EN Official Journal of the European Union C 86/12

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2007/C 86/04)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘SZEGEDI SZALÁMI or SZEGEDI TÉLISZALÁMI’

EC No: HU/PDO/005/0392/21.10.2004

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Földművelésügyi és Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium — Élelmiszerlánc-biztonsági, Állat- és Növényegészségügyi Főosztály Address: Kossuth Lajos tér 11. H-1055 Budapest Tel.: (36-1) 301-4486 ou (36-1) 301-4419 Fax: (36-1) 301-4808 e-mail: ZoborE@fvm.hu

2. Group:

Name: Pick Szeged Szalámigyár és Húsüzem ZRt. (application for registration presented not by a producers group but by a legal person under Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2037/93) Address: Szabadkai út 18. H-6726 Szeged Tel.: (36-62) 567-000 Fax: (36-62) 567-313 e-mail: varrone@pick.hu Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

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

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name: ‘Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi’

4.2. Description: The Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi is of even thickness, cylindrical shape, slim at the hung end and rounded at the opposite end. The length is in accordance with the amount of salami batter stuffed: ‘normal ’with 54 cm, ‘midi ’with 36 cm, ‘tourist ’with 19 cm and ‘mini ’with 16 cm length. Mold layer and casing is free of continuity breaks, evenly covered by noble mould, slightly wrinkled. The casing adheres well to the salami.

Texture of cut surface is compact, elastic, with good sliceability, not too hard. In the cut surface the brownish-red pork and white fat particles 2-4 mm in size are uniformly mixed.

4.3. Geographical area: Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi) is produced in the municipality area of Szeged.

Pigs raised and slaughtered in counties Bács-Kiskun, Csongrád, Békés, Hajdú-Bihar, Baranya are used to make the salami.

Data proving that requirements laid down in paragraph 3 of Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 510/2006 are met:

In low-land southern-Hungarian counties mentioned number of sunny hours (1968 hrs/annum) shows a decided difference compared to average (1903 hrs/annum), the warm dry summer is followed by long autumn and a moderately cold winter, all these having been favourable for establishing of remarkable number of small farms and regions with grain production, as a result of which supply with pigs fattened by grain and its by-products has been ensured continuously according to tradition.

Live animals for salami production have to be older than 1 year, i.e. weighing at least 150 kg, are castrated males or old sows that were born and raised in regions of counties listed.

Feeding regime of pigs bred and raised in small farms: sucking piglets are weaned at 6 weeks age earliest, from then on are fed on starter feed rich in soy and sunflower protein until 40 kg live weight. Above 40 kg weight pigs are fed during fattening with grain (wheat, corn, barley) supplemented with juicy feed grown in farmlands (green alfalfa, pumpkin, fodder beet, potato). Ratio of grains is changed from initial 30-40 % barley-wheat: 70-60 % corn to a final 10 % barley-wheat: 90 % corn.

Requirements of feeding are given in quality charts. During procurement personal control is done whether these requirements are met. Quality characteristics of live animals and fulfilment of raising and feeding requirements are controlled by veterinarians through documentation registered by the farmer, and the result is written down in yard control protocol. This protocol serves as the document on the implementation of requirements concerning quality traits of live animals as well as of raising, feeding and animal hygiene. On the basis of the protocol written by employed veterinarian and of the final veterinarian check before procurement done by authorized veterinarian the veterinary certificate accompanying the live animal is issued.

4.4. Proof of origin: The following will verify and guarantee the geographical area of origin and its traceability.

The live pigs purchased by Pick Szeged ZRt. can be identified with the authorised ENAR ear tag put on the right ear (ENAR — Egységes Nyilvántartási és Azonosítási Rendszer, Integrated Identification and Registration System — numbers must be given to the pigs). The ENAR number makes it possible to identify the animal's place of origin and its raising place, geographically identifiable and regionally distinguishable. ENAR is related to the registration of breeds (TIR), which ensures the traceability of animal movements from the animal breeding facilities to the slaughterhouse (until slaughter).

The official ENAR coordinator ensures that the ENAR requirements are met, while in the slaughterhouse the person responsible for ENAR supervises it.

The ENAR ear tag accompanies the pigs until the slaughter process, where during the veterinary examination they receive an additional leg number. The leg number of the pork side can be identified with the ENAR ear tag number of the live pig. This makes it possible to identify the raising place on the basis of the leg number.

As the leg number and the delivery (slaughter) date of the pork carcasses taken from the slaughterhouses located in the raising areas to the salami plant are known, it is also known which pigs, raised in the animal breeding facilities, are the origin of the meat used for producing Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi.

Separated deboning and the lot number (paste number) that is given when the casing is stuffed ensure the continuity of identification. By using the lot identifying paste number, each salami can be identified proving that it was produced in the administrative area of Szeged.

4.5. Method of production: The product is manufactured from carcasses without head and feet of Mangalitza and from crossbreds of Cornwall, Berkshire, Hungarian Large white, Hungarian Landrace, Duroc, Hampshire and Pietrain that are cut and deboned exclusively manually yielding shoulder, leg, loin and butt, as well as glandless belly and jowl fat.

Meat and fat cuts pre-dried at 0 °C and frozen at -4 to -6 °C are weighed and chopped mechanically to a particle size of 2-4 mm. During chopping — blending seasonings and curing salt are added. The salami batter (paste) with a maximum moisture content of 50-52 % is automatically stuffed under vacuum, casings' end are clipped and the bars are hung on smoke sticks and trolleys. For salami stuffing natural or water vapor permeable artificial casing of at least 65 mm diameter is used.

After stuffing salami is smoked with beech logs at max. 12 °C for 12-14 days.

As next step smoked products are ripened and dried in the ripening-drying rooms where molds of these rooms deposit on the salami surface. In order that mould growth is performed temperature is adjusted to 16-17 °C and relative humidity to higher than 86 % which conditions promote growth of molds covering thus the salami with mold layer. Ripening-drying needs thorough control since pH of Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi is higher than 5,6 and therefore drying can proceed only slowly.

If it were dried rapidly shape, color, flavour and aroma of the product as well as food safety would be damaged because of physical, microbiological and biochemical reasons. During ripening and drying relative humidity between 60-90 % and air velocity are adjusted in such a way that driving force of diffusion (difference between relative and equilibrium rel. humidity) should not exceed 4-5 %). For this reason combination of outside air and climatized air is needed.

Ripening — drying lasts 2-3 months, consequently the whole process from stuffing to the final, sliceable product takes at least 90 days.

Salami is put on the market in bars or sliced prepackaged at the site of origin. Bars are labelled with metal seal, wrapped in cellophane in sizes ‘normal ’(54 cm), ‘midi ’(36 cm), ‘tourist ’(19 cm) and ‘mini ’(16 cm in length). Sliced salami is packaged under vacuum or in modified atmosphere on trays. Slicing and packaging can be made exclusively at the geographic area of production, because only this guarantees that traceability and control is ensured, which guarantees that the product originates from the geographic area in question and that flavour and microbiological status have not been changed.

4.6. Link: Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi has been produced for over 130 years in Szeged, where the only, even now-a-days existing manufacturer uses the same local methods, and where the nearby river Tisza creates a microclimate ensuring the production of a salami with different characteristics to similar products.

Natural environment and climatic conditions of Southern Hungarian counties nearby Szeged ensure outstanding breeding and raising situation in favour of salami pigs. In this part of the country is namely the number of sunny hours remarkably higher (1968 hours/annum) than the average 1903 hours/annum; the warm, dry summer is followed by a long lasting autumn while also winter is only moderately cold. Affected by these favourable facts remarkable number of small farms and regions with grain production have been established in this area of Hungary called also as ‘pantry of the country’, as a result of which supply with pigs fattened by grain and its by-products has been ensured continuously according to tradition.

The city of Szeged is located on the banks of river Tisza in southern low-land region. Thanks to the closeness of Tisza, due to higher relative humidity brought about by large water area a special ‘house mycoflora ’has been developed which basically determines the characteristics of Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi.

For maintaining the genuine composition and for supporting growth of this ‘house mycoflora ’the presence of the humid air ensured by the large water surface is essential also contributing to the climatic conditions in the ripening rooms. No mold starter is namely applied for mold cover formation, only ‘house mycoflora ’supplies the strains, composition of which has been preserved until now and will be preserved in the future, too by surviving of mold spores. Number of mold species dominated by penicillia is well above 10 but also on the final product at least 10 different mold species grow and form the typical greyish-white cover. Continuity of ‘house mycoflora ’serves as guarantee for the growth of the similar mold population on every salami batch in ripening rooms ensuring thus the characteristic flavour, aroma and appearance of Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi.

The mold layer formed on the surface plays an important role during drying and storage by retarding rapid drying, and because of uniform moisture removal it supports, growth of molds and this non-transparent layer inhibits rapid rancidity.

It has to be emphasized that mold flora of Szegedi szalámi orSzegedi téliszalámi manufactured since more than 130 years with the same technology consists of mold strains whose vitality is not restricted by the smoked salami surface, thus they adhere and grow well unlike mold starters that do not tolerate smoke constituents.

Márk Pick established his factory in 1869 in Szeged, which was gradually improved and extended. Salami production was separated from the other branches of the company in 1883. Large-scale salami production was launched by Márk Pick in 1885, with workers from Italy. Salami became the main product of the company established by Márk Pick in the first decade of the 20th century. After the death of the founder, the company was transferred to the ownership of Pick's widow and her brother, Mihály Weisz. The eldest son, Jenő Pick joined the business in 1906. A new era started in the company history. Jenő Pick significantly increased the value of the technological equipment, and from 1934 continued the salami production alone, under the company name Pick Márk.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Csongrád megyei Állategészségügyi és Élelmiszer-ellenőrző Állomás Address: Vasas Szent Péter u. 9. H-6724 Szeged Tel.: (36-62) 551-850 Fax: (36-62) 426-183 e-mail: szigetis@OAI.hu

4.8. Labelling: Name of the product:

SZEGEDI SZALÁMI or

SZEGEDI TÉLISZALÁMI

The order of the words can be reversed, and the words can also be separated from each other. In the case of export products, the word ‘SALAMI ’can be used instead of ‘SZALÁMI ’or ‘TÉLISZALÁMI’.

Indication of protection: Protected designation of origin

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.