EN Official Journal of the European Union C 329/20

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

(2015/C 329/06)

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

‘SALAM DE SIBIU’

EU No: RO-PGI-0005-01280 — 21.11.2014

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name

‘Salam de Sibiu’

2. Member State or Third Country

Romania

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Product type

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

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

‘Salam de Sibiu’ is a dried raw salami with noble mould. It has the following characteristics:

Organoleptic:

External appearance: cylindrical, regular-shaped sticks of uniform thickness, with a length of 15 cm to 100 cm and a diameter of between 45 mm and 75 mm, and having a weight of between 300 g and 1 kg.

The casing of the sticks has small, uniform grooves and is covered with a thin, uniform layer of white noble mould. The mould may have a yellowish-white or greyish-white tint. Portions of yellowish-white or greyish-white mould and portions not covered by mould are permitted, but they should not together account for more than 10 % of the total surface of the casing.

The stick has a semi-hard to hard consistency at the surface, a softer consistency in the area adjacent to slicing, but firm and elastic towards the centre. Slices of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ have a consistency that is both firm and semi-elastic at the same time.

The taste and smell are characteristic of a product smoked using hardwood, seeded with noble mould and subject to a lengthy maturation and drying process. The intensity of the taste is due to sufficient proteolytic and lipolytic breakdown resulting from appropriate maturation. It does not have any unusual taste or smell.

With regard to the appearance of slices, the mass of the composition has a reddish-brown to ruby-red colour and is glossy, compact, consistent and coarse, with flecks of white fat distributed uniformly throughout the entire cross-section. A darker hue is permitted in cross-section on a portion of up to 10 mm from the edge. Slices of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ maintain their consistency and do not fall apart. Tendon and cartilage pieces and air holes are not permitted.

‘Salam de Sibiu’ must be matured for at least 60 days.

Physical and chemical characteristics at the end of the maturation-drying period: Humidity: maximum 30 %; Fat: maximum 46 %; Protein: minimum 20 %; Salt: < 6 %; Sodium nitrites (the nitrates used are chemically reduced to nitrites) < 50 mg/kg.

Microbiological characteristics at the end of the maturation period: Listeria monocytogenes — absent/25 grams; Salmonella — absent/25 grams; E. Coli — 500 — 5 000 CFU/g

‘Salam de Sibiu’ is presented in one of the following 2 (two) forms: cylindrical sticks, clipped at both ends; sliced, without the casing (the mouldy casing is removed before slicing).

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

There are no specific requirements relating to the quality or origin of feed.

The main raw materials are minimum 70 % pork selected when raw (where present, bone fragments, soft fat, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, large blood vessels, bleeding parts, ganglia and stamped parts are removed from the meat) and maximum 30 % hard fat, taken from pigs that have reached maturity (with a live weight in excess of 100 kg).

The use of slaughterhouse by-products and mechanically separated meat is not permitted.

The following ingredients are used:

— salting-seasoning mixture (made up of food salt — maximum 5 %; natural condiments: pepper, allspice and garlic; preservatives: salt mixed with sodium nitrite or nitrate, in accordance with the law);

— antioxidants (ascorbic acid and its salts), approved in accordance with the law;

— maturation agents — starter cultures and/or bioprotection cultures, sugars — maximum 1 %.

The following ingredients may optionally be used:

— alcoholic maturation agents — one of the following: white wine/red wine/rosé wine/brandy/Vinars/sparkling wines/stout.

NOTE: Alcoholic maturation agents are used in the production of limited editions/collectors' editions of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ and are mentioned explicitly in the name of the variety. The dose used for each type of alcoholic maturation agent is a maximum of 3 %.

The following are not permitted: flavour enhancers (e.g. monosodium glutamate); acidifying agents (e.g. Glucono delta-lactone); colourings; protein additives (vegetable protein, animal protein); any other additive that could replace the meat; sea salt.

The paste obtained is filled into collagen casings with a diameter of between 60 mm and 90 mm and/or into natural horse casings.

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

The specific steps in production that take place in the defined geographical area are the following:

1. acceptance and storage of raw materials and ingredients;

2. dicing/chopping of the meat and fat in a bowl cutter to the size of a grain of rice (approx. 2-4 mm), in order to obtain the paste;

3. kneading of the paste with the salting and seasoning mix, the antioxidants and the maturation agents;

4. filling the paste into natural and/or collagen casings;

5. drying of the sticks for 24 hours at a minimum temperature of +10 °C, with moderate air circulation;

6. cold smoking — carried out at an air temperature of between +9 °C and +24 °C and a relative air humidity of 85-92 %, exclusively using hardwood from Romania (beech, oak or a mixture of beech and oak). Smoking lasts for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 10 days.

7. Maturation-drying — lasts a minimum of 60 days, is carried out in specifically fitted and climate-controlled stores at a temperature of between +8 °C and +24 °C) and involves the following stages: a) mould seeding: once the maturation-drying store has been filled, a solution containing spores of noble mould (Penicillium nalgiovensis or a mixture of different types of Penicillium, but Penicillium nalgiovensis must be present in such mixtures) is sprayed on the surface of the sticks of salami. 10-12 days after the seeding of the mould, the sticks are covered with the mould mycelium. During this period, the temperature should be between +10 °C and +24 °C). b) maturation and brushing of the sticks: 25 to 45 days after applying the mould, and once the sticks are completely covered with mould, manual brushing of the sticks is carried out. The mould that forms towards the end of maturation, under conditions of high humidity, has a white to yellowish-white or greyish-white colour. During this stage, the temperature should be between +10 °C and +15 °C). c) drying of the sticks: this is done by gradually reducing the relative humidity of the air in the maturation stores by means of ventilation at controlled temperature and humidity so that the product dries to the standard humidity of a maximum 30 %. During this period, the temperature should be between +10 °C and +15 °C).

At the end of the manufacturing period, after a minimum of 70 days, the product must fall within the parameters defined in point 3.2.

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

‘Salam de Sibiu’ is packaged individually, piece by piece, manually or by automated means (in the case of sticks), in permeable cellophane microperforation packaging, in a protective atmosphere or vacuum packed, after the mouldy casing has been removed in the case of slices.

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

The name ‘Salam de Sibiu’, accompanied by the words ‘Protected Geographical Indication’ or the acronym PGI (translated into the language of the country in which the product is being marketed) must be affixed to the label or on the hologram (if present), in a manner that renders it distinguishable from other writing. The EU logo for PGI and the manufacturer's trade name are to be illustrated.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The area in which ‘Salam de Sibiu’ is produced covers the territory of the following administrative regions: Bacău county, Braşov county, the city of Bucharest, Covasna county, Călăraşi county, Ilfov county, Prahova county and Sibiu county.

5. Link with the geographical area

Specificity of the geographical area

The climate conditions in the production areas (i.e. a temperate continental climate with cold winters and warm summers) are conducive to obtaining this type of dried raw salami with mould. The production areas are dominated by a succession of topographical forms specific to hilly areas, where hills are separated by wide river valleys and plains, in which the tradition of making charcuterie products dates back centuries, initially in peasant homesteads and then later increasingly under industrial conditions in specialised facilities. These areas also contain an abundance of forests, from which producers obtained and continue to obtain the hardwood that is such an integral part of successfully smoking the product.

The history of the production of this type of salami is closely linked to the development of the agricultural areas in the territory referred to above and to training at the local level of groups of workers specialised in the production of this variety. Over time, these people have contributed to the spread of its production outside the Mediaș-Sinaia area and to the consolidation of the tradition in the other parts of the specified production areas.

Specificity of the product

‘Salam de Sibiu’ differs from other products in the same commercial category due to its taste, its semi-hard consistency, supported by the very low humidity in the finished product, and through its ruby-red colour in cross-section.

The taste of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ is derived directly from the meat, fat, salt and condiments used, the aromatic substances in the smoke and the aromatic substances that form during fermentation from sugars, proteins and lipids.

The most important contribution to creating the taste comes from the aromatic products formed during fermentation (starting from the moment the casing is filled and coming to fruition through the cold smoking and maturation-drying processes) from the added sugars, from amino acids present or formed from the hydrolysis of proteins and those formed from the breakdown of lipids.

As a result, the lengthy maturation-drying period (minimum 60 days, in the presence of noble mould) contributes to creating the aroma of ‘Salam de Sibiu’.

In the course of decades of tradition during which the production process has remained virtually unchanged, a firm connection has clearly been forged in the minds of consumers between the product, its name and the geographical area. Consequently, when consumers think of ‘Salam de Sibiu’, they think of the same dried raw salami produced in the indicated geographical area from pork and hard fat mixed with salt and condiments, with a ruby-red colour, a casing covered with white, yellowish-white or greyish-white noble mould and an aroma and taste resulting chiefly from cold smoking with hardwood and the lengthy maturation-drying process.

Causal link between the geographical area and a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product

The reputation of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ is attested to by a copious bibliography of references and citations.

In a historical review of the product, an article dated 15 July 2009 in a supplement to the daily newspaper ‘Academia Cațavencu’ stated that ‘Salam de Sibiu has been and remains a culinary emblem’.

References to the production and sale of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ already appeared in the late 19th century. It was initially known as ‘Salam de iarnă’ [winter salami]. National consumers' clear appreciation of the product also spread beyond the borders of the country. This enabled salami produced in Sinaia, Mediaș, etc. to be exported through the Sibiu customs post. As a result of repeated exports through that customs post, the product came to be known as salami from the Sibiu customs post, and subsequently as ‘Salam de Sibiu’ [Sibiu salami]. Soon the name also established itself on the domestic market and we find it in advertisements of the era and on restaurant menus (from 1890 until today).

The characteristics of ‘Salam de Sibiu’ are the result of very close links with the environment, the concept here covering both climate (geographic) factors and human factors.

The interaction of these elements underpins the continuity in the production of ‘Salam of Sibiu’ from its origins until the present day.

The industrial process for manufacturing ‘Salam de Sibiu’ includes manual stages that have kept the production method intact. The hand-to-eye coordination required to chop to the size of a ‘grain of rice’, the în ploaie (‘raining’] method used to add the salt and seasoning mix, the manual checking of the firmness of the stick during smoking, maturation and drying, the loading of stores by hand and the brushing by hand of each stick require a high level of know-how and skill, most often passed down from generation to generation, in workers with the experience and intuition needed to obtain the characteristic taste of ‘Salam de Sibiu’.

‘Salam de Sibiu’ is an emblematic product that producers constantly present at national and international trade fairs. It is always the first product that visitors, customers, the authorities and the press ask to taste.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

http://www.madr.ro/ro/industrie-alimentara/sisteme-de-calitate-europene-si-indicatii-geografice/produse-agricole-si-alimentare/caiete-de-sarcini-2014.html

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