of crossing the first generation with other breeds, meant that the Pyrenean breed almost disappeared; it remained only in certain areas of Navarre, specifically the Aézcoa valley.

From the 1970s efforts to rehabilitate the breed were made which, thanks to promotion measures by the government of Navarre, subsequently re-established it and introduced it into areas whose extraordinary natural conditions could make it the breed of the future, given the excellence of its meat which is highly prized by consumers.

(b) Natural

The system of rearing the Pyrenean breed, which is the fundamental basis for the PGI Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea, features the use in summer of mountain pasture generally belonging to the municipality. In spring and autumn the animals graze on meadows located close to built-up areas, returning at night to their housing, depending on local weather conditions. In winter their feed consists of hay which is stored in summer, with cereal straw and occasionally a fodder supplement.

Calves suckle their mother up to the age of four or six months. During this period, depending on the season, they go to pasture and usually receive a concentrated feed supplement. After weaning they are fattened on the same holding with straw and hay up to the age of slaughter at around 12 or 13 months.

A feature of this breed is its highly rural nature which is why it is perfectly adapted to the varied weather and mountainous conditions of the autonomous community of Navarre. Further distinguishing features include its capacity to mobilise its body reserves along with its maternal instincts and its considerable output of milk. This breed is therefore fully adapted to extreme conditions, to weather conditions as harsh as those of the Alps and land as uneven as that of the majority of Navarre's hills and mountain ranges. The Pyrenean breed has no difficulty in calving on mountain sides. On the contrary it produces calves in excellent health, which are very suitable for meat production and develop rapidly when given the correct feed.

(c) Renown

According to a survey conducted by the firm Sigma DOS, SA in Spain in 1998 of 2000 consumers over the age of 18 years, including 240 in Navarre, "Ternera de Navarra" achieved a very high rate of recognition in its area of influence of 81,8 %, and equally at national level, of 20,1 %. A repeat survey carried out in 1999 found that the recognition rate in the area of influence had risen to 85,4 %.

In October 1999 the same firm conducted a similar survey of butchers. Awareness of the name "Ternera de Navarra" among Spanish butchers reached 31,4 % and among Navarre butchers, 100 %.

4.7. Inspection body Name: Consejo Regulador de la Indicación Geográfica Protegida Ternera de Navarra/Nafarroako Aratxea

Address: Carretera El Sadar, Edificio El Sario s/n, piso 3o, E-31006 Pamplona (Navarra)

The Regulating Council has prepared the relevant quality and certification manual and meets standard EN-45011.

4.8. Labelling: The carcases are labelled when the animal is slaughtered. Afterwards, either in cutting plants or authorised establishments, the labels or second labels supplied by the Regulating Council are affixed, ensuring the traceability and labelling of the product throughout the chain.

4.9. National requirements: - Law 25/1970 of 2 December 1970, Estatuto de la Viña, del Vino y los Alcoholes.

- Decree 835/1972 of 28 March 1972, Regulation of Law 25/1970.

- Order of 25 January 1994 clarifying the conformity between the Spanish legislation and Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

- Royal Decree 1643/99 of 22 October 1999 regulating the procedure for dealing with applications for registration in the Community register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications.

EC No: ES/00130/2000.05.15.

Date of receipt of the full application: 23 June 2003.