Publication of an application for approval of an amendment, which is not minor, to a product specification pursuant to Article 50(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2020/C 424/12)

This publication confers the right to oppose the amendment 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.

APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF TRADITIONAL SPECIALITIES GUARANTEED WHICH IS NOT MINOR

Application for approval of an amendment in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

‘Mozzarella’

EU No: TSG-IT-0001-AM01 – 11.9.2019

1. Applicant group and legitimate interest

Name of the group: Latterie Soligo; Fattorie Marchigiane; Alival s.p.a

Address: Montemaggiore al Metauro 61030 (PU), Italy

Tel. +39 072157961

Email: fama@trevalli.cooperlat.it

The producers are entitled to submit this amendment application under Ministerial Decree No 12511 of 14 October 2013 and represent all the producers of ‘Mozzarella’ TSG.

2. Member State or third country

Italy

3. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment(s)

☒ Name of product

☐ Description of product

☐ Method of production

☒ Other: change in protection from ‘without reservation of name’ to ‘with reservation of name’

4. Type of amendment(s)

☐ Amendment to product specification of registered TSG not to be qualified as minor in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

5. Amendment(s)

Name

The amendment affects the name of the product and consists of adding the word ‘Tradizionale’ to ‘Mozzarella’ to form ‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ [Traditional Mozzarella].

With the name ‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ the product is immediately identifiable. It also means that the tradition behind the product and the process of making it, already reflected in the product specification, is referenced in the name, too.

As the section on the key elements shows, the aim of the product specification is to standardise mozzarella cheese in its most traditional form. This change will bring the name into line with the term commonly used by consumers to identify the product.

Other

Change in protection from ‘without reservation of name’ to ‘with reservation of name’

This amendment is also being proposed in order to safeguard the registration of the product in question, as the option of registering names of agricultural products and foodstuffs as Traditional Specialities Guaranteed without reservation of the name has been abolished and, under Article 25(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, names registered in accordance with Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 509/2006, including those registered pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (Traditional Specialities Guaranteed without reservation of the name) may continue to be used under the conditions provided for in Regulation (EC) No 509/2006 only until 4 January 2023.

We are therefore proposing a change of protection type, bringing this Traditional Speciality Guaranteed under the same protection applied to TSGs registered under Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 and allowing ‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ TSG to benefit from the reservation of the name. This reservation is requested only for the entire name (‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’) and not for the component words.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’

EU No: TSG-IT-0001-AM01 – 11.9.2019

Italy

1. Name(s) to be registered

‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’

2. Type of product [as in Annex XI]

1.3. Cheeses

3. Grounds for registration

3.1. Whether the product

☒ results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff

☐ is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used.

3.2. Whether the name

☐ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product

☒ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product

4. Description

4.1. Description of the product to which the name under point 1 applies, including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics showing the product’s specific character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ is a fresh lactic-acid-coagulated soft cheese (using the Codex Alimentarius definition of ‘soft cheese’) made using the pasta filata (‘stretched-curd’) technique. It comes in different formats: in balls (weighing 20-250 g), with or without a ‘stalk’ (testina) at the top; or in braids (weighing 125-250 g).

‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ is wrapped in protective packaging and sold immersed in plain or salted water, which is either in direct contact with the cheese if the packaging is hermetically sealed, or else seeps through perforated or permeable packaging.

Organoleptic characteristics:

Appearance:

— soft skin but no rind;

— smooth, shiny, even surface and milky white colour;

— typical structure of matted fibres, which is more pronounced in freshly made cheese; the cheese leaks a milky liquid when cut or gently squeezed and may have pockets in which this liquid pools;

— no eyes;

— an even, milky white colour with no blotches or veins;

— soft and slightly springy consistency;

— a characteristic taste – fresh, full of flavour and very slightly sour;

— a characteristic aroma – fragrant, delicate and reminiscent of slightly soured milk.

Chemical characteristics:

— minimum 44 % (m/m) fat in dry matter;

— moisture content of 58-66 % (m/m) in balls and 56-62 % (m/m) in the braided format;

— moisture content of 69-80 % (m/m) in the non-fat portion;

— phosphatase activity not greater than 12 μg phenol per gram of cheese;

— pH of 5,1 to 5,6;

— L-(+)-lactic acid content of more than 0,2 % (m/m) in samples tested within three days of production;

— maximum 1 % (m/m) sodium chloride (NaCl) content on a wet basis;

— maximum 10 mg furosine per 100 g protein.

Microbiological characteristics:

Samples analysed within three days of production must contain at least 107 colony-forming units (CFU) of the cheese’s typical microflora, which are resistant to the conditions in which the curds are stretched, per gram of cheese.

Storage:

The product should be stored at between 0 °C and 4 °C. The maximum storage temperature must be stated on the label along with the expiry date, indicated by the words ‘use by’ followed by the day and month.

4.2. Description of the production method of the product to which the name under point 1 applies that the producers must follow including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

The production method consists exclusively of the following stages, to be carried out in a continuous cycle at the same establishment:

— pre-ripening, if necessary, of the milk with a lactic starter culture (1);

— pasteurisation of the milk at a minimum temperature of 71,7 °C for 15 seconds or another process with the same effect;

— inoculation of the milk with the natural lactic starter culture;

— addition of liquid bovine rennet with a pepsin activity of 20-30 %;

— rennet coagulation at 35-39 °C;

— cutting and breaking the curds and draining the whey;

— lactic-acid coagulation of the curds up to a pH of 5,0 to 5,4 and cutting of the ripened cheese mass into chunks;

— curd stretching (for this process the curds are heated with hot water, sometimes with salt added, so the cheese mass reaches a final temperature of 58-65 °C);

— hot shaping of the cheese;

— placing in cold water, sometimes with salt added, to firm up;

— packaging.

(1) Preparation of the natural starter culture

First starter culture

— Raw milk which has not been refrigerated is heated to at least 63 °C for at least 15 minutes (or another time/temperature combination with the equivalent minimum effect).

— It is cooled to incubation temperature (42-50 °C).

— It is then incubated until the acidity reaches 14-24 °SH per 100 ml.

— It is then cooled to below 8 °C.

— It is stored at a maximum temperature of 4 °C.

Subsequent starter cultures

— Raw milk, which may have been refrigerated, is inoculated with a minimum of 4 % of the first starter culture.

— It is subjected to the same heat treatment as the first starter culture.

— It is cooled to incubation temperature (42-50 °C).

— It is then incubated until the acidity reaches 14-24 °SH per 100 ml.

— It is then cooled to below 8 °C.

— It is stored at a maximum temperature of 4 °C.

The starter culture is then ready for use.

Starter cultures ready for use must:

— have an acidity level between 16 and 30 °SH per 100 ml;

— have a minimum Streptococcus thermophilus count of 10 8 CFU/ml;

— have a negative phosphatase activity;

— be used for cheesemaking within three days of being made.

4.3. Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

‘Mozzarella Tradizionale’ is made following a well-established traditional method of making fresh pasta filata cheese, which forms part of Italy’s cheesemaking heritage.

The most traditional version of this product – the one covered by this product specification – must be made with whole milk which is raw when it arrives at the cheesemaking establishment and only subjected to treatment to adjust the fat content if necessary. The crucial factor is the natural starter culture, which must be made with milk from the same area as the milk used to make the mozzarella, and used at the same premises on which the cheese is made. The starter is a culture of lactic acid bacteria characterised by their heat-resistance and the speed at which they develop and acidify, which is obtained through the selective enrichment of the microflora naturally present in the raw milk and reflects the milk’s original microbiological profile.

A properly prepared natural starter culture is usually made up of an undefined mixture of strains of Streptococcus thermophilus, which may be accompanied by enterococci and heat-resistant lactic acid bacteria. This overall lactic flora composition helps to shape the product’s final characteristics.

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