EN Official Journal of the European Union C 318/8

Publication of an amendment 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

2013/C 318/08

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).

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

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

AMENDMENT APPLICATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 9

‘PECORINO SARDO’

EC No: IT-PDO-0217-01127-04.07.2013

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment

—  Name of product — ☒ Description of product —  Geographical area —  Proof of origin —  Method of production —  Link — ☒ Labelling —  National requirements — ☒ Other (to be specified)

2. Type of amendment

— ☒ Amendment to single document or summary sheet —  Amendment to specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the single document nor the summary has been published —  Amendment to specification that requires no amendment to the published single document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006) —  Temporary amendment to specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

3. Amendment(s)

Description of product

The technical and technological parameters of grated ‘Pecorino Sardo Maturo’ are defined. It is specified that grated ‘Pecorino Sardo Maturo’ must be packaged immediately.

This amendment is necessary to ensure product quality and traceability, given that the wording of the current product specification — ‘“Pecorino Sardo Maturo” may be used as a table cheese or grated’ — is too generic.

Labelling

The conditions that enable the distinctive PDO logo to be associated with private brands are defined.

The current amendment application is warranted in view of the need to better regulate the use of the protected designation in association with private brands in line with local, loyal and uninterrupted usages.

Furthermore, some portion types are being introduced, including shavings, flakes, small cubes, slices, etc. The current amendment application is related, on the one hand, to advances in technical knowledge and, on the other hand, to the need to meet the requirements of the end consumer, which are moving increasingly towards a self-service and takeaway logic. Supplying adapted products that meet these new, and now widespread, market requirements is essential in order to maintain growth and remain competitive.

Other

The specification has been divided into articles to improve readability.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (3)

‘PECORINO SARDO’

EC No: IT-PDO-0217-01127-04.07.2013

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Name

‘Pecorino Sardo’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Product type

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

The ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO is reserved for semi-cooked cheeses, made exclusively from whole ewe's milk, which may be thermised or pasteurised and of which there are two varieties: ‘Dolce’ (mild), matured for a short period (20 to 60 days) and ‘Maturo’ (matured), matured for a period of no less than two months; it is cylindrical in shape with flat sides and a straight or slightly convex heel. The ‘Dolce’ variety of the ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO must meet the following criteria:

— weight: between 1 kg and 2,3 kg,

— heel height: 8-10 cm,

— diameter of the sides: 15-18 cm,

— rind: smooth, soft, thin and white or light straw-coloured,

— body: white, soft, springy and compact-textured with small, sparse holes,

— taste: sweet and aromatic or slightly acidic,

— fat content in dry matter: not less than 40 %.

The size and weight may vary depending on the technical production conditions and the length of the maturing period.

The ‘Maturo’ variety of the ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO must meet the following criteria:

— weight: between 1,7 kg and 4 kg,

— heel height: 10-13 cm,

— diameter of the sides: 15-22 cm,

— rind: smooth, firm and straw-coloured for young cheese or brown for more mature cheese,

— body: white, light and springy for young cheese, hard and sometimes slightly grainy for more mature cheeses, which tend to become straw-yellow as the cheese matures, and compact-textured or with sparse holes,

— taste: pleasantly sharp,

— fat content in dry matter: not less than 35 %.

The size and weight may vary depending on the technical production conditions and the length of the maturing period.

The PDO for ‘Pecorino Sardo’ cheese also incorporates grated cheese obtained from ‘Pecorino Sardo Maturo’ which is entitled to and certified as complying with the designation of origin in question. Extension of the ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO is therefore reserved for grated cheese that meets the following technical and technological criteria:

1. fat content in dry matter: not less than 35 %;

2. maturing period in the production area: not less than 4 months;

3. humidity: not greater than 42 %;

4. additives: in accordance with the legislation;

5. organoleptic properties: in accordance with the definitions laid down by the production standard;

6. rind thickness: approximately 6 mm;

7. amount of rind: no more than 18 %.

If the cheese earlier underwent the surface treatment outlined in the product specification, the rind should be adequately cleaned so as to remove any residue or traces of such treatment.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

‘Pecorino Sardo’ is made exclusively from thermised or pasteurised whole ewe's milk produced in the region of Sardinia.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The sheep feed is essentially based on the direct use of natural pastures, meadows and grasslands, supplemented by fodder and concentrated feed.

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

The whole production process (livestock rearing, milk production, heat treatment, coagulation, semi-cooking, moulding, draining and/or pressing, salting and maturing of the cheese) must take place within the area indicated in point 4.

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

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

In order to ensure traceability and control, the manufacturer applies the ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO logo to the cheese wheels by means of an indelible food ink stamp, when they are released in the production zone.

Designation of origin label at release:

Given the product's characteristics and the various intermediate processing phases, the mark might no longer be visible, following the release of goods. In this case, traceability shall be ensured by the label.

When released to the market, all types of ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO cheese can be identified through the outside ring of the label.

The identification of individual ‘Pecorino Sardo’ cheeses is supplemented by the presence of an adhesive mark, on the outside ring of the label. In addition to this mark, the word ‘Dolce’ or ‘Maturo’ indicates the product type; legislative references to the PDO registration are also indicated on the inside of the label and an alphanumeric code clearly identifies the individual cheese.

In line with local, loyal and uninterrupted usages, the use of the PDO in association with trade names or private brands is permitted on the labels and packaging used for marketing and sales purposes, provided that these have no laudatory purport and are not such as to mislead the consumer. It is prohibited to add to the designation any description not expressly provided for in the production specification.

‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO cheese, having completed the compulsory maturing period in the production area, may be sold whole, grated or in portions as follows: small cubes, slices, flakes, shavings and similar, and grated. The portions prepared as above must contain an identification number, located within the mark printed on the outside ring of the label. In addition to this mark, the word ‘Dolce’ or ‘Maturo’ is indicated, according to the product type. Legislative references for the PDO registration are also provided. For all other forms, there are specific requirements for the indication of this number. Prior preparation of the ‘pre-packaged’ product is allowed when the product is packaged at the point of sale for immediate, assisted sales.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The milk's area of origin and the area in which ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO cheese is produced and matured consists of the whole of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of geographical area and population density, but it is also a small continent in terms of the significant diversity of its natural and human environments.

The specific features of the island include:

1. the particular environmental and climatic conditions;

2. the area's ancient and deep-rooted farming tradition.

Where point 1 is concerned, it appears that many natural features that have disappeared in other parts of the peninsula have been preserved in Sardinia: solitary coasts, mountains, forests, rare animals and endemic plants. The typically Mediterranean climate is mild in winter and warm in summer: rainfall is more frequent in the north and on the western side of the island and there are generally between 200 and 230 days of sunshine a year. The climate is also particularly affected by the sea and by the strong winds that blow regularly in the area throughout the year. About 18 % of the region is covered by forests, characterised in particular by the presence of holm oak and downy oak woods. Wild olive and juniper trees are mostly found in coastal areas and in the central eastern region. In the rest of the region, there are vast expanses of mastic, cistus and arbutus bushes and many other wild species of flora typical of the island.

With regard to point 2, it should be noted that, since the Nuragic period, sheep farming has been, for many of the island's population, the main, if not the only, source of income and the farming and dairy sheep sectors are among the leading sectors still today in terms of the number of employed and the amount of turnover in the socio-economic context of the area.

5.2. Specificity of the product

Specificity of the product:

1. rind: smooth, soft, straw-coloured for young cheese or brown for more mature cheese;

2. body: white, light and springy for young cheese, hard and sometimes slightly grainy for more mature cheeses, which tend to become straw-coloured as the cheese matures, and compact-textured or with sparse holes;

3. taste: sweet and aromatic for young cheeses, pleasantly sharp for the more mature cheeses.

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 particular characteristics of ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO described in Section 5.2 are determined by a combination of natural and human factors, specific to the area of origin.

As regards natural factors, note should be taken of the particular environmental and climatic conditions referred to in Section 5.1. These mean that the area of origin of ‘Pecorino Sardo’ is particularly suited to pasture and that the natural meadows, rich in diverse bush vegetation, represent a very important food source for the sheep reared on the island, giving the milk used to make ‘Pecorino Sardo’ cheese its distinctive qualities.

In terms of human factors, attention is drawn to the skill and undisputed expertise of the master cheese-makers in the dairy sheep sector, who know exactly how to combine the teachings of an ancient tradition with modern knowledge and technology, enabling them to enhance the organoleptic and sensory properties of ‘Pecorino Sardo’.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (4))

The Ministry launched the national opposition procedure with the publication of the amendment application regarding ‘Pecorino Sardo’ PDO in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 88 of 15 April 2013.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following website:

http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or by going directly to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (http://www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (at the top right of the screen) and finally on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

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

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

(3) Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(4) See footnote 3.