EN Official Journal of the European Union C 205/22

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 205/11)

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)

‘Pecorino Crotonese’

EC No: IT-PDO-0005-01111 – 13.05.2013

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Name

‘Pecorino Crotonese’

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 product to which the name in 1 applies

‘Pecorino Crotonese’ protected designation of origin is a hard, semi-cooked cheese produced exclusively from whole sheep’s milk.

When released for consumption in the fresh, semi-hard and mature varieties, including when grated, it has the following physical characteristics: Shape: cylindrical with flat sides and a straight or slightly convex heel; Weight: between 0,5 kg and 5 kg; cheeses that are matured for more than six months may weigh as much as 10 kg; Dimensions: the dimensions vary according to the weight of the cheese; for cheeses weighing between 0,5 kg and 5 kg, the height of the heel varies between 6 cm and 15 cm and the diameter of the sides between 10 cm and 20 cm; for cheeses weighing more than 5 kg, the height of the heel varies between 15 cm and 20 cm and the diameter between 20 cm and 30 cm.

The fat in dry matter must be at least 40 %, the protein content must be at least 25 %, the moisture content must be at least 30 %, and basket marks are visible on the cheese wheels.

‘Pecorino Crotonese Fresco’ (‘Fresh Pecorino Crotonese’): white or lightly straw-coloured rind. Distinct, smooth and slightly tangy flavour with thin rind. The distinctive basket marks are clearly visible. The body of the cheese is soft, regular and creamy; it is milky white in colour with only a small number of eyes.

‘Pecorino Crotonese Semiduro’ (‘Semi-hard Pecorino Crotonese’): thick, light brown rind. Intense, well-balanced flavour. The body of the cheese is firm with only a small number of eyes.

‘Pecorino Crotonese Stagionato’ (‘Mature Pecorino Crotonese’) after a long maturing period (more than six months): hard, brown rind; may be coated (treated) with olive oil or olive dregs. Intense, distinct flavour, with a very slight piquant aftertaste. The body of the cheese is slightly straw-coloured with only a small number of eyes.

Organoleptic characteristics: when being tasted just after cutting, the cheese gives off a light scent of sheep’s milk, mixed harmoniously with other scents typical of the cheese, such as hay, mature wild grasses, hazelnut and smoke.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

Milk: whole raw sheep’s milk, thermised or pasteurised in accordance with the provisions in force.

Rennet: kid rennet paste.

The development of natural lactic acid starter cultures present in the milk used to make the cheese is allowed, as is the use of natural whey starters and milk starters originating from or present in the production area.

Salt: (NaCl) rock salt.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The year-round basic ration is made up essentially of fodder/forage from the geographical area. The livestock whose milk is used generally graze on green forage and are fed on non-fermented farm hay grown in the area. The ration may be supplemented with GMO-free concentrates from outside the geographical area, particularly on winter days when the sheep cannot graze. Supplements may not exceed 40 % of the total over the course of the year. The animals are reared semi-wild: flocks are left free to graze before returning to the fold in the evening, but the animals are supervised, vaccinated and treated if necessary. Flocks are on pasture from September until June.

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

Livestock rearing, milk production, cheese-making and maturing.

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

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

‘Pecorino Crotonese’ PDO is marketed whole or in portions in compliance with the provisions in force. The label affixed to ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ cheeses includes not only the information required by law but also the following additional images and wordings: The ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ logo, followed by the words ‘Denominazione di Origine Protetta’ (‘Protected Designation of Origin’) or the acronym ‘D.O.P.’ (‘PDO’), the Union symbols and possibly a reference to the EU Regulation; the business name and address of the producer and/or packager. Where the product is intended for international markets, the words ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ and the Community logo may be used in the language of the target country. The logo of the product comprises two fields: the graphic logo on the left and the logo lettering on the right. The logo must be imprinted onto the cheeses by fire branding or die stamping, while the lettering must be imprinted on the heel.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The area where the cheese is produced and matured comprises the entire administrative territory of the following municipalities in the Province of Crotone: Belvedere Spinello, Caccuri, Carfizzi, Casabona, Castelsilano, Cerenzia, Cirò, Cirò Marina, Cotronei, Crotone, Crucoli, Cutro, Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Melissa, Mesoraca, Pallagorio, Petilia Policastro, Rocca di Neto, Roccabernarda, San Mauro Marchesato, San Nicola Dell’Alto, Santa Severina, Savelli, Scandale, Strongoli, Umbriatico and Verzino; the entire administrative territory of the following municipalities in the Province of Catanzaro: Andali, Belcastro, Botricello, Cerva, Cropani, Marcedusa, Petronà, Sellia, Sersale, Simeri Crichi, Soveria Simeri and Zagarise; and the entire administrative territory of the following municipalities in the Province of Cosenza: Bocchigliero, Calopezzati, Caloveto, Campana, Cariati, Cropalati, Crosia, Mandatoriccio, Crosia, Paludi, Pietrapaola e San Giovanni in Fiore, Scala Coeli and Terravecchia.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The geographical area of production is a homogeneous area in both geographical and historical/cultural terms and largely overlaps with the territory of the Marquessate of Crotone, as the area in question was known from 1390 AD onwards.

The production area is characterised by the local hills of pliocene clay that are typical of the Province of Crotone and the mountainous area adjoining that Province between the Sila Piccola and the Sila Grande. In terms of physical geography, this area is very closely interconnected, with the Sila plateaus largely serving as the natural summer pastures for the flocks kept in the hills between those mountains and the Ionian Sea. This specific configuration of the land has influenced the local climate, which is characterised by cold winters and hot summers, but relatively small daily temperature ranges. Humidity levels are even, with average relative humidity of 58 %.

The ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ production area counts 398 sheep holdings, with a total of around 49 000 sheep. This figure has increased by around 4 % over the last 10 years, going against the general trend for sheep numbers in Italy.

The rearing system used is semi-wild grazing, combined with seasonal movement to and from mountain pastures. The production area has a great deal of pastures (over 40 % of the UAA is given over to pasture and permanent grassland), on which grow plant families that are considered to be of little interest for livestock, or even to be weeds, but which are present in abundance in the marginal areas typical of the production area. The pasture land in the production area is sufficiently homogeneous. The flora of the natural pastures in the Marquessate is essentially made up of fresh plant species — such as darnel, clover, chicory, sulla and alfalfa — of local ecotypes.

In the area, the profession of master cheese-maker is considered prestigious and testifies to a long-standing, historically documented tradition. What is more, the use of family labour in cheese-making has made it possible for the associated techniques to be kept unchanged over time. Cheese-makers’ know-how is an important element of the product’s specificity — indeed, production is carried out by hand. It is of prime importance that cheese-makers know how to identify the right point of coagulation of the milk in order to break up the curds with a local implement known as the ‘miscu’, reducing them to the size of rice grains. The shape of this tool allows the curds to be broken up in an energetic manner that frees a great deal of fat, to such an extent that the residual whey has a milky appearance. This whey is known locally as ‘lacciata’ and is a sign that the curds have been worked correctly. Another very important step is the agitation of the curds in order to help drain off whey (a process known as ‘frugatura’) and manual pressing of the curds into basket moulds. The curds are then agitated again and turned over to be pressed again into the baskets, before finally being immersed in the ‘lacciata’ whey. The cheese is left to acidify for one or more days before maturing is begun. As the cheese matures, some typical moulds develop on its surface. The cheese-maker monitors this process and has to know how to recognise and thus select the cheeses that have been correctly produced and discard the others. As the cheese matures, it is also important to assess the right moment to turn, brush or wash the cheeses and coat them with olive oil or olive dregs.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The distinctive features of ‘Pecronio Crotonese’ are:

— a light scent of sheep’s milk, mixed harmoniously with other scents typical of the cheese, such as hay, mature wild grasses, hazelnut and smoke; none of these scents predominates or, at most, the sheepy scent predominates slightly,

— compact flesh with only a small number of eyes. The cheese has very little elasticity in its texture in the mouth; during chewing, the granular nature of the cheese can be felt, with the granules melting nicely in the mouth after appropriate chewing. The presence of fat can be perceived, but without any buttery sensation. Body temperature and the act of chewing give the same aromatic impression as that produced by cutting the cheese, but in a more complete and marked form, particularly on swallowing. At this point the typical flavour floods the mouth, remaining pleasantly on the palate for a long time,

— evident basket marks on the cheese wheel.

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 distinctive nature of the semi-wild rearing system means that the livestock are fed mainly on wild flora from the production area. The distinctive flavours in ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ result from specific components, such as terpenes and sesquiterpenes, which are present in appreciable quantities only in some plant families, such as Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae and others normally grazed upon by the sheep. In forage crops, by contrast, such compounds are present to a low or very low extent. As they are highly aromatic and linked to certain specific plants, their presence in the cheese reflects the area where the animals grazed. It is thus the wild microflora that determines the organoleptic characteristics of ‘Pecorino Crotonese’. What is more, the traditional practice of mountain grazing allows the sheep to be protected from environmental and nutritional stresses during the heat of summer, thereby allowing the milk to maintain its flavour components.

— The area’s climate has a decisive impact on the maturing process and helps give ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ its typical structure. Over the centuries, the humidity level that characterises the area has helped shape the maturing techniques and is an important environmental resource for the cheese maturing process. In order for the cheese to mature correctly, the humidity level must be neither too high, as this would create the risk of the cheese not drying correctly, nor too variable, so as to ensure uniform conditions during the entire maturing period. The fact that humidity levels are even on the whole means that ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ matures gradually. This gives the cheese its distinctive physical structure, such as its firmness and lack of eyes.

— The inextricable link with the area’s human resources, which is determined by the cheese-making technique that stems from the centuries-old local tradition of master foremen/cheese-makers, has made it possible for the Crotone area’s renown in milk processing to remain unchanged. The fact that family labour is used almost exclusively not only guarantees the continuity of traditional techniques, but also testifies to the highly-specialised nature and craftsmanship of the production system, which remains inextricably linked to human resources that cannot be found in other local contexts. The specialist skills are particularly crucial at the stages in the process that are carried out by hand: from curdling to placing in moulds to treatment and monitoring of the cheese as it matures.

— The use of natural whey starters and milk starters that originate from and exist in the production area creates an important microbiological link with the area. A whey starter deriving from local milk ensures that the cheese contains lactic acid bacteria that are typical of the area of origin, thereby helping to give the cheese its specificity.

‘Pecorino Crotonese’ cheese is an integral part of the rural space making up the production area: it can be traced back a very long time, even to before the medieval period, and documents proving exports date back as far as the 16th century. During the Austrian Vice-Regency (1707-34), cheese was exported on a massive scale. In early January 1712 in Naples, the clergyman Giacinto Tassone of Cutro sold the Neapolitan merchant Aniello Montagna ‘200 cantara of Cotrone cheese from the current season of this year, neither swollen, worm-eaten, broken nor cracked’. During the last 25 years too, the name has been in continuous use on product labels and by an organisation of local breeders, and there have been numerous attempts at imitation by producers from areas outside the region.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

The Ministry launched the national objection procedure with the publication of the proposal for ‘Pecorino Crotonese’ PDO in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 46 of 23 February 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

or alternatively:

by going directly to the homepage of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (at the top right-hand side of the screen) and finally by clicking on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

(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.