EN Official Journal of the European Union C 186/16

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

(2017/C 186/10)

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

‘OSSOLANO’

EU No: PDO-IT-02093 – 24.11.2015

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Ossolano’

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

The ‘Ossolano’ Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) may be used only for cheese that meets the conditions and requirements laid down in the specification.

There is also an Alpine variety of ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese bearing the additional description ‘d'Alpe’ (from the Alps).

The shape and size of ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese is as follows:

— a straight or slightly convex cylinder with flat or almost flat sides;

— weight from 6,0 to 7,0 kg; from 5,0 to 6,0 kg for the Alpine variety;

— heel height is from 6,0 to 9,0 cm; diameter from 29,0 cm to 32,0 cm.

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese has the following characteristics:

— rind: smooth, regular, straw yellow in colour, tending to darken as the cheese matures;

— paste: firm and springy with small, irregular eyes; ranging in colour from pale, straw yellow to deep straw yellow through to deep yellow;

— taste: characteristic harmonious and delicate aroma, linked to the seasonal varieties of the vegetation on which the cows grazed, that becomes more intense and fragrant with age.

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese has the following compositional parameters:

— the minimum fat content of the dry matter is 40 %.

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese is matured for a minimum of 60 (sixty) days counting from the date when the milk is first processed.

The above weights and dimensions refer to the product when it has been matured for the minimum period.

The ‘Ossolano’ PDO Alpine cheese is made from milk produced and made into cheese on the alpine pastures located within the defined area, at altitudes of not less than 1 400 m above sea level.

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

‘Ossolano’ and ‘Ossolano’ Alpine PDO cheese is made exclusively from whole cow's milk from the following breeds: Bruna (Brown), Frisona (Friesian), Pezzata Rossa and their crosses.

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese is made exclusively from whole cow's milk, from two to four successive milkings, throughout the year (from 1 January to 31 December). The ‘Ossolano’ PDO Alpine (d'Alpe) cheese is produced exclusively from whole cow's milk from one to two successive milkings, in the period from 1 June to 30 September of each year.

The feed of livestock whose milk is used to make ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese consists of grass and/or fodder obtained in the defined area, for at least 60 % of the total dry matter per year; concentrates of cereals and leguminous crops and by-products of the processing thereof, used to make up the remaining feed, must not exceed 40 % of the total dry matter per year.

In the case of ‘Ossolano’ Alpine PDO cheese, the feed for the production period concerned consists of grass and/or fodder from pastures located within the defined area, for at least 90 % of the total dry matter; concentrates of cereals and leguminous crops and by-products of the processing thereof, used to make up the remaining feed, must not exceed 10 % of the total dry matter per year.

In both cases vitamin and mineral supplements may be added within the limits laid down by law.

The above percentages are to be regarded as precautionary, since ‘Ossolano’ cheese is produced in an entirely mountainous area where, in some years, the production of dried fodder may be particularly difficult and the production of concentrated feedstuffs is not feasible.

Grazing, while not compulsory, is regularly practised in the valley meadows in the period between April and October, depending on weather conditions. For ‘Ossolano’ Alpine cheese, grazing is mandatory during the period from 1 June to 30 September.

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

All the stages in the production process: stockbreeding, milking, cheese making and maturing must take place in the identified geographical area.

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

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese is released for consumption whole or in portions.

The whole cheese may be released for consumption, after at least the minimum maturation period, once it has been identified as follows:

— heel stamped with the inscription ‘Ossolano’;

— paper label affixed on the upper or lower face of the cheese;

— heel branded.

The cheese may be released for consumption in portions, after at least the minimum maturation period, providing it is possible to identify:

— a portion of the heel with the inscription ‘Ossolano’;

— a portion of the paper label;

— the ‘Ossolano’ protected designation of origin on the adhesive label and/or the pre-printed film put on the packaging by the authorised portioner.

The portioning activities must take place in establishments that hold the requisite health and hygiene licences required by law and that have been included in the inspection system of the authorised inspection body; these establishments may also be based outside the PDO defined area. In that case, the checks can be carried out by the authorised inspection body or any other inspection body pursuant to a delegation request made by the body itself.

If the packaging of ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese, including the Alpine variety, involves the scraping and/or removal of the rind (shavings, cubes, slices, etc.), making the original marking invisible, it must take place solely within the production area defined in point 4, so as to ensure traceability.

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

All the various forms of the cheese are identified during the production process using the mould and with a paper label affixed to one of the two faces of the cheese and by branding, not before the end of the minimum maturing period. ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese bears the additional reference to the Alps (d'Alpe) on the paper label only.

The mould for the ‘Ossolano’ PDO cold stamps the origin marking on the cheese when it is made and contains: the name ‘Ossolano’, the identification number of the dairy and a space for the brand.

The label is composed of three main parts:

— an outer ring containing the information required by law, the list of ingredients and the producer's trade name;

— the central part of the label containing the designation logo, positioned in the middle of the label and repeated in a ray pattern of a size proportional to the other logo, and the Community graphic symbol. For the Alpine variety produced on Alpine pastures, the indication ‘d'Alpe’.

— the oval positioned at the bottom of the label containing the names of the producer, maturer, portioner and packager.

The labels are distinguished as follows:

The ‘Ossolano’ PDO has a solid green coloured label that fades out in the centre and is pale green round the edges.

The Alpine ‘Ossolano’ PDO (d'Alpe) has a solid brown coloured label that fades out in the centre and is light brown round the edges, bearing the reference ‘d'Alpe’ printed in a semi-circle above the mountain peak of the central logo.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The defined area is identified by the census and administrative boundaries of the following municipalities in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola: Antrona Schieranco, Anzola d'Ossola, Baceno, Bannio Anzino, Beura Cardezza, Bognanco, Calasca Castiglione, Ceppo Morelli, Craveggia, Crevoladossola, Crodo, Domodossola, Druogno, Formazza, Macugnaga, Malesco, Masera, Mergozzo, Montecrestese, Montescheno, Ornavasso, Pallanzeno, Piedimulera, Pieve Vergonte, Premia, Premosello Chiovenda, Re, Santa Maria Maggiore, Seppiana, Toceno, Trasquera, Trontano, Vanzone con San Carlo, Varzo, Viganella, Villadossola, Villette and Vogogna.

The Alpine variety of ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese (d'Alpe) is made from milk produced and made into cheese on alpine pastures located in the same defined area, at altitudes of not less than 1 400 m above sea level.

5. Link with the geographical area

The territory in the far north of the Piedmont Region, between the (Swiss) Cantons of Valais/Wallis and Ticino, between the Pennine and Lepontine Alps, is called the Ossola valley. It runs from north to south for 70 km with a maximum width of approximately 35 km. It is bordered to the south by Lake Maggiore from which, within just a few kilometres, it rises to 4 600 m above sea level to the Monte Rosa group and many other peaks above 3 200 m in altitude.

The defined area is characterised by a complex and irregular terrain, causing an extreme fragmentation into small farms, with 10 to a maximum of 70 lactating animals, along with small cooperative dairies for processing and maturing.

The production area of ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese is entirely mountainous, with steep slopes, and is the result of pedogenic phenomena which led to the formation of soils with low oxygen levels, low permeability and acid pH. The area has climatic conditions characterised by high and constant rainfall compared to the national and regional average. Combined with the local temperatures, lower on average than in neighbouring areas, this favours the growth of particular meadow plants and the preservation of micro-climates that are ideal for maturing the cheese.

‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese has unique qualities linked to the environment in which it is made and the livestock and cheese-making traditions of the Ossola valley, as well as to the landscape, such as the meadows and pastures both in the mountains and on the valley floor, characterised by extreme biodiversity on the hillsides of the whole territory.

The animals' feed, in particular the forage component, influences the characteristics of the milk and thus also of the cheese made from it (a well-known example is the flavour imparted by Ligusticum mutellina, more commonly known as Alpine lovage, first on the milk and then on the cheese).

‘Ossolano’ cheese is an expression of the collective expertise of the Ossola Valley's farmers, the result of a shared qualification path.

The product's link with local history and traditions stems from the interaction between the indigenous and Walser populations. The latter arrived over the centuries from neighbouring Switzerland and resettled in the Ossola area, becoming one of the three ethnic minorities in Piedmont besides the Franco-Provençals and the Waldensians.

The Walser population that settled in the mountainous areas of the Ossola valley developed their own cheese-making technique adapted to the particular climatic conditions (heavy rainfall and moderate temperatures), whereby ‘semi-cooking’ was included in the production process to allow better draining of the whey.

This, combined with the pressing of the cheese, is what characterises the production of ‘Ossolano’. It favours the selection of a specific lactic microflora that strongly conditions the subsequent ripening and maturing stages.

It is the semi-cooking and the consistent selection of the native microflora that give the cheese its characteristic irregular, small eyes (smaller than a grain of rice) and the firm and springy texture that distinguish ‘Ossolano’ PDO cheese from other Piedmont cheeses of similar size, which typically have a softer paste with tiny, evenly distributed eyes.

The paste is yellow in colour, varying from pronounced yellow to straw yellow. The more intense colour is closely linked to the forage component of the animals' feed typical of spring and summer and to the cheese's maturation, especially if it is carried out in natural environments.

Also crucial for obtaining the characteristic sensory profile of ‘Ossolano’ cheese is the ripening phase during which the environmental conditions of temperature and humidity stimulate the activities of the bacterial microflora selected during the previous stages of the cheese-making process, thus helping to define the aroma and taste of the cheese.

Its smell is delicate but intense, with floral notes that include hints of nuts such as walnuts and hazelnuts, which are typical of the Alpine area, and a clear buttery diacetyl taste which makes it long-lasting.

The taste is immediately mature, as is usual with savoury flavour profiles. It is full, with a predominance of diacetyl that characterises it throughout, and ends on notes of ripe and dried fruit, vanilla and dog-roses or alpine flowers such as buttercups or small wild berries such as gooseberries and Ribes aureum (golden currants).

Chewing the cheese properly and letting it warm in the mouth brings out its full range of taste and scent, allowing the firm and elastic paste to dissolve in the mouth gradually and bringing out the full gamut of the cheese's extensive aromatic range, and in particular its spiciness.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

The consolidated text of the product specification is available on the internet: 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 ‘Prodotti DOP e IGP’ (at the top right-hand side of the screen), then on ‘Prodotti DOP IGP STG’ (on the left-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.