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

(2022/C 175/06)

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

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’

EU No: PDO-FR-0133-AM04 - 17.12.2021

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’

2. Member State or Third Country

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3 - Cheese

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

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ is a cheese made exclusively from raw whole goat’s milk. It is a soft cheese obtained by primarily lactic acid coagulation, with the addition of a small amount of rennet, and by natural drainage.

As regards its outer appearance, the cheese has visible surface mould and its rind is dusted with ash.

It has a lactic flavour, without being too salty or acidic, with nutty hints and vegetal notes such as hay. It has a creamy, even slightly damp, texture but becomes drier and sometimes crumbly as it ages.

The cheese cuts cleanly and has a white or ivory-coloured paste with a fine, even texture.

It has a tapered log shape. The total weight of dry matter must be no lower than 100 g per cheese.

Its minimum fat content is 45 % in the dry matter.

Running through each ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ cheese is a cereal straw on which at least the designation name and a code identifying the production facility are engraved.

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

The dairy goats must be of the Alpine, Saanen or Poitevine breeds or be crosses of those breeds.

At least 825 kg of the dry matter in the total annual ration per dairy goat (i.e. 75 %) must come from the geographical area. Some feedingstuffs do not come from the geographical area because they are unavailable there (e.g. dried lucerne).

The pasture area must be a minimum of 1 000 m2 per dairy goat, comprising the surface areas of the holding and/or the corresponding surface areas for bought-in fodder.

The annual quantity of fodder per dairy goat must be at least 550 kg of dry matter. Fodder may come from the geographical area only. The fodder is consumed fresh, fermented or as hay. The annual quantity of fermented feed is limited to 355 kg of dry matter per goat. It may not exceed 1 kg of dry matter per day per dairy goat. Fermented feed must be given together with hay or green fodder or combined with grazing.

The permitted types of fodder are set out in a positive list.

Complementary feed may be at most 50 % of the dairy goats’ feed, i.e. a maximum of 550 kg of dry matter.

The permitted complementary feeds are specified in a positive list.

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

The milk must be produced and the cheese made and ripened in the geographical area defined in section 4.

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

—

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

Besides the compulsory wordings required by the rules on the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs, cheeses with the ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ designation of origin are marketed with an individual label featuring the name of the designation of origin ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ and the European Union’s PDO logo in the same visual field.

Irrespective of the regulatory references applicable to all cheeses, the use of any other term or reference accompanying the designation of origin is prohibited on the labelling, advertising, invoices or commercial documents, with the exception of individual trademarks.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

All stages of production take place in the geographical area, which encompasses the territory of the following municipalities on the basis of the Official Geographic Code of 2021:

Indre (Department 36): Argy, Arpheuilles, Azay-le-Ferron, Buzançais, La Chapelle Orthemale, Châtillon-sur-Indre, Chezelles, Cléré-du-Bois, Clion, Écueillé, Fléré-la-Rivière, Fontgombault, Fontguenand, Frédille, Gehée, Heugnes, Jeu-Maloches, Langé, Lingé, Luçay-le-Mâle, Lurais, Lureuil, Lye, Martizay, Méobecq, Mérigny, Mézières-en-Brenne, Murs, Néons-sur-Creuse, Neuillay-les-Bois, Obterre, Palluau-sur-Indre, Paulnay, Pellevoisin, Préaux, Preuilly-la-Ville, Saint-Cyran-du-Jambot, Saint-Genou, Saint-Lactencin, Saint-Médard, Saint-Michel-en-Brenne, Sainte-Gemme, Saulnay, Sauzelles, Selles-sur-Nahon, Sougé, Tournon-Saint-Martin, Le Tranger, Valençay, Vendoeuvres, La Vernelle, Veuil, Vicq-sur-Nahon, Villedieu-sur-Indre, Villegouin, Villentrois-Faverolles, Villiers.

Indre-et-Loire (Department 37) in its entirety.

Loir-et-Cher (Department 41): Ambly, Angé, Artins, Authon, Averdon, Champigny-en-Beauce, La Chapelle-Vendômoise, Châteauvieux, Châtillon-sur-Cher, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Chémery, Chissay-en-Touraine, Choussy, Le Controis-en-Sologne (pour le territoire de la commune de Thenay), Couddes, Couffy, Crucheray, Les Essarts, Faverolles-sur-Cher, Françay, Gombergean, Les Hayes, Herbault, Houssay, Huisseau-en-Beauce, Lancè, Lancôme, Landes-le-Gaulois, Lavardin, Mareuil-sur-Cher, Méhers, Mesland, Meusnes, Monteaux, Monthou-sur-Cher, Montoire-sur-le-Loir, Montrichard Val de Cher, Montrouveau, Nourray, Noyers-sur-Cher, Pontlevoy, Pouillé, Prunay-Cassereau, Rilly-sur-Loire, Les Roches-l’Évêque, Saint-Aignan, Saint-Amand-Longpré, Saint-Arnoult, Saint-Cyr-duGault, Saint-Etienne-des-Guérets, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, Saint-Gourgon, Saint-Julien-de-Chédon, Saint-Martin-des-Bois, Saint-Rimay, Saint-Romain-sur-Cher, Santenay, Sasnières, Seigy, Thenay, Thésée, Troo, Valencisse, Vallée-de-Ronsard, Vallières-les-Grandes, Valloire-sur-Cisse, Veuzin-sur-Loire, Villavard, Villechauve, Villedieu-le-Château, Villefrancoeur, Villeporcher.

Vienne (Department 86): Antran, Basses, Berthegon, Beuxes, Bournand, Buxeuil, Ceaux-en-Loudun, Chenevelles, Coussay-les-Bois, Dangé-Saint-Romain, Ingrandes, Leigné-les-Bois, Leigné-sur-Usseau, Lésigny, Leugny, Loudun, Mairé, Messemé, Mondion, Nueil-sous-Faye, Les Ormes, Oyré, Pleumartin, Port-de-Piles, Pouant, Prinçay, La Roche-Posay, Roiffé, Saint-Christophe, Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers, Saint-Rémy-sur-Creuse, Sammarçolles, Sérigny, Usseau, Vaux-sur-Vienne, Vellèches, Vézières, Vicq-sur-Gartempe.

Maps of the geographical area can be consulted on the website of the National Institute of Origin and Quality (Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité – INAO).

5. Link with the geographical area

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ is a goat’s milk cheese the main specific characteristics of which are its elongated log shape with a cereal straw running through it, its nutty hints and vegetal notes such as hay, and its creamy texture that becomes crumbly as it ages. These characteristics are conferred upon it by the know-how in rearing goats fed on fodder produced exclusively in the geographical area, and also by cheese-making know-how (lactic curd, slow draining, and ash-dusting and salting of the surface after removal from the mould) and ripening know-how, which allows characteristic ripening flora to develop.

The geographical area where ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ is produced is located in the south-west of the Paris Basin, covering and extending beyond the old historic province of Touraine. The Loire, which crosses the area from east to west, and its tributaries strongly influence the landscape of the various farming areas.

The landscapes of open plateaus where cereal crops predominate alternate with valleys, which are more wooded and where more specialised agriculture has emphasised specific types of production (winegrowing, tree crops, livestock rearing, market gardening). Clayey and clay-limestone soils also meet here on the plateaus.

With its oceanic influences, the climate is characterised by mild winters and summers and allows the growing of numerous fodder and cereal crops needed to feed animals. This oceanic influence, which decreases only very gradually moving eastwards along the Loire Valley, maintains a relatively homogeneous climate throughout the area.

There were no herds of goats until the mid-20th century. The poorest rural households would have only one to three goats. Keeping the goats was the job of the grandmother (or of the youngest daughter, to whom the grandmother had passed on the know-how), who would care for the animals, feed them, milk them and make the cheese. The milk was used raw and whole straight after milking. The volume of a ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ mould corresponded to the daily volume of milk produced by a goat, that is around 2,5 litres of milk to make one cheese. There was no dairy; the work was done in the kitchen and the cheeses were left to dry near the chimney. The elongated log shape made the cheese fragile and hard to handle, so running a cereal straw through it lengthways made handling easier.

The modern-day production techniques stem from that history. The cheese is obtained by lactic acid coagulation of the whole, raw milk along with the addition of a small amount of rennet. The curd is placed into tapered moulds.

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ is a cheese produced from raw, whole goat’s milk, with only a small amount of rennet added, and obtained from a lactic curd. It is characterised by:

— its distinctive tapered shape;

— its fine, even, white to ivory-coloured paste which cuts cleanly;

— its creamy texture, which becomes drier and crumbly as it ages;

— after ripening for 10 days, a well-developed rind covered with surface mould visible to the naked eye;

— the cereal straw running through it lengthways;

— its lactic flavour with nutty hints and vegetal notes.

The origins of this goat’s milk cheese lie in the poorest soils of Touraine.

The presence in the geographical area of clayey and clay-limestone soils, which are suitable for fodder and cereal production, encouraged the agricultural exploitation of the poorest areas through the establishment of goat rearing, of a small size at first, the milk from which was used to produce a cheese that was initially consumed within the family only.

‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ owes its distinctive shape to the mould, which was originally made of woven wicker. The volume of the mould corresponds to a goat’s daily milk production. The elongated log shape and the sometimes brittle texture of the paste make the cheese fragile and difficult to handle, so the lengthways insertion of a cereal straw initially had the practical purpose of making it easier to handle the cheese, before becoming an identifying feature for consumers.

A number of factors – the use of an elongated mould and the characteristics of lactic production, together with slow drainage, which is adapted to the rhythm of work on the farm, and ash-dusting and salting after removal from the mould – give the cheese a texture, fineness of paste and ratio of surface area to volume that allow the distinctive ripening flora of ‘Sainte-Maure de Touraine’ to develop as it ripens, giving the cheese its qualities in terms of taste and aroma.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-0044ace0-9759-4aae-a3cf-fe706eac1395

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