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

(2022/C 315/07)

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

’Keleméri bárányhús'

EU No: PGI-HU-02480 – 7.9.2018

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

’Keleméri bárányhús'

2. Member State or Third Country

Hungary

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.1: Fresh meat (and offal)

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

‘Keleméri bárányhús’ is the meat of lambs that originate from Île-de-France or Suffolk males and are kept and reared in Kelemér from selection to slaughter. The ewes cannot be animals of the Racka, Cikta or Cigája varieties. At the time of slaughter, the lambs cannot be older than 120 days, and their live body weight cannot exceed 40 kg.

‘Keleméri bárányhús’ may be sold:

— as a whole carcass, together with the internal organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavity (liver, lungs, heart, larynx, kidneys), except for inedible offal;

— as a half carcass, or

— as a carcass or half carcass cut according to the consumer’s requirements, with or without the bone;

chilled or frozen.

Physical and organoleptic characteristics of ‘Keleméri bárányhús’: a fresh, fine, spicy aroma; a spicy flavour and tender texture; a bright-red colour; no fat cover on or in the meat; the surface of the cut meat has a marbled appearance thanks to thin layers of intramuscular fat.

A barely noticeable, very thin layer of fatty tissue can be found under the lambs’ skin or in the abdominal region.

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

During their time in the holding pen, the lambs consume only breast milk. By transferring the animal to a lambing jug, it can start to feed not only on breast milk, but also ad libitum on hay and feed from selected, delicate, young plants originating from pastures in the defined geographical area. Some 80 % of the hay consists of grass, the remaining 20 % of herbal and other wild plants. Particularly noteworthy components of these pastures are Europe’s only feather grasses, such as sheep’s fescue (Festuca ovina) or tall oatgrass (Arrhenatherum elatius), and herbal plants such as scentless mayweed (Tripleurospermum perforatum) or yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Apart from hay, the lambs receive only specific quantities of feed, or feed and fodder (barley, oats), depending on the desired slaughter weight.

The energy needs of lambs kept in lambing jugs increases steadily in proportion to the increase in their body weight, so the quantity of hay and feed consumed ad libitum also increases steadily, while the quantity of breast milk decreases. Composition of the feed fed ad libitum to the lambs: energy: 8,99 MJ/Kg dry matter: 86 % crude protein: 16,23 % raw fibre: 11,0 %.

The feed also contains minerals (Ca, Na, Se) and vitamins A, D3 and E, which are sufficient to satisfy all the lamb’s growth needs at each stage of development. The feed cannot contain soya, GMO plants, animal protein, wheat and maize, or pharmaceuticals. The feeding of lambs varies according to their age:

1. Age: 5–14 days; live body weight: less than 6 kg; kept in: a holding pen; fed on: breast milk

2. Age: 14–40 days; live body weight: 6–16 kg; kept in: a lambing jug; fed on: breast milk, supplemented by feed and hay ad libitum

3. Age: 41–120 days; live body weight: 16–40 kg; kept in: a fattening farm; fed on: 70 % feed and 30 % hay ad libitum at age 41–90 days; 15 % barley, 15 % oats and 70 % hay at age 91–120 days.

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

The lambs must be bred in the defined geographical area from selection to slaughter.

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

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Within the administrative boundaries of the village of Kelemér.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link between ‘Keleméri bárányhús’ and the geographical area is based on the product’s specific quality characteristics.

The feed and the rearing technique, to which the offspring of Île-de-France or Suffolk males adapt well, play a key role in producing this lamb’s meat, with its fresh, fine, spicy aroma and flavour, tender texture and bright-red colour.

The village of Kelemér is located at the foothills of the Gömör-Szepes hill range in the Northern Uplands, within Aggtelek National Park, bounded by the Sajó river and Kelemér stream. The land is undulating and dissected by narrow valleys, with a specific microclimate and plant communities. The geographical area lies 200–250 m above sea level. Its surface is covered by clayey, sandy Pliocene sediment, on which acidic and highly eroded, clayey silt-laden brown forest soils have formed. The climate is characterised by low precipitation (500–600 mm per year), moderately warm, dry summers prone to drought, and frosty, foggy, misty periods in late spring and early autumn. It has a low number of sunshine hours and an average temperature below 10 °C.

The Suffolk and Île-de-France lines have adapted well to the local geographical conditions, microclimate and plant communities. After a short period (maximum 14 days) of exclusive suckling, the lambs can stay with their mother in the lambing jug, where they can suckle at will. In an enclosed section of the lambing jug that is not accessible to the mother, the lambs can consume, ad libitum, hay gathered from the pastures of Kelemér and feed tailored to meet their nutritional needs.

The specific microclimate (cool, dry summers) and soil properties are extremely favourable for the grasses and herbal plants. Thanks to this, unique plant communities and grassland containing over 90 types of plant have developed on the pastures of Kelemér. At least 80 % of the pasture, and of the hay produced from it, consists of grass, which contains carbohydrates in the form of fibre rather than starch. This prevents a thick layer of fat (suet) from forming in the lambs’ muscle. Grass is rich in protein, minerals and essential amino acids, which helps give ‘Keleméri bárányhús’ its marbled appearance, tender texture and bright-red colour.

In addition to grass, the pastures also contain medicinal plants which give ‘Keleméri bárányhús’ its spicy aroma and flavour.

The proportions of the feed ingredients are fully in line with the lamb’s growth needs at each stage of development, so that the feed and hay cannot cause the meat to become fatty.

In addition to the rearing technique and the feed used, slaughtering the lambs before they reach 120 days gives the meat its soft texture and bright-red colour.

Collectively, these factors influence the quality of the meat and give ‘Keleméri bárányhús’ its pleasantly spicy taste, tender texture, bright-red colour, fresh aroma and, thanks to a lack of suet and to the thin layers of intramuscular fat, its marbled appearance.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://gi.kormany.hu/foldrajzi-arujelzok

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