EN Official Journal of the European Union C 422/8

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

2014/C 422/05

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

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

‘SALPICÃO DE MELGAÇO’

EC No: PT-PGI-0005-01012-2.7.2012

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Salpicão de Melgaço’

2. Member State or Third Country

Portugal

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 product to which the name in (1) applies

Salpicão de Melgaço is a smoked sausage obtained from pork loins, tenderloins, hams and shoulders.

It has the following characteristics:

External:

Straight, cylindrical, light brown, with a diameter of between 4 cm and 8 cm and a length of between 14 cm and 22 cm. The casing used is from pig’s large intestine and is tied with two knots at the end (with the casing inside out) and is then turned the right way out. After filling, a further two or three simple knots are tied.

Internal:

An oblique cut reveals a well-bound meat filling, of an intense dark colour and with slight marbling.

Chemical properties:

Parameter Average SD Maximum Minimum pH 5,69 0,24 6,30 5,39 Moisture (%) 35,95 7,13 47,94 25,70 Protein (%) 38,80 4,55 45,90 27,57 Fat (%) 19,57 6,45 37,29 7,32 Chlorides (as NaCl) (%) 2,88 0,81 4,87 1,09

Organoleptic properties:

This is a smoked sausage with an intense smoky aroma and a characteristic taste that is not particularly sweet, slightly acidic and spicy and moderately salty and smoky.

It has a fairly firm and tender texture and is moderately succulent.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

The raw materials used for making Salpicão de Melgaço are prime cuts, i.e. loins, tenderloins, hams and shoulders of pigs of the Bisaro breed, either pure-bred or crosses, slaughtered with a live weight of at least 110 kg and a minimum age of 32 weeks.

The meat is seasoned with garlic, onion, salt, bay leaves, Vinho Verde or a similar red or white wine, water, cumin and sweet and spicy paprika.

The casing is pig’s large intestine that has previously been washed and cured.

Salpicão de Melgaço must be smoked using the following types of dry, non-resinous wood:

— Quercus (oak),

— Cytisus spp (broom),

— Betula Celtiberica (white birch),

— Erica (heather),

— Cytisus baeticus (a member of the broom family).

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

—

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

The specific steps in the production of Salpicão de Melgaço that must take place in the identified geographical area are selecting, cutting, preparing, seasoning and maturing the meat; preparing, filling and tying the casings; smoking and curing.

3.6. Specific rules on slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

The label must bear the words ‘Salpicão de Melgaço — Indicação Geográfica Protegida’ (Salpicão de Melgaço — Protected Geographical Indication) and the Salpicão de Melgaço logo, shown below.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area for the production of Salpicão de Melgaço covers all parishes of the Municipality of Melgaço: Alvaredo, Castro Laboreiro, Chaviães, Cousso, Cristóval, Cubalhão, Fiães, Gave, Lamas de Mouro, Paços, Paderne, Parada do Monte, Penso, Prado, Remoães, Roussas, S. Paio and Vila.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The specificity of the geographical area in which Salpicão de Melgaço is produced is a result of the natural conditions created by the altitude, which is often over 1 300 m, and its specific microclimate with its long winters when the average minimum temperature is never more than 11 °C, the region’s abundant wood species, such as oak, white birch and broom, and some species native to the region, such as Cytisus baeticus and heather, which are used for smoking the sausage.

No less important is the know-how of the local people, passed down from generation to generation and the methods used, part of long-standing traditions of breeding and slaughtering pigs and curing and preserving pork for very long periods of time, which are to a great extent the result of the geographical isolation of the local population in the past and which led to the manufacture of this product, so well known in the region.

5.2. Specificity of the product

Salpicão de Melgaço differs from other sausages by virtue of its intense smoky aroma, a taste that is not particularly sweet, slightly acidic and spicy and moderately salty and smoky, its uniform and gently marbled appearance when cut, its relatively firm and tender texture and the moderate succulence conferred by the intramuscular fat in the cuts used. It has a low pH, which preserves and accentuates the product’s organoleptic properties.

It is also characterised by the use of specific prime cuts, exclusively of pork, such as loins, tenderloins, hams and shoulders, and the fact that the casings used are always natural intestine (synthetic casings are never used). The way of tying the casing, which leaves the knot at the base hidden inside, is specific to this sausage.

5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The climate conditions in the Municipality of Melgaço (the low temperatures during winter) are suitable for the handling of fresh meat and cold curing or smoke curing, methods still used today.

The production methods traditionally used by the people of Melgaço, passed down from generation to generation, are reflected in the knowledge of how to select cuts that have the intramuscular fat necessary to give the product its characteristic succulence and marbled, uniform appearance when cut. The product’s external appearance (length of 14 cm to 22 cm) is also created by cutting the meat into relatively large pieces (5 cm to 18 cm), the use of natural casings and the way the casings are tied.

The characteristic, not particularly sweet, spicy and moderately acidic and salty taste are the result of using the ‘sorça’, method developed by the people of Melgaço, which involves using an appropriate mix of meat and Vinho Verde or a similar red or white wine, water, garlic, onion, salt, bay leave, cumin and sweet and spicy paprika.

Another technique developed by the local people is smoke-curing, which involves exposing the Salpicão de Melgaço to smoke produced by slowly burning dry, non-resinous wood in such a way as to produce little flame and a lot of smoke. During this smoking process, which lasts roughly one month and is responsible for the intense smoky aroma that characterises the sausage, local producers use their experience to assess how dry the wood is and consequently how much smoke it will produce and know exactly when the flavour of the sausage will achieve that characteristic intensity of smokiness.

Salpicão de Melgaço has always been considered the highest-quality and best-known sausage of this geographical area and always features on the lists of products available to customers of the main butcher’s shops and other retail outlets and on restaurant menus. It should also be noted that Salpicão de Melgaço is always present on producers’ stands at the region’s agri-food fairs.

Articles in the regional, national and international press have helped consolidate the reputation of Salpicão de Melgaço, as have the Festa do Alvarinho e do Fumeiro and the Salpicão de Melgaço Competition, held since 1994.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

http://www.dgadr.mamaot.pt/images/docs/val/dop_igp_etg/Valor/CE_salpicao_Melgaco_IG.pdf

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3) See footnote 2.