EN Official Journal of the European Union C 302/16

Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2010/C 302/12

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

AMENDMENT APPLICATION ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 9

‘BEAUFORT’

EC No: FR-PDO-0217-0106-07.07.2009

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Heading in the 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(s):

—  Amendment to single document or summary sheet — Amendment to specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the single document nor the summary sheet have 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):

3.1. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The following municipalities or parts of municipalities are to be added to the list of municipalities located within the geographical area of PDO Beaufort: Tours en Savoie and Montsapey (Department of Savoie) in their entirety, and that part of Albertville (Department of Savoie) consisting of the cadastral sections E2, E3 and E4.

Explanation:

Applications were received for inclusion in the production area of PDO Beaufort.

A study was carried out by a commission of experts to identify more clearly the elements characterising the production area. The study resulted to the establishment of a set of criteria, which has made it possible to accept some of the applications.

The elements characterising the Beaufort production area may be summarised as follows:

The area covers the geological subdivision known as the Internal Alps, which is marked by the presence of crystalline soils associated with soils exhibiting loamy and sedimentary characteristics. The openness of the high-altitude areas and the broadness of the slopes have given rise to large expanses of grass (mountain pasture) between 1 500 and 3 000 metres above sea level.

This range of altitudes is conducive to grass growth throughout the summer period from June to September. Furthermore, this grass is rich in fodder plants.

Humans have established a multi-tiered agricultural system involving the use of a valley floor, which is often mown, as a complement to the use of mountain pasture, where dairy animals are grazed. Over the summer, people and animals follow the growth of the grass, changing altitude accordingly.

Therefore Beaufort cheese is the result of human adaptation to the constraints of nature in this region of the Northern Alps.

Lastly, an important feature of the entire production area has been, and continues to be, the manufacture of a hard fat pressed cheese.

Beaufort cheese is known to have been manufactured there since the 17th century.

After ascertaining that the proposed areas do in fact exhibit the aforementioned characteristics, it has been decided to include them in the BEAUFORT cheese production area.

3.2. Link with the geographical area:

No material change, laid out in accordance with the plan provided for in Regulation (EC) No 510/2006.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘BEAUFORT’

EC No: FR-PDO-0217-0106-07.07.2009

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1. Name:

‘Beaufort’

2. Member State or third country:

France

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:

Beaufort is a cheese manufactured using a hard cheese pressing technique exclusively from whole cream cow’s milk which is taken in its raw state, renneted, cooked, pressed, salted in brine and then salted on the surface and ripened for at least five months. The cheese itself is soft and creamy, ranging from ivory to pale yellow in colour, and can exhibit some fine horizontal slit eyes and small holes (‘bird’s eyes’). The cheeses are flat with a concave heel, weigh 20 to 70 kg, have a diameter of between 35 and 75 centimetres and a height at the outer rim of between 11 and 16 centimetres, a clean, solid and rubbed rind uniformly yellow to brown in colour and contain at least 48 % of fat for every 100 grams of cheese after complete desiccation and a dry matter content for every 100 grams of cheese that must not be less than 61 grams for every 100 grams of ripened cheese.

Each cheese is identified using a blue casein plate carrying details exclusive to each workshop.

If the cheese is sold in pre-packaged pieces, each piece must have part of the designation's distinctive rind; however, the rind may be free of cheese smear. If the cheese is marketed after being grated, use of the designation ‘Beaufort’ is prohibited.

The milk used to produce the cheese must come exclusively from dairy herds consisting of cows of the local Tarentaise and Abondance breeds which either correspond to the criteria laid down in the main section of the herd-book or have been authenticated on the basis of recognised phenotypical characteristics.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

The raw materials used in manufacturing Beaufort are:

— raw whole-cream milk, either obtained from uncooled milk after each milking or from the mixing of milk from two milkings, one of which has been collected within two hours of milking and is uncooled, whereas the other has been cooled,

— rennet obtained by the maceration of the whey in recuite. If need be, additional commercially-produced rennet may be used,

— starter which is thermophilic and made up mostly of lactobacilli; recuite with added whey which acts both as a culture for the starter and helps obtain rennet,

— salt provided by an initial salting of 24 hours in brine and then another during the ripening process,

— the cheese carries a blue casein plate and traceability information written in safety ink.

The use of any other product for the manufacture of Beaufort is prohibited.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

The feed of pure-bred Tarentaise and Abondance dairy cows comprises:

— at least 13 kg of hay during the winter period, to which 3 kg of ground dehydrated lucerne may be added. The supplementary feed may not exceed a third of the weight of the average maintenance ration for the lactating dairy herd. The compound feeds come from defined species and non-GMO varieties and must exhibit the following technical characteristics: 0,94 of feed unit for lactation (UFL), 123 of metabolisable protein supply (PDIE) and 119 of ruminally degradable nitrogen (PDIN),

— during the summer pasture grass season. In the valley the complementary feed, as in the winter season, may amount to 2,5 kg/day/lactating cow on average for the dairy herd. In the mountain pasture, the complementary feed is at most 1,5 kg/lactating cow/day on average for the dairy herd,

— a transition period of 15 days between the two types of maintenance ration is permitted in spring and autumn.

Fodder is only brought in from outside the area for contingency purposes. At least 75 % of the dairy herd’s needs for hay and pasture are supplied from within the geographical area, so that at least 75 % of the milk produced comes from fodder produced in the area.

At least 20 % of the annual need for hay is supplied from within the geographical area.

The pastures are subject to traditional herd management and have manure spread on them. The application of sewage slurry or its by-products on fields, pastures and mountain pastures used in the production of Beaufort is prohibited.

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

Milk production, cheese manufacture and cheese ripening of a least five months in duration are carried out in the geographical area.

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

If the cheese is sold in pre-packaged pieces, each piece must have part of the designation's distinctive rind; however, the rind may be free of cheese smear. If the cheese is marketed after being grated, use of the designation ‘Beaufort’ is prohibited.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

All cheeses with the protected geographical indication ‘Beaufort’ must bear a label showing the PDO in a font at least two thirds as large as the largest font shown on the label.

No other qualifiers or indications may be placed with the designation of origin on the label in marketing material, on invoices or in commercial documents, with the exception of:

— certain brand names or trademarks,

— some terms: ‘été’ and ‘chalet d’alpage’, which may be used under the following conditions: (a) ‘été’ may be used in respect of milk products, including Alpine milk, from June to October inclusive; (b) ‘chalet d'alpage’ may be used to designate seasonal products manufactured twice a day in an Alpine chalet at an altitude greater than 1 500 m in accordance with traditional methods and which comprise, at most, the milk produced from a single herd in the chalet.

In addition to the blue casein plate exclusive to Beaufort, cheeses produced under the specific conditions applicable for use of the description ‘chalet d’alpage’ must bear an additional casein plate as described above. Moreover, each year manufacturers who use the words ‘chalet d’alpage’, prior to turning their herds out to pasture, must make a commitment to the National Institute for Designations of Origin to respect the specific conditions of production set out above.

If the cheese is sold in pre-packaged pieces, each piece must have part of the designation's distinctive rind; however, the rind may be free of cheese smear.

If the cheese is marketed after being grated, use of the designation ‘Beaufort’ is prohibited.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The Beaufort production region spreads across the Beaufortain, Tarentaise and Maurienne massifs. It covers part of the department of Savoie and an adjacent sector of the department of Haute Savoie.

The milk is produced and the cheese is manufactured and ripened in the geographical area comprising the following municipalities:

Department of Savoie Albertville district: Canton of Albertville: Rognaix, La Bâthie, Cevins, Saint-Paul-sur-Isère, Esserts-Blay, Tours-en-Savoie and part of the municipality of Albertville comprising the cadastral sections E2, E3 and E4. Canton of Ugine: La Giettaz, Flumet, Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe, Crest-Voland, Cohennoz, Saint-Nicolas-la-Chapelle. Canton of Beaufort: Beaufort, Hauteluce, Queige, Villard-sur-Doron. Canton of Bourg-Saint-Maurice: Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Les Chapelles, Montvalezan, Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, Séez, Tignes, Val-d'Isère, Villaroger. Canton of Aime: Aime, Bellentre, La Côte-d'Aime, Granier, Landry, Mâcot-la-Plagne, Montgirod, Peisey-Nancroix, Valezan. Canton of Bozel: Les Allues, Bozel, Brides-les-Bains, Champagny-en-Vanoise, Feissons-sur-Salins, Montagny, La Perrière, Planay, Pralognan-la-Vanoise, Saint-Bon-Tarentaise. Canton of Moûtiers: Aigueblanche, Les Avanchers-Valmorel, Le Bois, Bonneval, Feissons-sur-Isère, Fontaine-le-Puits, Hautecour, Moûtiers, La Léchère, Notre-Dame-du-Pré, Saint-Jean-de-Belleville, Saint-Marcel, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, Saint-Oyen, Salins-les-Thermes, Villarlurin. District of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne: Canton of Aiguebelle: Montsapey. Canton of La Chambre: La Chambre, La Chapelle, Les Chavannes-en-Maurienne, Montaimont, Montgellafray, Notre-Dame-du-Cruet, Saint-Alban-des-Villards, Saint-Avre, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards, Saint-Etienne-de-Cuines, Saint-François-Longchamp, Sainte-Marie-de-Cuines, Saint-Martin-sur-la-Chambre, Saint-Rémy-de-Maurienne. Canton of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne: Albiez-le-Jeune, Albiez-Montrond, Le Châtel, Fontcouverte-la-Toussuire, Hermillon, Jarrier, Montricher-Albanne, Montvernier, Pontamafrey-Montpascal, Saint-Jean-d'Arves, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, Saint-Pancrace, Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves, Villarembert, Villargondran. Canton of Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne: Orelle, Saint-Martin-d'Arc, Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte, Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, Valloire, Valmeinier. Canton of Modane: Aussois, Avrieux, Fourneaux, Freney, Modane, Saint-André, Villarodin-Bourget. Canton of Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis: Bessans, Bonneval-sur-Arc, Bramans, Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis, Lanslevillard, Sollières-Sardières, Termignon.

Department of Haute-Savoie Bonneville district: Canton of Sallanches: Commune of Praz-sur-Arly. Canton of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains: part of the municipality of Les Contamines-Montjoie comprising the four Alpine meadows designated as follows on the cadastral map: La Roselette, Les Besoëns, Les Tierces and Les Coins.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The natural environment associated with the designation ‘Beaufort’ is characterised by the massifs of the Internal Alps, as defined by:

— compact internal crystalline massifs, as well as sedimentary rocks in the Briançonnais zone,

— in part, external crystalline massifs in which soft shale-type sedimentary rock is associated with hard crystalline rock,

— the lack of a hard limestone escarpment over a large area,

— a ‘soft’ relief landscape, generally characteristic of loamy soils, without screes made up of large boulders,

— a climate typical of the Internal and Intermediate Alps and sheltered from the direct influence of westerly air flows (generally weaker precipitation and more luminosity that elsewhere in the Northern Alps), on the boundary with the Mélèze area and its environs.

This particular area contains large expanses of mountain pasture at an altitude of between 1 500 and 3 000 metres (dominated by a treeless alpine level) which is characterised by dicotyledon-rich flora, giving the pastures the appearance of a herb garden. These expanses set at various altitudes on large slopes are among the significant characteristics of the area of the registered designation of origin ‘Beaufort’.

Pastoral practices have developed on these Alpine pastures which, both individually and as a whole, are not carried on on the same scale elsewhere in the Alps or constitute a single system.

A general outline of these arrangements is given by M. DUBOIS (1996), based on the work of ARBOS (1922), BLANCHARD (1938) and REFFAY (1967).

‘At the beginning of the 20th Century, two important farming systems could be discerned:

— high mountains, where a large number (from fifty to more than a hundred) of dairy cows necessary for the daily production of large hard pressed cheeses were tended by herdsmen,

— lower mountains, where farming was carried on by individual families. Milking took place in Alpine chalets, with liquid or solid manure being spread on privately-owned Alpine pastureland which had been cultivated or mown. Dismantleable huts could be present, whether to facilitate access to higher altitudes or enable the use of another mountain slope. There were nevertheless far fewer of these than in the high mountains. The herds, which were small in size, were supervised. Small reblochon- or tomme-type cheeses were manufactured in the chalets. Sometimes the cows were already milked in special cheese-making huts.’

Only in the northern part of the Alps, which has a sufficiently humid climate, has dairy farming survived. In the other parts of the Alps, sheep and to a lesser extent goats have taken over the mountain pastures since the 1960s.

The size of the mountain pastures and the significance of pastoral units at high altitudes continue to be characteristic of the Beaufort geographical area. In fact, 92 % of the high-altitude pastoral units of the department of Savoie are located within the regions of the geographical area.

— The seasonal migration of herds on the large Alpine pastures has been preserved through the development of mobile milking machines. Therefore farming operations no longer have to be relocated in their entirety. In general the high and lower mountain systems correspond respectively to the presence or absence of mobile milking installations, which change location every two to seven days. Night paddocks are harrowed if there is time. Milking in Alpine chalets is still frequently practised in the Val d’Arly and Maurienne.

— Processing in the meadowlands is much less frequent and has been replaced by the development of processing workshops in the valleys. However mountain grazing, in comparison to other dairy systems, requires significant human involvement and permits the maintenance of small structures which today can no longer be found in the lowlands.

In the Beaufortain and Tarentaise regions intensive maintenance practices are also in evidence: milking machines are sometimes relocated twice a day, and holding and resting pens are harrowed regularly. These pastures, which are found at a broad range of altitudes and are subject to a wide variety of levels of exposure to the elements, are managed in such a way that the grass growth may be followed while taking advantage of well-staggered vegetation.

Mountain grazing has permitted and continues to permit land parcels in the valley to be freed up for mowing and in doing so make it possible to stock up on feed for the winter. The valley floors, with their flat land parcels, are particularly favourable.

Road improvements have significantly altered this balance: processing in upland meadows has become a rare occurrence, as it is now possible to transport milk down into the valleys. Therefore it is now the valley floors where cheese is typically manufactured, with the exception of the Alpine chalets where Beaufort Chalet d’Alpage is made.

Although the presence of cellars in the uplands permit the early stages of cheese ripening to be performed there, this process is continued in the valleys by specialists.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

Beaufort has long been distinguished from other hard pressed cheeses. Thus during the agricultural survey carried out in 1929, the name ‘Beaufort’ was used to clearly distinguish it from other gruyère cheeses. ‘The inspector of forests points out that the gruyère cheese of Beaufort is sold under the name “Beaufort” and no longer simply as “Gruyère”, which makes it possible to be sold at a higher price’.

This distinction is also found in the literature on the manufacture of gruyère cheese in Savoie written by the director of the cheese-making chalet of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, where apprentice cheese-makers were trained. By way of introduction, he points out that: ‘Gruyère cheese is manufactured in France exclusively in the departments of Est, Jura, Doubs, Haute-Savoie and Savoie, using partly skimmed cow’s milk.’ He goes on to state that the main production centres in Savoie are found in the districts of Albertville and Chambéry, ‘where almost exclusively Emmental- and Comté-style gruyère is made. In other regions of Savoie, i.e. in the valleys of Beaufort, Haute-Tarentaise and Maurienne, a very distinctive and special type of gruyère known as “Beaufort” is manufactured, made from full-cream milk. This type of cheese is typically manufactured in high mountain pastures at altitudes of between 1 500 and 2 000 metres …’ Later he mentions the name ‘Beaufort’ explicitly, commenting that this mountain cheese is ‘referred to as Beaufort’. The gruyère of the Beaufortain region, much appreciated by the tourists who are visiting the area in ever greater numbers, is specifically named ‘Beaufort’. This highlights its specificity, i.e. the fact that it is manufactured in mountain pastures, a cheese-making method which has disappeared from other parts of the Alps, owing in part to the use of cheese-making huts'.

In 1945, by Decree No 45-1245 defining all French cheeses, the use of the name ‘Beaufort’ was granted for all cheeses ‘manufactured exclusively from cow’s milk, cooked, pressed and salted, and with a dry rind … the area where the cheese is manufactured shall be restricted to the departments of Savoie and Haute Savoie’.

Currently Beaufort can still be distinguished from all other hard pressed cheeses, owing in particular to:

— the use of whole-cream milk in its manufacture straight after milking,

— the use of a wooden mould known as a ‘cercle à forme’, which gives the cheese a concave heel,

— the use of traditional processing techniques (the use of wild strains of starter, hooping of the cheese in linen cloth and a wooden hoop (cercle à beaufort) which needs to be turned over during pressing),

— a cheese mass completely or nearly without openness.

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 environmental particularities described in point 5.1 have resulted in a very rich flora and a very diverse range of plant groups. All of the phytosociological groupings of lawns, dwarf shrub heaths and sandy heaths used in Alpine grazing can be found there.

According to DORIOZ et al. (2000), ‘there are about ten different associations comprising a total of more than 250-300 species of higher plants. The contrasting soil systems and interactions between the soil and land-use practices explain this strong differentiation in ground vegetation (DORIOZ 1995; INRA 1994). The soils change very rapidly, every ten metres, from one slope to another of the same mountain, depending on the duration of snow cover, the local parent rock, the nature of upstream areas, the circulation of water in the slopes and, lastly, the angle of inclination of the slopes (DORIOZ and VAN OORT, 1991). Such variability translates within a single area or even during a single cow-day as a very varied supply of fodder sourced from a wide range of environments, from calcicole to acidophilous and xerophilous to moist (LEGROS et al. 1987; DORIOZ, 1995).’

In a recent study (BORNARD et BASSIGNANA 2001a and 2001b) Cemagref Grenoble distinguished 19 different types of prairie in terms of their agronomic use in a continuous line all the way to the Aosta Valley. The authors point out that an analogy can be drawn between some of these types of prairie and the lawns of the external and humid Northern Alps on the one hand (BORNARD and DUBOST 1992, BRAUNOGUE 1996) and the lawns of the Southern Internal French Alps on the other (JOUGLET 1999).

Therefore, in terms of appetence, in a similar way to Mediterranean flora, well-known for its aromas and aromatic flavours, the flora of alpine pasturelands where precipitation is relatively limited, as is the case in the Internal Alps, are prone to exhibiting a mix of aromas which manifests itself in the very particular and characteristic gustative qualities of Beaufort (DUMONT and ADDA 1978, BUCHIN et al. 1999 and ASSELIN et al. 1999 in DORIOZ et al. 2000).

Therefore, certain alpine farmers often claim that clusters of snowbed vegetation characteristic of areas of long-lasting snow and containing species such as Ligusticum mutellina produce grass which is particularly conducive to the production of high-quality cheese (PARTY, 1995).

The pastoral system is based on exploiting this great floral richness using herds composed of the local breeds Tarentaise and Abondance, which are managed using pastoral practices which are entirely moulded by the environment. In 1963, E. QUITTET gave the following description: ‘the Tarentaise breed exhibits remarkable endurance of and resistance to the most difficult conditions of life, owing to a large extent to the way it lives (spending periods in summer on mountain pasture at altitudes of between 1 500 and 2 000 metres). It remain in good condition for a long time, despite regular calvings. It possesses the remarkable ability to utilise roughage during the winter period, while still producing acceptable milk yields … the Tarentaise is an excellent milker, especially in harsh climates.’

Moreover, the processing of ‘warm milk’ allows for the preservation of the milk’s original qualities and is perfectly in keeping with the manufacture of a fat cheese, i.e. the milk is not skimmed and wild strains of starter are used. The use of a convex hoop enables adaptation to significant variations in the quantities of milk produced in the mountain pasture, maintenance of the temperature within the interior of the cheese during pressing and the stability of its form … Ripening of the cheese in a cold cellar, an essential step for ensuring its quality, is the stage where the climatic conditions are the closest possible to those experienced at the sites of production and is entirely consistent with the manufacture of a fatty cheese.

The production and processing techniques, taken as a whole, constitute a coherent system linked to the particularities of the product, which allows for a diversity of aromas arising from the particular flora to be expressed right through to the final product.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://www.inao.gouv.fr/repository/editeur/pdf/CDCAOP/CDCBeaufort.pdf

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.