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

(2022/C 404/11)

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 consulted in the Commission’s eAmbrosia database.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Ternera Gallega’

EU No: PGI-ES-0012-AM03 – 24 February 2022

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name

‘Ternera Gallega’

2. Member state or third country

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.1. Fresh meat (and offal)

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

Fresh meat and offal from cattle from the Galician blond and Galician brown breeds and their crosses and also cattle crossed with the following beef breeds: Asturiana de los Valles, Limousin and Blonde d’Aquitaine. Males of any of those breeds crossed with heifers of the Friesian and Brown Swiss breeds are also suitable.

A distinction is made between the following types of animals on the basis of their age, feed and the system of production before slaughter:

(a) ‘Ternera Gallega’: calves taken from their mothers at different ages and slaughtered before they reach the age of 12 months, whose feed is made up mainly of fodder and concentrates authorised by the Regulatory Board;

(b) ‘Ternera Gallega Suprema’: animals reared on farms with their mothers and fed on their mother’s milk for no less than 7 months, intended to be slaughtered before the age of 10 months;

(c) Baby beef: animals slaughtered after they have reached the age of 12 months but before the age of 18 months.

Each of these animals is given its corresponding, homonymous marketing category with the following organoleptic, conformation and fat content characteristics:

(a) ‘Ternera Gallega Suprema’: Meat with a light pink to red colour with fat that varies from a pearly-white colour to a soft yellow with a creamy texture; the muscles contain fine fibres and have a firm consistency; — Carcass conformation: S, E, U, R, O+; where the carcasses are from cattle of the Galician brown breed this will not apply; — Fat cover for conformations S, E, U: males 1, 2, 3; females 1, 2, 3, 4; — Fat cover for conformations R, O+: males 2, 3; females 2, 3, 4;

(b) ‘Ternera Gallega’: Meat with a pink to delicate red colour with evenly distributed fat of a pearly-white colour and muscles with fine fibres and a firm consistency; — Carcass conformation: S, E, U, R, O+; where the carcasses are from cattle of the Galician brown breed this will not apply; — Fat cover for conformations S, E, U: males 1, 2, 3; females 1, 2, 3, 4; — Fat cover for conformations R, O+: males 2, 3; females 2, 3, 4;

(c) Baby beef: Meat with a colour varying from a delicate to a deep red with pearly-white fat that has a delicate yellow tinge; the muscle has a firm, lean consistency; — Carcass conformation: S, E, U, R; — Fat cover for conformations S, E, U: 1, 2, 3, 4; — Fat cover for conformation R: 2, 3, 4.

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

In the case of traditional farms, the basis of the feed will be the mother’s milk, which can be supplemented by cereals (mainly maize), potatoes, turnips, fodder and concentrated feed. In the case of production holdings, the feed will be based on fodder and concentrated feed.

At all events, the concentrated feed used must be of plant origin and be composed of raw materials commonly used in Galician cattle farming, from the following groups:

— cereals and their derivatives;

— oilseeds and their derivatives;

— pulses and their derivatives;

— tubers, roots and their derivatives;

— fodder;

— other plants and their derivatives;

— minerals;

— various (bread products and by-products and similar).

Cereals make up most of the feed and the following percentages must be complied with as regards the total weight of the feed: a minimum of 60 % of exclusively cereal grain, or a minimum of 65 % of cereal grain and derivatives.

In the case of concentrated feed intended for very young animals, these percentages can be reduced by 5 percentage points.

The use of products that could interfere with the animals’ normal rate of growth and development, as well as the use of recycled animal derivatives, is expressly forbidden.

In order to monitor the feed, feed producers will conclude an agreement with the Regulatory Board for the Protected Geographical Indication ‘Ternera Gallega’.

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

The birth, rearing, fattening and slaughter of the animals and the cutting of the carcasses must take place in the defined geographical area in order to preserve the specific nature of the product and to control production conditions and traceability.

All operators involved in the production and processing must be registered with the Regulatory Board for the Protected Geographical Indication ‘Ternera Gallega’. The registers cover the following: cattle farms, fattening farms, slaughterhouses and cutting plants and meat wholesalers and retailers.

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

Certified carcasses may be placed on the retail market on the day following slaughter at the earliest.

Carcasses, quarters or certified pieces of meat that are frozen will no longer qualify for the protected geographical indication (PGI).

The cutting of meat and the preparation of the pieces covered by the PGI must not be carried out at the same time as for meat not covered by the protected geographical indication.

Certified meat may be filleted, packaged and labelled on industrial premises registered with the Regulatory Board and also in specific establishments that have first entered into a collaboration agreement with the Board covering the control, labelling and marketing of the meat.

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

All the carcasses, pieces and portions will be labelled for purposes of identification and traceability. These are attached to the product in each of the stages of production (slaughter, cutting and/or filleting). They have different colours according to the product type mentioned in Section 3.2 of the product description and contain the compulsory indications and also the following: the name and logo of ‘Ternera Gallega’, the European PGI logo and traceability information. Aside from the labels, each half-carcass will be provided with a document giving information on the farm of origin, its identification and animal type, age at slaughter, classification and carcass weight, slaughterhouse and date of slaughter.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Ternera Gallega’ protected geographical indication applies to the entire region of Galicia.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The land of Galicia contains rounded hills and an extensive river system. This, together with the Atlantic climate, plentiful rainfall and mild temperatures, helps produce a significant amount of forage and crops. The land’s productive capacity favoured the development of extensive cattle rearing in the region and the creation of a large production and processing industry in which beef plays a particularly central role.

This livestock activity has historically been founded on family farms in which traditional know-how as regards rearing techniques, feed and stock management were passed on from one generation to the next.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The presence of breeds suitable for beef production, including the Galician blond in particular, originally a ‘triple-use’ breed but with beef production predominating, has been at the heart of a productive system of typically small farms which make use of their own resources: milk, fodder, agricultural crops such as cereals (mainly maize), potatoes, turnips, etc.

Historically, animals have been slaughtered in Galicia before they reach the age of 10 months. This means that they have a low carcass weight and their meat has very distinctive organoleptic characteristics as regards tenderness, colour, texture and succulence. A large number of calves have a diet in which their mother’s milk is the principal element. This adds certain nuances to the characteristics mentioned in connection with the appearance of the meat (e.g. fat colour and a creamy texture) and its taste. These animals and their meat are classed as ‘suprema’ within the PGI. To a lesser extent, Galicia also produces meat from older animals which are reared on family farms as well. This production is based on better exploiting the genetic capacity of these breeds of cattle and greater use of forage-type feed (stores of maize and cereals). The meat from such animals is distinguished by its more intense colour and taste and greater consistency.

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 inhabitants of Galicia have used cattle as a source of meat and fat since ancient times. The cattle were typically rustic, small and adapted to the mountains. However, following the introduction of potatoes and maize from the Americas, they became fatter and could be used for work on farms as well as in meat and milk production. The cattle’s versatility was a key reason why land ownership became more widespread, since the cattle not only provided families with food but also made them a profit that could be used to buy land.

In the 18th century, Galician cattle were very important as regards meat exports to England, a practice that continued until the beginning of the 20th century. Later, and until near the end of the 1960s, Galicia provided beef to much of Spain. Today it is the most important farming activity from a social perspective and in terms of preventing people from moving away from rural areas.

‘Ternera Gallega’ is produced on family farms that respect the local cattle-rearing traditions and the history behind them and consistently put quality first. These are farms in which a special symbiosis exists between cow, calf and environment, under the care and expertise of the Galician cattle farmers who continue to use farming methods passed on through generations for centuries. The methods are based on using the resources available on the farm itself and on a specific way of caring for the animals, which are central to the story and participate fully in it. The resulting agricultural products have always been of exceptional quality, earning the meat a great reputation on the Spanish market.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://mediorural.xunta.gal/sites/default/files/produtos/en-tramitacion/Pliego-de-condiciones-TG-decembro_2021.pdf

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