EN Official Journal of the European Union C 158/24

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 8(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 509/2006 on agricultural products and foodstuffs as traditional specialities guaranteed

2009/C 158/07

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) No 509/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A TSG

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 509/2006

‘KIEŁBASA JAŁOWCOWA’

EC No: PL-TSG-007-0047-05.12.2006

1. Name and address of the applicant group:

Name: Związek „Polskie Mięso”

Address:

ul. Chałubińskiego 8 00-613 Warszawa POLSKA/POLAND

Tel. +48 228302657

Faks +48 228301648

E-mail: info@polskie-mieso.pl

2. Member State or third country:

Poland

3. Specificity of the product:

3.1. Name(s) to be registered (Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

‘Kiełbasa jałowcowa’

3.2. Whether the name:

 is specific in itself

The name ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ expresses the specific character of the product, which is linked above all to its exceptional taste and aroma. These features reflect the use in the production process of juniper berries, which are finely chopped just before they are added to the meat, and the use of juniper branches during the smoking process.

3.3. Whether reservation of the name is sought under Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 509/2006:

 Registration with reservation of the name

3.4. Type of product:

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

3.5. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff to which the name under point 3.1 applies (Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

‘Kiełbasa jałowcowa’ has the appearance of an evenly wrinkled stick in the form of a garland. It has a characteristic whorl shape, without external longitudinal creases. The garland of sausage exists in two sizes:

— small, in natural casings over 32 mm in diameter and weighing 0,5 kg approx,

— large, in protein casings 36 mm in diameter and weighing 0,8 kg approx.

The colour of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ is dark brown, evenly spread over the entire surface, as is typical for heavily smoked sausages.

The consistency and ‘feel to the touch’ of the garland is that of a dry, smooth, evenly wrinkled surface, with a casing which fits tightly to the filling.

The product’s characteristic taste and tenderness result from the selection of raw materials, seasoning (in particular juniper) and the natural smoking which forms part of the production process.

Chemical composition:

— protein content — not less than 15,0 %,

— water content — not more than 60,0 %,

— fat content — not more than 35,0 %,

— salt content — not more than 3,5 %,

— nitrate (III) and nitrate (V) content expressed as NaNO2 — not more than 0,0125 %.

The above chemical composition values ensure the traditional quality of the product. The finished product yield in relation to the meat used as a raw material is 75 % (+/– 3 %).

3.6. Description of the production method of the agricultural product or foodstuff to which the name under point (3.1) applies (Article 3(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

Ingredients

Meat (100 kg of raw material): — Class I pork with a fat content of up to 15 % — 20 kg, — Class IIA pork with a fat content of up to 20 % — 50 kg, — Class III pork with a fat content of up to 25 % — 20 kg, — cutting fat — 10 kg. Up to 50 % of the Class IIA or Class III pork may be replaced by beef.

Seasonings (per 100 kg of meat): — natural pepper — 0,17 kg, — juniper — 0,12 kg, — sugar — 0,20 kg.

Other additives: — curing mix (based on a mixture of table salt (NaCL) and sodium nitrite (NaNO2)) — about 2 kg.

Feeding in the context of the production of pork intended for use in the making of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’

Feeding refers to fatty-meat fattening. The aim is to produce pigs with a bodyweight of up to 120 kg, characterised by a higher intramuscular fat content (more than 3 %).

— Fattening is based on late-maturing breeds, and an appropriate fattening regime makes it possible to achieve the desired intramuscular fat content. The breeds used for fattening do not carry the RN gene, and the RYR 1T gene is present in 20 % of the population.

— Fattening should be carried out in three phases — phase I up to about 60 kg, phase II up to about 90 kg, and phase III up to 120 kg.

— Fattening of animals up to 90 kg bodyweight approx. is carried out using two types of feed mixes. The feed mixes (doses) contain:

— as energy components: cereal middlings — wheat, barley, rye, oat, triticale or maize; maize middlings and middlings of naked oat varieties account for up to 30 % of mixes.

— as protein components: lupin, field bean and pea middlings, post-extraction soya meal, post-extraction rapeseed meal, rapeseed oilcake, fodder yeast or dried green fodder.

— Feed mixes (doses) for animals from 90 to 120 kg contain:

— as energy components: wheat, barley, rye and triticale middlings. Maize middlings and middlings of naked oat varieties may not be used in mixes (doses).

— as protein components: middlings of leguminous crops (lupin, field bean and pea), post-extraction soya meal, rapeseed oilcake or post-extraction rapeseed meal and dried green fodder.

— At no point in the feeding cycle may the following be used: vegetable oils, feed of animal origin, e.g. powdered milk, dried whey, fish meal.

— The metabolic energy content in mixes in all phases of fattening is 12-13 MJ of ME/kg of mix. The protein content in mixes should be around 16-18 % in the first phase of fattening, 15-16 % in the second phase, and about 14 % in the final phase.

— Doses for fatteners may be based on nutritive mixes alone, or nutritive mixes and bulk feed, i.e. potatoes and green fodder.

Stages in the production of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’

Stage 1 Preliminary cutting up of all meat ingredients. Ensuring that the pieces of meat are of a uniform size (about 5 cm in diameter).

Stage 2 Traditional curing (dry method) for about 48 hours, using a curing mix.

Stage 3 Mechanical processing: Class I meat is ground to around 20 mm in size, Class IIA meat to around 8 mm in size, and Class III meat to around 3 mm, and is then minced together with 5 kg of ice.

Stage 4 Mixing of all meat ingredients and seasonings: natural pepper, sugar and juniper, which is ground just before it is added to the mixer.

Stage 5 Stuffing into natural pig intestines of over 32 mm in diameter or protein casings 36 mm in diameter, twisting-off of sticks and shaping in garlands. Two types of casing can be used to make the sausages: — smaller garlands in small pig intestines weighing 0,5 kg, — larger garlands in protein casings weighing 0,8 kg.

Stage 6 Settling at a temperature not exceeding 30 °C for two hours. Preliminary drying of the surface, ‘settling’ of the ingredients within the sticks.

Stage 7 Drying of the surface, followed by traditional hot smoking (for about 120 minutes) and baking until a temperature of at least 70 °C is reached inside the sticks.

Stage 8 Cooling for 24 hours.

Stage 9 Cold smoking using beech chips and juniper branches (for 120 minutes approx.), followed by drying at a temperature of 14-18 °C for 3-5 days until a yield of 75 % (+/-3 %) is obtained.

3.7. Specific character of the agricultural product or foodstuff (Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

‘Kiełbasa jałowcowa’ derives its specific character from several attributes that are typical of the product:

— tenderness and specific properties of the meat,

— exceptional taste and aroma,

— uniform shape.

Tenderness, succulence and specific properties of the meat

Pork from pigs of late-maturing breeds fattened to a bodyweight of about 120 kg and having the genetic traits described in point 3.6 is an essential ingredient of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ which influences the specific nature of the sausage. Compliance with these requirements yields an intramuscular fat content in excess of 3 %, ensuring that the meat possesses the appropriate gustatory and technological properties that are essential for the production of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’. The use of such raw materials and conformity to the traditional method of production, with special regard to the stages of mincing, curing and smoking, ensures that ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ is exceptionally tender and succulent.

Exceptional taste and aroma

The specific character of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ is linked mainly to its unique taste and aroma, which are the result of the use of juniper berries in the production process. Grinding the juniper berries just before starting the production process enhances the sausage’s characteristic taste and contributes to its specific character, while the use of juniper in the smoking process adds to its taste and enhances its exceptional aroma.

Uniform shape

Its shape is the feature which sets ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ apart from other sausages. The sausage is sold only in two, very similar shapes, which makes it easily recognisable for consumers. Kiełbasa jałowcowa has the appearance of an evenly wrinkled stick in the shape of a garland. It has a characteristic whorl shape, without external longitudinal creases.

3.8. Traditional character of the agricultural product or foodstuff (Article 3(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

Traditional raw materials

1. Juniper: The 1903 Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna Ilustrowana (Great Illustrated Universal Encyclopaedia) refers to one of the useful properties of this shrub, which has been fairly common in Poland for centuries, namely that juniper releases a pleasant aroma when burnt. The encyclopaedia also indicates that juniper branches, shavings and berries can be used in the smoking process to confer an exquisite taste and aroma on meat. Documents from the second half of the 19th century show that juniper was already used as a seasoning or ingredient of meat dishes and products. The ‘Encyklopedyja Powszechna’, published in Warsaw in 1863, states that juniper berries have a spicy, bittersweet taste and a pleasant aroma and are widely used as seasoning. A standard production method for the sausage using juniper grains and involving juniper-flavoured smoke was established in Poland as early as the end of the 1940s (see article in ‘Gospodarka Mięsna’, the meat industry’s publication (1954, issue 3) entitled ‘Regulacja asortymentów wędlin na zaopatrzenie rynku’).

2. Pork: The meat of pigs kept for the production of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ must have an intramuscular fat content of more than 3 %; this is the marbling that confers on the product the desired tenderness, succulence and excellent taste. The use of such meat has a decisive influence on the quality of the final product and its specific character, and is in keeping with the traditional method of production.

Traditional method of production and composition

Smoking is a way of preserving meat and the most widespread method of smoking was burning juniper. This is recorded in old Polish manuscripts, such as the notes of the anonymous steward of a country estate in the 1780s, which record recipes for processing meat (AGAD Warsaw, ‘Zbiór z Muzeum Narodowego’, ref. 1249). Poland's national bard, Adam Mickiewicz, refers to the popularity of smoking meat with juniper in a description of breakfast at a country house in his 1834 epic poem ‘Pan Tadeusz’. ‘sliced tongue and ham — all quite tasty and home-made, smoked over juniper, fired in the chimney. ’

The tradition of seasoning and smoking meat using juniper was cultivated in local and regional variants in which not just different technologies but also, sometimes, different types of meat were used. As W. Łęg states in the essay ‘Z doświadczeń przy produkcji wędlin’, Gospodarka Mięsna (1953, issue 6), experiments were carried out involving ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ made from game (hare or wild boar with the addition of pork). These sausages tasted different, but essentially the same recipe (interlarding and smoking with juniper) was used everywhere. A meat industry specialist travelling through the Kurpie region made the following notes, in a piece on regional processed-meat specialities published in Gospodarka Mięsna (1950, issue 7-8), on the local variant of kiełbasa jałowcowa: ‘Sausage from Myszyniec, Kurpie region, smoked on juniper and containing juniper grains. Dry, excellent characteristic aroma and taste.’

After 1945, in accordance with the doctrine of central planning, it was decided to build a meat industry based on large processing plants. Standardisation of products and technology based on traditional recipes was introduced with the aim of improving quality and taste. ‘Kiełbasa jałowcowa’ as a product name appears in food trading standards in 1947 and 1948. A harmonised standard for ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ was established in 1954; it later developed into the Meat Industry Central Office’s 1964 standard (Wydawnictwo Przemysłu Lekkiego i Spożywczego, Warszawa 1964) on which the present application is based.

These standards were devised with the aim of ensuring the highest possible quality of kiełbasa jałowcowa. Although the standard on which this application is based is no longer binding, it still represents the highest production standards for ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’.

3.9. Minimum requirements and procedures to check the specific character (Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007):

With regard to the specific character of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’, the following in particular should be subjected to checks:

1. Quality of raw materials used in production (pork, seasonings), including — technological suitability of the meat, — type of fattening, — curing time, — seasonings used in the production of ‘kiełbasa jałowcowa’ and the proportions in which they are used.

2. ‘Kiełbasa jałowcowa’ smoking process In the course of an inspection, the following must be checked: — maintenance of the temperature required for traditional smoking in hot smoke and the heating temperature, — maintenance of the duration and temperature of repeat smoking in cold smoke, — use of beech chips and juniper branches for cold smoking.

3. Quality of the finished product: — protein content, — water content, — fat content, — sodium chloride content, — nitrate (III) and nitrate (V) content, — taste and aroma.

4. Shape of the product

Frequency of controls

Checks on the above-mentioned stages must be carried out once every two months. If all these stages are proceeding correctly, the frequency of the checks may be reduced to two per year.

If irregularities occur at any stage, the frequency of checks on that stage must be increased (to once every two months). Checks on other stages may be carried out once every six months.

4. Authorities or bodies verifying compliance with the product specification:

4.1. Name and address:

Name: Główny Inspektorat Jakości Handlowej Artykułów Rolno-Spożywczych

Address:

ul. Wspólna 30 00-930 Warsaw POLSKA/POLAND

Tel. +48 226232901

Faks +48 226232099

E-mail: —

Public  Private

4.2. Specific tasks of the authority or body:

The above inspection authority is responsible for checks on the entire specification.