EN Official Journal of the European Union C 423/9

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 423/08

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)

‘CHOURIÇA DE CARNE DE MELGAÇO’

EC No: PT-PGI-0005-01011-2.7.2012

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Chouriça de Carne 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

‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ is a smoked and cold-cured horseshoe-shaped sausage, obtained from pigmeat from the shoulder, belly, trimmings and pork fat.

It has the following characteristics:

External:

Cylindrical horseshoe-shaped sausage, light brown in colour, with a length of 30-35 cm and a diameter of between 2 and 3 cm.

Fairly smooth light-brown outside, moderately moist on the surface.

Internal:

An oblique cut reveals a well-bound filling, with irregular marbling of meat and fat and a medium hard consistency.

Chemical properties:

Parameter Average Standard deviation Maximum Minimum pH 5,37 0,24 6,07 5,03 Moisture (%) 25,87 5,87 37,83 9,65 Protein (%) 28,58 4,77 38,15 21,4 Fat (%) 40,56 8,98 55,3 26,6 Chlorides (as NaCl) (%) 3,13 1,66 5,83 1,03

Organoleptic properties:

Aroma: intense and smoky.

Texture: very succulent and tender.

Taste: intense, moderately acidic and spicy, salty and with an intense smoky tang.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

The raw materials used for making ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ are meat from the shoulder, belly, trimmings and pork fat 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, sweet and/or spicy paprika, salt, bay leaf, white vinho verde or similar wine, and water.

Pig’s small intestine, previously washed and cured, is used for the casing.

‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ is 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)

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

The specific steps in the production of ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ that must take place in the identified geographical area are selecting, cutting, preparing, seasoning and maturing the meat; preparation, filling and tying of the casing; smoking and curing.

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

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3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

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

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area for the production of ‘Chouriça de Carne 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 natural conditions of the geographical area offer favourable microclimatic conditions for curing meat, which local people have exploited since time immemorial.

Surrounded by the Serra da Galiza and Vale do Minho mountain ranges, with altitudes in excess of 1 300 m, the Melgaço district is characterised by very cold winters during which the average minimum temperature is never more than 11 °C.

Since time immemorial local people have taken advantage of and handed down to the present day traditions based on pig rearing and slaughtering and production techniques and specific know-how enabling the meat to be exploited in different ways and to be preserved for long periods of time.

The region abounds in woody plant species such as Quercus (oak), Betula celtiberica (Iberian white birch) and Cytisus spp. and Genista spp. (broom), of which Cytisus baeticus and Erica (heather) are species native to the region, which are used for smoking ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’.

5.2. Specificity of the product

‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ is distinguished from other sausages in the same category by the appearance of its filling with irregular, clearly visible marbling and by its very succulent and tender texture. The blend of flavours — moderately acidic and spicy, salty and the intense smoky tang — are specific to this sausage.

Other characteristics which distinguish the ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ are its size (30-35 cm), its horseshoe shape, the exclusive use of natural pig intestine, prepared using natural methods, as a casing. A further characteristic is the traditional use of white vinho verde, or similar wine, when preparing the sorça seasoning.

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 characteristic features of the region are closely associated with the production techniques and characteristics of ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’.

For a long time Melgaço was an isolated and highly inaccessible district. Thanks to this isolation, traditions relating to pig husbandry and the tradition of slaughtering at the start of winter channelled the local people’s skill and know-how into meat processing and preservation employing natural methods adapted to the environment, such as preserving it by cold curing, the sorça preparation technique and smoking, all with the aim of survival.

The know-how of the people of Melgaço passed down from generation to generation is reflected in the art of combining the pig meat and fat and cutting it into fine pieces (2-3 cm) in the correct proportions to give the sausage the desired balance of meat and fat, resulting in its clearly visible, irregular marbling, allowing the filled casing to be folded and producing a highly succulent and tender texture.

The technique of sorça involves seasoning the meat with natural ingredients such as garlic, onion, sweet and/or spicy paprika, salt, bay leaf, white vinho verde, or similar wine, and water, and allowing it to rest for approximately one week in cool premises (at a temperature which may not exceed 11 °C), mixing it twice a day. The know-how derives from the proper combination of all the ingredients, respecting the appropriate timings, with a view to endowing ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ with its specific intense, moderately acidic and spicy and salty taste.

The use of natural casings from the small intestine of pigs, preparation of this and the compacting of the pigmeat and fat during filling give the product a highly succulent and tender texture and determine its characteristic diameter.

Another technique developed by the local people is smoke-curing, which involves exposing the sausage for approximately 15 days to smoke produced by slowly burning dry, non-resinous wood in such a way as to produce little flame and a lot of smoke.

The climate conditions promote the presence of non-resinous woody plant species, some of them native to the geographical area, which are burnt during the smoking process.

The low winter temperatures enable fresh meat to be processed by natural curing methods, as a result of which the physicochemical changes within the sausage take place slowly.

The 15-day smoking process is followed by curing, during which the sausages are kept in cool, well-aired premises (known locally as sequeiros). The sausages are preserved by means of processes that prevent any deterioration in their characteristics, specifically by means of cold curing which, in addition to giving ‘Chouriça de Carne de Melgaço’ its characteristic intense smoky tang, definitely contribute to all the product’s characteristics in terms of taste and aroma as well as to its long-term conservation.

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_chourica_carne_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.