EN Official Journal of the European Union C 153/14

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 153/06)

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)

‘JAMBON DE VENDEE’

EC No: FR-PGI-0005-01135 — 30.7.2013

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Jambon de Vendée’

2. Member State or Third Country

France

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 the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Jambon de Vendée’ is made exclusively of fresh ham of the hind leg, without the shank.

When whole, ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is boneless and has a regular parallelepiped shape, with ovoid edges. It has a light brown surface colour due to the mixture of spices which coat it.

When sliced, it has an inner red colour, with veins of white fat. The colouring is pale, which represents the raw meat. Slices have an outer edge streaked with brown which is caused by the spices.

‘Jambon de Vendée’ has a soft, tender and juicy texture.

In terms of its aromas, ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is accented by the fruity scent of spirit and the spices rubbed into it (cinnamon, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, etc.). The salty taste of ‘Jambon de Vendée’ remains subtle. It has a definite aromatic complexity and a delicacy which is fully expressed, with only mild aromas produced by the proteolysis and oxidation of the fat.

The fat-free moisture level of ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is less than 76 %.

The product’s total sugar content (lactose, dextrose, sucrose, glucose) is less than 1 %.

Once produced, the whole ham weighs between 4,5 kg and 7,5 kg.

‘Jambon de Vendée’ is prepared and marketed as a whole, half or quarter ham, in portions, sliced, diced or in strips.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

The raw meat comprises only fresh, non-frozen meat from heavy pigs, with a cold carcass weight of between 80 kg and 95 kg.

The interval between slaughtering, cutting and deboning the ham must be as short as possible and must not exceed 6 days.

The fresh ham used to produce ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is characterised by:

— a fresh weight of between 8 kg and 12 kg;

— a fat thickness of less than 25 mm;

— white, firm fat and pink meat;

— a pH of between 5,5 and 6,2;

— a core temperature of between 0 °C and + 5 °C.

The other raw materials used to produce ‘Jambon de Vendée’ are:

— dry grained sea salt;

— wine spirit of an alcoholic strength by volume greater than or equal to 40°;

— spices and seasoning comprising at least 60 % cinnamon, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves;

— authorised additives: sugars (dextrose, sucrose, lactose, glucose), potassium nitrate (E252), sodium nitrate (E251), nitrite curing salt, potassium nitrite, starters.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

—

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

The stages in the production of ‘Jambon de Vendée’, from receipt of the fresh ham to dispatch of the final product, before slicing and packaging, must take place in the geographical area.

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

‘Jambon de Vendée’ may be marketed as a whole, half or quarter ham, or prepared in slices of varying thickness, diced, or in strips.

It may be vacuum packed or packed in a modified atmosphere.

The temperature in the slicing room and/or packing room must be less than or equal to 12 °C.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

In addition to the mandatory labelling requirements for prepared meat products, the product label must include the following:

— the name of the protected geographical indication: ‘Jambon de Vendée’;

— the processor’s contact details.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Jambon de Vendée’ geographical area comprises a continuous region meeting criteria concerning the natural environment, production know-how, modes of production and consumption and the reputation of the geographical indication.

The ‘Jambon de Vendée’ geographical area covered by the protected geographical indication comprises:

— the entire department of the Vendée;

— the following cantons in the department of Loire-Atlantique: Aigrefeuille-sur-Maine, Bouaye, Bourgneuf-en-Retz, Carquefou, Clisson, Legé, Le Loroux-Bottereau, Machecoul, Nantes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th cantons), Rezé, Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, Vallet, Vertou, Vertou-Vignoble;

— the following cantons in the department of Maine-et-Loire: Cholet (1st and 3rd canton, part of the 2nd canton), Montfaucon-Montigné.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors

Located on the Atlantic coast, the ‘Jambon de Vendée’ geographical area has an oceanic climate. In autumn and winter, it is generally mild and wet, averaging only 40 days of frost per year, and with frequent, but light rain.

The soils in the geographical area, having developed on the hard, acid rocks of the Armorican Massif, are the foundation for the wooded, agrarian landscape, which is characterised by rolling hills, omnipresent hedgerows, a farm sector geared mainly to livestock farming in all its forms, and a multitude of small, isolated holdings on which only semi-subsistence farming is possible.

Human factors

The ‘Jambon de Vendée’ geographical area is distinguished from the areas around it by the number and diversity of the meat salting businesses found throughout the area, particularly in the countryside, within a traditional farming community in which traditional agricultural know-how has survived to this day. With pig farming firmly established there and with salt marshes found in the region, salting and ham have long been important to the diet of the people in the Vendée.

Special know-how

Deboning – a practice which is uncommon for raw ham – is the first specific step in the production of ‘Jambon de Vendée’ for which special know-how is required. For the production of ‘Jambon de Vendée’, deboning is carried out by hand, in accordance with a method referred to as ‘de l’os coulé’ in which the femur bone is removed without opening the ham. Once trimmed, dry salt is rubbed into the ham by hand. At this point, spirit and a mixture of spices and seasoning are then rubbed in, after which the ham is immediately wrapped in cloth in order to ensure that the alcohol and spices remain in contact with the meat throughout the curing process. Curing ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is equally specific because the ham is drained and mechanically pressed between two boards, with both stages lasting a minimum of 28 days in total. It is then left to dry for at least 5 days. The drying time is short as the entire production process is limited to a maximum of 80 days in total. The ham is not smoked.

Despite the product having been included in the Code des Usages de la Charcuterie [French Code of Practice for Prepared Meats] at the end of the 1980s, that know-how has remained local to the Vendée department and the areas around the city of Nantes and the town of Cholet. The geographical area includes all known operators producing ‘Jambon de Vendée’ on a permanent basis in accordance with the established production rules.

5.2. Specificity of the product

‘Jambon de Vendée’ is distinguished from other dry hams by its parallelepiped shape, with ovoid edges, and its uniform brown colour caused by the spices. Slices are light red in colour, with dark streaks on the outer edge caused by the spices rubbed into it.

In organoleptic terms, ‘Jambon de Vendée’ has a fruity scent due to the presence of spirit and an aromatic complexity caused by the mixture of spices rubbed into it.

In the mouth, it is distinguished by its soft and tender texture. Compared to the majority of raw hams, its taste is somewhat less affected by the aromas produced by proteolysis and oxidation of the fat. Unlike most fast-dried raw hams, it is not smoked. There is a mildness to its salty taste.

Owing to its soft texture which makes it difficult to cut into thin slices, ‘Jambon de Vendée’ was traditionally eaten above all in thick, grilled slices. Today, this is largely how it is still eaten across most of the geographical area, despite the progress made in marketing thin slices.

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)

‘Jambon de Vendée’ is linked to the geographical area through the product’s specific characteristics associated with the know-how of the salters in the geographical area and a sound reputation.

The specific characteristics are linked to know-how which has been handed down concerning a production process adapted to the local conditions.

The salters’ know-how developed within the geographical area’s inherent constraints, which had a major impact on the production of the ham, necessitating a fast production cycle in order to avoid problems with drying and preservation. The mild winters and frequent rainfall meant that operators had to develop alternative preservation strategies.

As the bone may potentially infect the ham with micro-organisms, livestock farmers in the geographical area resorted to deboning and, in general, rubbing the ham with a mixture of spices and spirit. To the same end, the ham is deboned in order to ensure that the salt penetrates right to the core of the ham.

The need to produce the ham quickly also led producers to perfect the practice of pressing the ham between two wooden boards in order to drain the juice out more quickly and so shorten the drying period.

Nowadays, ‘Jambon de Vendée’ is still tender, soft and light red in colour because it is dried quickly, in accordance with the traditional production method handed down. Its characteristic taste which is produced by rubbing it in spirit and spices genuinely distinguishes it from other raw hams.

The taste of ‘Jambon de Vendée’ has a subtle saltiness to it which is achieved by carefully salting it by hand with the appropriate amount.

Consumer demand has been increasing since the 1960s-70s. Keen on tradition but more exacting, this demand has led to a considerable increase in the number of small-scale specialised agri-food businesses, particularly focusing on prepared meat, and has helped to define the characteristics of the modern-day product, particularly its aromatic delicacy and low salt content.

Reputation associated with the name ‘Jambon de Vendée’

The name ‘Jambon de Vendée’ first emerged around the mid-1970s as a designation for the product, flourishing over the subsequent decades.

Previously, it was a farmhouse product intended for consumption by the farmer’s family or for sale at a local market. This is why the first written references to ‘Jambon de Vendée’ only date back to the second half of the 19th century. Several works therefore refer to raw ham from the Vendée, salted with sea salt, flavoured with herbs and spirit, and fast-dried.

Between 1970 and 1980, marketing the product on a large scale developed under the sales name ‘Jambon de Vendée’. In addition to various works dedicated to Vendée gastronomy, a definition of the product appeared in 1982 in the first edition of the Encyclopédie de la Charcuterie, written by Jean-Claude Frentz and published by Soussana.

The first contest for real ‘Jambon de Vendée’, held in Pouzauges in 1989, received considerable media attention. Since then, the reputation of ‘Jambon de Vendée’ has quickly extended beyond the region’s borders and has become a national point of reference.

Studies by the AC Nielsen panel in 2003 ranked it third amongst the dry hams on self-service sale in France, in both quantity and value terms.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCIGPJambondeVendeeV1.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.