Publication of an application for registration of a name 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

(2019/C 257/05)

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) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘PROVOLA DEI NEBRODI’

EU No: PDO-IT-02394 – 2.3.2018

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Provola dei Nebrodi’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

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

‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO is a pasta filata (‘stretched-curd’) cheese made from cows' milk. Several varieties are produced: fresca (fresh), semi-stagionata (partially aged), stagionata (aged), sfoglia (flaky) and con limone verde (with the addition of green lemon). When dispatched for consumption, the cheese has the following properties:

(a) Shape: The fresca variety has the classical pear-shaped form, either with or without a ‘stalk’ (known as a testina) at the top. The other varieties are oval, with a short neck widening towards the top. Depending on customary practice in the specific producing region, they may or may not have a testina. String is tied round the neck of the cheese so that it can be hung up in pairs for drying and/or ageing.

(b) Size: The size varies depending on the weight of the cheese, with the oblong side measuring between 15 and 35 cm and the diameter ranging from 12 to 25 cm.

(c) Weight: ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’fresca weighs between 1 and 2 kg, while the semi-stagionata, stagionata, sfoglia, and con limone verde varieties weigh between 2 and 10 kg.

(d) External appearance: The rind is thin, smooth and compact. It is free from any pitting or creasing and is a straw-tinged creamy white colour, developing to a more or less intense golden yellow as the cheese ages.

(e) Texture: The fresca variety is soft and ivory white, while in the other varieties the texture becomes semi-hard to hard and the colour turns amber yellow as ripening progresses. A typical flaky texture develops with advanced ageing, giving us the variety historically known as ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’sfoglia (sfoglia means ‘a fine layer’). The con limone verde variety remains softer, although it tends to become semi-hard as ageing progresses. This is due to the slow release of moisture from the lemon embedded in the cheese.

(f) Eyes: The cheese may be lightly strewn with small eyes.

(g) Taste: Fresh cheeses taste decidedly pleasant, sweet and delicate, whereas a strong, flavoursome cheese flavour emerges as ageing progresses.

(h) Aroma: The ageing process brings out marked aromatic notes dominated by green grass, hay, butyric acid and mushrooms, evidencing the cheese's close links with the local territory and the types of grass on which the cows graze. A citrus scent prevails in the con limone verde variety.

(i) Chemical composition: Total solids are not less than 52 % in fresh cheeses and not less than 60 % in partially aged and aged cheeses; fat accounts for no less than 38 % of total solids; and sodium chloride may not exceed 4 % of total solids.

(j) Ageing: ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO fresca has a short ageing period of less than 30 days; ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO semi-stagionata is aged between 30 and 120 days; ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO stagionata is aged for more than 120 days; ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO sfoglia has a minimum ageing period of five months; ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO con limone verde (with a whole green lemon embedded into the cheese once the curds have been stretched) has a minimum ageing period of 90 days.

(k) The rinds of the semi-stagionata and stagionata, sfoglia and con limone verde varieties can be coated with olive oil.

(l) ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ can be sold whole or in portions. The stagionata variety can also be sold grated.

(m) When placed on the market, packages of grated ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’stagionata must meet the following technical and technological parameters: free from additives; moisture content not less than 25 % but no greater than 35 %; a homogenous, non-powdery appearance, with particles less than 0,5 mm in diameter not exceeding 25 % of the total content; no more than 18 % rind content; and the specific organoleptic and aromatic characteristics of ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’.

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

Feed

Feedstuffs produced in the identified geographical area must make up at least 60 % of the dry matter in the cows' overall diet.

Different types of fodder — pasture, hay, undergrowth or dry residues from meadows and pastures, depending on availability — must make up at least 60 % of the daily dry matter fed to the cows, calculated on an annual basis.

The cows graze on varied pasture for at least 240 days a year. This pasture comprises green fodder (native wild plants and sown grasses — mainly sulla, common vetch and forage cereals), dry residues from meadows and wild forage, minor farmed cereals, and undergrowth.

The cows' basic diet of fodder is supplemented by feedstuffs that ensure a balanced nutrient intake. These feedstuffs can constitute up to 40 % of the dry matter fed to the cows, calculated on an annual basis.

Maize and soya make up the bulk of the feedstuffs from outside the zone of origin, combined, to a lesser extent, with sunflower and carob meal, minor cereals and their by-products, beet, vitamin and mineral supplements, and minor traces of other products.

The fact that farmers have to resort to using feedstuffs from outside the area of origin reflects the soil and climate conditions of the Nebrodi region, which is highly suited to permanent grassland and pasture (with 100 000 hectares of utilised agricultural area (UAA), the region accounts for around 30 % of Sicily's total grassland and pasture), and much less appropriate for arable farming to produce cereals and grain legumes (representing less than 3 % of Sicily's UAA), according to the most recent census compiled by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in 2010.

The cows may not be fed silage, fresh by-products from industrial processing, fenugreek, or foodstuffs representing sources of contamination or that have been poorly preserved.

Raw materials

Raw whole cows' milk; kid or lamb rennet paste; and green lemon for ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’con limone verde.

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

Milk production, cheesemaking, ageing.

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

‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ can be sold whole or in portions. Aged cheese can also be sold grated.

In order to ensure authenticity and traceability, the production of packaging formats that require ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO cheeses to be grated or have their rind cut off (scrapings, cubes, slices, etc.), thus removing the identifying details and branded markings from the cheese, may only take place within the geographical area identified in point 4.

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

‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO is released onto the market with identifying markings and a sticker or another type of label, which must be attached to the neck of the cheese and/or the side of a portion, and to grated cheese packaging. As well as the information required by the legislation in force, the ‘Provola dei Nebrodi D.O.P.’ logo must be displayed on the sticker or other label used.

Indications referring to companies, names, business names and private trademarks which are not laudatory in nature and are not likely to mislead the purchaser may also be included on the label provided that they comply with the applicable legislation on the labelling and presentation of food products. Any such additional indications must be displayed in smaller letters than the PDO logo.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ PDO production area comprises: the entire administrative territory of the municipalities of Bronte, Castiglione di Sicilia, Maletto, Maniace and Randazzo in the province of Catania; the entire administrative territory of the municipalities of Cerami and Troina in the province of Enna; and the entire administrative territory of the municipalities of Alcara li Fusi, Basicò, Capizzi, Capri Leone, Caronia, Castel di Lucio, Castell'Umberto, Cesarò, Ficarra, Floresta, Frazzanò, Galati Mamertino, Gioiosa Marea, Librizzi, Longi, Malvagna, Mirto, Mistretta, Mojo Alcantara, Montalbano Elicona, Montagnareale, Motta d'Affermo, Naso, Patti, Pettineo, Piraino, Raccuja, Reitano, Roccella Valdemone, San Fratello, San Piero Patti, S. Teodoro, S. Angelo di Brolo, Santa Domenica Vittoria, Santo Stefano di Camastra, Sinagra, Tortorici, Tripi, Tusa and Ucria in the province of Messina.

5. Link with the geographical area

The main factors forming the strong link between ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ and its area of origin are as follows:

(1) The use of wild or farmed forage to feed the cows, mainly the pasture typical of the Nebrodi mountain region. More than 25 botanical families can be classed as widely represented, with over 120 identified species (high natural biodiversity). Throughout all the different environments there is a clear prevalence of permanent and annual (native) wild fodder plants, sown forage grasses, leguminous plants and Asteraceae, which also have the highest rates of frequency. The local livestock sector developed in conditions that were sometimes very difficult, but this development was made possible by the availability of forage resources distributed over time and space (complementarity of mountainous and hilly areas). The importance of grazing for the organoleptic and aromatic properties of ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ has been studied by different researchers for more than a decade. They have identified aliphatic aldehydes, terpenes, and at least another 60 volatile components that help to shape the aromatic profile of the cheese (Verzera A. et al 2004; Ziino M. et al 2005; Licitra G. et al 2008). The importance of terpenes is linked to the fodder plants ingested by the cows, rather than being microbial in origin, proving the significant role played by grazing in the cows' diets. These results have been corroborated by other researchers studying other products (Dumont, J. P. et al 1978; Bugaud, C. et al 2001a and 2001c; Carpino S. et al 2004a and 2004b).

(2) The constant and unfaltering use of traditional cheesemaking and ageing methods passed down from generation to generation, in particular the following: (a) The use of raw whole milk. (b) The use of wooden equipment which, by triggering the formation of specific biofilms, allows the native dairy microflora to develop spontaneously. (c) The development of the native dairy microflora: The use of commercial starter cultures is not permitted by the ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ product specification. All acidification processes are therefore brought about by the spontaneous development of native dairy microflora, triggered by the use of raw whole milk and the biofilms impregnating the wooden cheesemaking equipment, such as the tina (wooden vat), ruotula (a wooden paddle used to break up the curds), piddiaturi (wooden containers) manuvedda (a flattened wooden staff used for cutting) and tavuliere (a large wooden board). This bears out the link to the region of origin and the environment. Of particular importance are the biofilms colonising the wooden vats, which in matter of minutes release excellent and complex spontaneous dairy microflora. (d) The use of kid or lamb rennet paste, with its natural enzyme complement, as well as inducing the coagulation process, contributes significantly and to an increasing extent to the proteolytic and lipolytic processes as the cheese ages (Condurso C. et al 2006, Ziino M. et al 2005, Cronin T. et al 2007), creating a specific and characteristic aromatic profile. (e) The cheesemaker's experience and know-how is definitely one of the factors that shape the quality of the end product. Traditional cheesemaking methods require a complex oversight of many non-standardised natural biological processes (such as coagulation time, curd acidification, or cutting and stretching the curds), meaning that, on a daily basis, the cheesemaker needs to gauge every process and decide whether to intervene in light of the macro- and micro-climatic environmental conditions and the quality of the raw milk — all factors that can be linked back to the territory of origin. Over time, thanks to the cheesemakers' skill and wisdom, two unique varieties of ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ have been developed: con limone verde, with a green lemon, and sfoglia. The latter is made using more precise and specific cheesemaking techniques when breaking up the curds in the vat and during the cutting and stretching process, as well as with changes in temperature and moisture content during the ageing process, linked to the natural environment of the ageing premises. Following further proteolysis and the reduction in the pH and moisture content of the cheese, bundles of long cheese fibres aligned in parallel begin to split off, revealing a flaky texture known by cheesemakers and ageing specialists as sfoglia. (f) The cheesemakers' decision to make larger cheeses weighing up to 10 kg, suitable for withstanding long ageing periods (unique in Sicily) — sometimes more than a year. Historically this was also necessary because access to markets could be restricted for long periods of time (snowy winters with particularly harsh weather conditions in the Nebrodi mountains). (g) The cool and well-ventilated premises in which the cheese is aged, reflecting the climate of the mountain areas of the Nebrodi region: long and fairly harsh winters followed by mild summers that are not muggy. Rainfall ranges from 500 to 1 400 mm and average annual temperatures are 12-14 °C, with considerable fluctuations between winter and summer, when they rarely exceed 25-28 °C, with 60-90 % humidity. The ageing process is tailored to the time of year and the associated weather conditions, as well as to the type of ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ being made (semi-stagionata, stagionata or sfoglia). (h) ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’ is one of the oldest cheeses in Sicily. As its unique characteristics are the result of knowledge handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation for centuries, particular importance is attached to its appearance in the writings of the priest Gaetano Salomone from 1870 and 1872 (Il Manuale Teorico-Pratico D'Agricoltura e Pastorizia, adattato all'Intelligenza popolare delle persone del circondario di Mistretta (‘Manual of farming and stockbreeding theory and practice, adapted to the intelligence levels of the inhabitants of Mistretta district’)). Back in the late 19th century, these writings described the traditional methods used to make ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’, which are reflected in today's cheesemaking systems. Other historians have also discussed ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’, including Antonino Uccello in Cultura casearia in Sicilia (‘Cheesemaking culture in Sicily’), Bovari, Pecorai, Curatuli 1980, and Giuseppe Martorana in I Vistiamara (‘The Shepherds’), 1988. Their accounts also demonstrate the uniqueness of ‘Provola dei Nebrodi’, linked to the wild and sown pasture grasses of the territory of origin as well as the traditional cheesemaking and ageing practices used consistently by cheesemakers for generations.

(3) A complex aromatic profile that is increasingly marked as ageing progresses, made up of over 60 volatile components and numerous flavours linked to the presence of acids, alcohols, esters, ketones, sulphur products, aliphatic aldehydes and terpenes, which develop during ageing (Verzera A. et al 2004; Ziino M. et al 2005; Licitra G. et al 2008). Profile linked to the ingestion of the local forage by the cows and the enzyme processes of raw milk, as well as by the rennet used and the native dairy microflora, guaranteeing a product made in an ecologically sustainable and environmentally friendly way and a high rate of biodiversity. The ageing process brings out marked sensory notes, from the colour (ivory white to amber yellow) to the prevailing notes of ‘butyric acid, green grass, mushrooms and hay’, evidencing the cheese's close links with the local territory and the types of grass on which the cows graze. A citrus scent prevails in the con limone verde variety.

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

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

or alternatively:

by going directly to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità’ (at the top right of the screen), then on ‘Prodotti DOP IGP STG’ (on the left-hand side of the screen) and finally on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all'esame dell'UE’.

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