Publication of the single document amended following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2019/C 114/05)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be found in the Commission’s DOOR database.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘PROVOLONE VALPADANA’

EU No: PDO-IT-0021-AM02 – 20.4.2018

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Provolone Valpadana’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

Semi-hard stretched-curd cheese from raw whole cows’ milk with natural acidity from fermentation, collected in the area of origin within 60 hours, which can undergo:

— for the mild variety and for cheeses of the tangy variety weighing up to 6 kg, heat treatment until the cheese is fully pasteurised;

— for the tangy variety, heat treatment in the form of thermisation.

The maturation period can vary as follows:

up to 6 kg: minimum maturation period 10 (ten) days;

over 6 kg: minimum maturation period 30 (thirty) days;

over 15 kg and only for the tangy variety: minimum maturation period 90 (ninety) days;

over 30 kg labelled P.V.S. (Provolone Valpadana Stagionato), tangy variety: maturation period over 8 months.

The cheese may also be smoked.

The weight may vary according to shape.

The different shapes are: sausage shape, melon shape, truncated-cone shape and pear shape, sometimes with a ‘fiaschetta’ (round flask-shaped) top; the external surface may show small indents from the supporting cords.

The rind is smooth, thin, of a light yellow, golden colour and sometimes yellow-brown. The mild variety to be divided into portions may have no rind.

The cheese is generally compact with occasional small holes; some flaking of the cheese is common for those with a shorter maturation while a more marked flaking is typical of cheeses with a longer maturation period; it is generally of a pale yellow colour.

Up to a maturation of three months the cheese has a delicate taste that gradually becomes more tangy as the cheese matures further, or when goat or lamb rennet are used either alone or together.

The maximum water content must not exceed:

46 % for all cheeses of the mild variety and cheeses of the tangy variety weighing up to 6 kg;

43 % for cheeses of the tangy variety weighing more than 6 kg.

The fat in dry matter should be not less than 44 % and not more than 54 %.

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

At least 50 % of the basic feed for the dairy cattle, made up of fodder (fresh or dried), feed or feed-concentrates, must come from the area of origin and must be fed to lactating cows, dry cows and heifers over 7 months old. At least 75 % of the dry matter of the fodder in the daily ration should come from feed produced in the milk production area. The fodder allowed is: fresh fodder from permanent or temporary meadows, fodder crops, hay obtained from drying the crops in the field, straw from cereals, grass silage, chopped grass and hay silage. The feed allowed is: cereals and cereal products, corn mash, oilseeds and oilseed products, tubers and roots, dry fodder and products of the sugar industry such as molasses and/or derivatives, only as processing aids and flavours up to a limit of 2,5 % of dry matter in the daily ration. Also permitted are: legume seeds and dried locust beans and their derivatives, fats, mineral salts authorised by the legislation in force and additives such as vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, flavourings and antioxidants authorised by the legislation in force with the added requirement that any antioxidants and flavourings used must be natural or nature-identical. The use of inactivated yeasts is permitted.

Raw materials: milk, rennet, salt.

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

All steps in the production must take place in the identified geographical area.

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

—

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

All whole cheeses must bear the logo of the protected designation of origin ‘Provolone Valpadana’, which must be reproduced on a suitable tamper-proof support (metal, plastic).

The labelling must take place when the cheeses enter the maturing premises. For smaller sizes (up to 6 kg), the label may be affixed when the cheeses leave the maturing premises, provided they are clearly identified by appropriate means according to a system set up by the holding when they enter the premises.

Whole ‘Provolone Valpadana’ cheese can be customised before it is placed on the market using card strips, stickers, bags or similar. For each of the previously mentioned modes of customisation, the logo and explicit mention of the protected designation of origin ‘Provolone Valpadana’ must be shown on no less than one sixth of the surface area occupied by the commercial brand, with the exception of cheeses weighing less than 6 kg.

For labels using printed stamps, the name ‘Provolone Valpadana’ must be shown within the limits described, excluding the requirement to show the product logo.

Exclusively for the tangy variety and from the eighth month of maturation, holders of ‘Provolone Valpadana’ can request a fire marking of the initialism ‘P.V.S.’ which stands for ‘Provolone Valpadana Stagionato’. In order to display the above-mentioned brand, the cheese must undergo a technical check by specialists that has been expressly requested by the holder and is at his own cost. The selective check concerns the external appearance of the cheese (which should not exhibit cracks, and on tapping the cheese, the sound must be uniform), the texture of the body of the cheese (with flaking, no holes and not elastic), the colour (white bordering on straw yellow), the flavour (the tangy variety should have a kick and not be salty) and the aroma (intense together with the odour).

The logo, including the name, must be reproduced on the packages intended for final consumers in proportion to the packaging used so as to take up no less than 10 % of the surface space available. The name ‘Provolone Valpadana’ should be shown in the same fashion. The indication ‘Denominazione d’Origine Protetta’ (Protected Designation of Origin) may be replaced by the EU logo.

The logo can also be used in a monochrome version.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The entire territory of the Provinces of Cremona, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Rovigo, Padova, Piacenza and adjoining municipalities of the Provinces of Bergamo, Mantova and Lodi and the Autonomous Province of Trento make up a single geographical area.

5. Link with the geographical area

The geographical production area includes part of the Po Valley and is known for its high production of fodder, large quantities of available milk and climatic conditions that are particularly suited to feeding and breeding dairy cattle breeds. Thanks to these environmental factors, the production area enjoys ideal conditions for producing ‘Provolone Valpadana’ cheese.

‘Provolone Valpadana’ is a stretched-curd cheese, and this type of cheese, despite originating in the south of Italy, has established itself in northern Italy thanks to the cheese-making tradition of the Po valley, which was never lacking in technical expertise and had an abundance of raw materials to work with. The use of natural whey inoculum derived from whey residues from earlier processing, the know-how of dairy producers from the area in skilfully using different lamb, goat and calf rennets, and the artisan expertise in the kneading and working of the cheese are of particular importance in the production of ‘Provolone Valpadana’.

‘Provolone Valpadana’ is known for its delicate flavour in cheeses which have matured for up to three months, which gradually becomes more tangy with the passing of time and according to the type of rennet used. ‘Provolone Valpadana’ also comes in different shapes such as a sausage shape, melon shape, truncated-cone shape and pear shape, and in sizes which can exceed 30 kg. The cheese is compact but not dry, unlike stretched-curd cheeses from southern Italy which, because of their smaller size, can mature and become tangy just by drying and turning into grating cheeses.

‘Provolone Valpadana’ has been produced in the specified geographical area since the second half of the 19th century. Although the stretched-curd cheese originates from southern Italy, in the 20th century it established itself in northern Italy, as witnessed by the works of Besana (1916) and Fascetti (1923).

The expansion of the production of ‘Provolone Valpadana’ was aided by the technical cheese-making skills of producers in the Po Valley, which developed over time thanks to the particularly suitable conditions in the geographical area for breeding cows producing a large quantity of milk for processing. Among the typical characteristics of the method used to produce ‘Provolone Valpadana’ is the use of whey from earlier processing as a whey-starter for further processing. This process forms a very characteristic part of the production of ‘Provolone Valpadana’ in terms of both territory and method, since it is rarely used in cheese production. Refining the production techniques has had an effect on the commercial characteristics of ‘Provolone Valpadana’ cheese, such as its shape and size, without changing its essential characteristics. The different shapes and sizes of ‘Provolone Valpadana’ are the result of the ability of the cheese-makers in the geographical area, through the kneading operation, to make the cheese malleable enough to be able to work it into different shapes and quite significant sizes. These commercial characteristics can be attributed to the geographical production area since this is where they have been developed and passed down. The coexistence of the two varieties, mild and tangy, is the result of the dairy producers’ capabilities in using different rennets which allow ‘Provolone Valpadana’ cheese to have the delicate or tangy flavours that are typical of the product. This is achieved using a similar process to produce, respectively, smaller cheeses with a shorter maturation period and heavier cheeses with a longer maturation period, with a texture that is compact but never so dry as to require grating as is the case for more typical stretched-curd cheeses from the south of Italy.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

The consolidated text of the product specification can be consulted on the following website: http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or alternatively:

by going directly to the homepage of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità’ (at the top right-hand side of the screen), then on ‘Prodotti DOP, IGP e STG’ and then ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’ (Specifications submitted for examination by the EU).

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.