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

(2020/C 309/09)

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

‘DALMATINSKA PANCETA’

EU No: PGI-HR-02455 – 9.4.2019

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

‘Dalmatinska panceta’

2. Member State or Third Country

Croatia

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

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

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

‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is a preserved cured meat product with a rectangular shape, made from streaky bacon of the pig, with the associated skin, with or without rib cartilage, but without the rib bones, which is processed by being salted or brine‐cured, cold-smoked, dried and matured exclusively within the geographical area defined in point 4 of this document.

‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is produced from refrigerated fresh, or from frozen, streaky pork bacon. The streaky bacon used to produce ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ comes from the pig’s chest and belly.

When placed on the market, ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ has the following characteristics:

— external appearance: the product is more or less rectangular in shape, with or without clearly visible traces of the ribs; the edges and surface of the product are neat, without any cuts or other damage; the skin is firm, without any prominent wrinkling; the colour of the external surface of the product is light to dark brown;

— cross-section: the product has a firm, elastic consistency and a compact structure; red muscle can be seen clearly in cross-section, running through the fatty tissue, which is white to pink in colour, but may be bright yellowish along the edges as a result of smoking; the product is easy to slice;

— taste and aroma: the product has a slightly salty taste, it is tender, succulent and melts in the mouth; it has the distinct aroma of preserved cured pork products, with a mild aroma of smoke;

— chemical characteristics: the NaCl content must be no more than 7,5 %, the water content no more than 55 %, and water activity (aw) no more than 0,93.

The minimum weight of the finished product is 1,3 kg. ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ may be placed on the market whole, in pieces or in slices.

‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is a preserved dry-cured meat product that is usually eaten without first undergoing heat treatment. The entire procedure for processing ‘Dalmatinska panceta’, from the start of the salting/brine-curing phase to the end of the maturing phase, must take a minimum of 65 days.

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

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

The entire production process for ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ comprises the following phases: salting or brine-curing, cold smoking, drying and maturing, all of which must take place in the geographical area defined in point 4.

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

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

When placing the product on the market whole or in any type of pre-packaging containing pieces or slices, the product must bear the name ‘Dalmatinska panceta’, which must be clearly legible and indelible, and must stand out more clearly in terms of the size, type and colour of its lettering (typography) than any other inscription, including the production batch (series) number and the name of the producer. Adjectives such as ‘true’, ‘traditional’, ‘craft’, ‘typical’, ‘indigenous’, ‘home-made’, etc., or terms indicating the toponymy of the production area, must not be placed alongside the name ‘Dalmatinska panceta’.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical production area of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is confined to within the administrative boundaries of the following counties, towns and municipalities:

— Lika-Senj County: the area of the town of Novalja.

— Zadar County: the areas of the towns of Benkovac, Biograd, Nin, Obrovac, Pag and Zadar, and the municipalities of Bibinje, Galovac, Jasenice, Kali, Kolan, Kukljica, Lišane Ostrovičke, Novigrad, Pakoštane, Pašman, Polača, Poličnik, Posedarje, Povljana, Preko, Privlaka, Ražanac, Sali, Stankovci, Starigrad, Sukošan, Sveti Filip i Jakov, Škabrnja, Tkon, Vir, Vrsi and Zemunik Donji.

The entire area of Dubrovnik-Neretva, Split-Dalmatia and Šibenik-Knin Counties.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link between ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ and its geographical area is based on the product’s reputation and quality, which stem from the traditional know-how and skills of local producers and from the area’s natural factors. ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ has specific organoleptic properties. In particular, it has a slightly salty taste, is tender, succulent and melts in the mouth, and has the smell and aroma of fermented pork, with a mild smoky aroma. The product has a compact structure in cross‐section, with clearly visible red muscle running through white-to-pink – or on the edges light-yellowy – fatty tissue. These organoleptic properties are the result of the specific method used to produce ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ under the particular climate conditions of Dalmatia.

Natural factors

The geographical area for the production of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ comprises Dalmatia as a whole, i.e. the long coastal belt of the central and southern Croatian coast, including the islands (Central and Southern Adriatic Croatia). It covers a surface area of some 12 260 km2 and is separated from continental Croatia to the north-west by the Velebit, Dinarides and Kamešnica mountain ranges. For the most part, Dalmatia’s relief has the typical features of a karst landscape.

Most of Dalmatia has a Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers and mild, humid winters. One of the most important features of the Dalmatian climate is the frequent winds that alternate over the region. The winds alternating in Dalmatia from October to April are the Bora – a mostly dry, cold north-easterly wind – and the Sirocco (or Jugo), which is a mostly humid, warm south-easterly wind. The mean temperature is 3-9 °C during the coldest month, January, and 22-26 °C during the warmest month, July. Although the sea is a constant source of water vapour, the high air temperatures and frequent winds give Dalmatia the lowest relative humidity level in Croatia, with an annual average of between 65 % and 75 %. Thanks to its mild climate and agreeable temperatures, the geographical area, Dalmatia, enjoys favourable conditions for drying and maturing ‘Dalmatinska panceta’.

Human factors

The skill of preserving meat by salting and drying it had already spread throughout Dalmatia when it was under Ancient Roman rule. This skill has been passed down the generations and perfected over time. Thanks to Dalmatia’s favourable climate conditions and the constant availability of sea salt, a processing procedure was developed that would become a traditional Dalmatian practice.

The traditional know-how and skills of local producers are important in all production phases of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’. When selecting quality cuts of streaky bacon, producers ensure that they are more or less rectangular in shape and compact, without any major irregularities, except for clearly visible indentations where the rib bones were, and without any surface discoloration. Their skill during the salting/brine-curing phases and in determining the amount of salt/brine to be used is the product of many years of experience, and ensures that the matured ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is not too salty and its salt content sufficient to protect the product from deterioration.

Another particular skill is the use of smoke (selecting firewood, the manner and duration of smoking), which gives ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ its mild smoky aroma. The climate conditions of the geographical area have had a major influence on the drying of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’. Throughout history, most farmers in Dalmatia would dry meat for domestic use or for selling. As ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ was usually dried next to the hearth (in kitchens or special drying chambers), producers noticed during the drying phase that using smoke in rainy, humid weather would reduce ambient humidity. Over time, they realised that smoked meat was less prone to deterioration, i.e. that smoking had a preserving effect. In humid, Sirocco weather, producers would expose ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ to the smoke, whereas in dry, cold, Bora weather, they would dry ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ by removing it from special drying chambers or kitchens to dry in the air, or allowing the air to flow through the drying areas.

Although the preserving effect of smoke no longer has the same significance in present-day production, ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ still undergoes a process of cold‐smoking to give it a mild smoky aroma. Nowadays, smoking involves the use of ‘cold smoke’ generated during the smouldering of hardwood, a process known as pyrolysis, i.e. the burning of wood and/or sawdust with smoke but without flames. The types of hardwood used for cold-smoking are those traditionally used as firewood in Dalmatia.

At the end of the drying phase, the producer can tell from the appearance, colour and consistency of the product exactly when is the right time for the final phase: the maturing of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’. Cellars with a stable microclimate, known locally as ‘konobe’ (sg. ‘konoba’) have traditionally been used for maturing ‘Dalmatinska panceta’, where the matured product is kept until it is ready to be eaten or sold.

In his 1995 publication Prerada mesa i mlijeka, Đuro Roseg compared the techniques for producing ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ with those of similar agricultural products from other geographical areas. He concluded that ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ was the most distinctive, since it differed from similar products due to the cold smoking process: in the Istria and Lika regions, ‘panceta’ is not smoked, while in Slavonia it is smoked, but for a longer period and at higher temperatures. It is this distinct process that gives ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ its specific smoky aroma and brown surface colour (Đ. Roseg, 1995, Prerada mesa i mlijeka, Zagreb). In her scientific publication, M. Krvavica studied the aroma compounds of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ and found that the slow burning of hardwood, i.e. pyrolysis, at low temperatures produces carboxylic acids and carbonyls, which give smoked ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ its characteristic colour, whereas burning at high temperatures produces phenols and phenolic compounds, which form an integral part of the specific smoky smell and aroma of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ (Krvavica and others, 2017, Hlapivi spojevi arome dalmatinske pancete proizvedene u različitim tehnološkim uvjetima, in the journal Meso, No 5). Moreover, studies into the volatile compounds of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ have shown that phenols, in particular methoxyphenols, which show pronounced antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, are well represented in the aroma of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ as a result of cold-smoking (Krvavica and others, 2017, Hlapivi spojevi arome dalmatinske pancete proizvedene u različitim tehnološkim uvjetima, Meso, No 5).

‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is recognisable by its mild smoky aroma. Of particular importance here is producers’ know-how and skill in selecting the right types of wood and determining the most appropriate time and duration for smoking, which largely depends on weather conditions and the characteristics of the raw materials. Moderate cold-smoking of the product using hardwood is the only way for it to attain its mild smoky aroma; excessive smoking would have a negative effect not only on the aroma, but also the colour, consistency and tenderness of the product. Producers’ expertise is also important when it comes to maintaining favourable microclimate conditions (temperature, humidity and air flow) within production facilities, which must provide the optimum speed for drying and maturing, and the right intensity for biochemical processes in the product’s tissue, to ensure the product attains its specific organoleptic properties.

The reputation of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is referred to in an article in the magazine Privreda Dalmacije, which says that organised production began in agricultural cooperatives in Dalmatia as far back as the 1950s (A. Šitin, article in Privreda Dalmacije, 1987).

To prevent the traditional method for producing ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ in the Dalmatia region from being forgotten, it is included in the culinary book Vodič kroz hrvatske gastro ikone. The book’s authors set out to document the diversity of Croatia’s culinary products, describing them as ‘icons’, which points clearly to the reputation bestowed by ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ on its region of origin (Vodič hrvatske gastro ikone, 2007). The name ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ also occurs in various culinary works, with recipes on how to prepare it (D. Marjanović-Radica, Dalmatinska kuhinja, 1939).

Proof of the reputation of ‘Dalmatinska panceta’ is also provided by organised food‐tasting events still held today, as testified by press articles (Meri Šilović, press article, Nedjeljna Slobodna Dalmacija, 2015).

‘Dalmatinska panceta’ was showcased at an event entitled Dani dalmatinske pancete i vina (Dalmatian panceta and wine days), where it was judged and awarded a prize by a special jury (the event Dani dalmatinske pancete i vina in Runović, 2018).

In the journal Meso, M. Mašić writes that ‘“Dalmatinska panceta” is a national speciality that plays a significant role in Dalmatian gastronomy’, demonstrating more recent recognition of the product as a speciality of the Dalmatia region (journal Meso, 2003).

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/hrana/zoi-zozp-zts/Izmijenjena%20Specifikacija%20proizvoda%20Dalmatinska%20panceta%202019..pdf

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