EN Official Journal of the European Union C 169/25

Publication of an 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

2012/C 169/09

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.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘STORNOWAY BLACK PUDDINGS’

EC No: UK-PGI-0005-0876-03.05.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Stornoway Black Puddings’

2. Member State or Third Country:

United Kingdom

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 product to which the name in point 1 applies:

‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ are a black pudding unique to Stornoway, the capital of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They have a rich, deep reddish-brown to deep brown colour when raw, varying according to individual local recipes.

The following ingredients are used in the production of ‘Stornoway Black Pudding’:

— beef suet,

— oatmeal,

— onion,

— sheep’s or cow’s or pig’s blood,

— water — where dried blood is used,

— salt,

— pepper,

— synthetic or natural sausage casings or skins.

No other seasonings are permitted and ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ must be free from artificial colours, flavours, bulking agents and preservatives.

In their original form, they are produced as 52-72 mm diameter cylindrical ‘sausage-shaped’ puddings, varying in length from 150 mm to 500 mm and in weight from 0,5 kg to 1,36 kg, encased in skin. They may, however, be produced in other sizes and shapes to suit different customer requirements, e.g. a loop, or in slices.

They are moist and firm in texture, with discernable, yet small, fat particulates. The Scottish oatmeal used in ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ is responsible for its good, rough texture.

‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ maintain their shape well throughout the cooking process. Once cooked, they appear almost black and break apart very easily when cut, yet do not significantly crumble. The meaty flavour is moist, rich, full, savoury, well seasoned — but not spicy — with a non-greasy, pleasant mouth and clean after taste feel.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

According to tradition and heritage, there is some individual variation in the recipes used. Some of the recipes require fine chopped ingredients, others require a coarser chop, which gives rise to the slight variations in visual appearance and texture depending on the producers individual recipe. There is also very slight variation in recipes of the percentage of each ingredient used to make the puddings.

The percentages of ingredients used in a ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ must fall within the following ranges:

— beef suet — minimum 37 % to a maximum of 50 %,

— oatmeal — minimum 16 % to a maximum of 20 %,

— onion — minimum 15 % to a maximum of 18 %,

— sheep or cow or pig’s blood — minimum 12 % to a maximum of 26 %,

— water — where dried blood is used,

— salt — minimum 0,6 % to a maximum of 2 %,

— pepper — minimum 0,4 % to a maximum of 2 %,

— skins (or casings) either synthetic or natural — diameter — 52-72 mm, length — 150-500 mm.

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

Not applicable

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

All stages of preparation and production of the ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ must take place in the area including:

— preparation of suet,

— mixing of ingredients,

— filling the synthetic casings,

— cooking and cooling of puddings.

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

Not applicable

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

Not applicable

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and the parishes included in the ‘Stornoway Trust’ area.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

Crofting, a form of tenant small holding unique in Scotland, has been the mainstay of island life on Lewis for hundreds of years. Only within the last 40 years or so have crofters taken other jobs outside the croft, and have become part-time crofters. Crofting is very much a subsistence economy, Stornoway crofters kept a small number of sheep and/or pigs and cows and had to ensure that every part of those animals was utilised to the full. When it came to killing the animal, crofters shared the task and, in a time of no refrigeration, the meat with neighbours who in turn would return the favour at a later date, thus ensuring a meat supply during the long winter.

To make the ‘Marag Dubh’ — the Scots Gaelic name for a black pudding; dubh meaning ‘black’, the animal would be killed and the blood collected and saved. The intestines would be removed and cleaned in the salt water of the sea. They would then be taken back to the croft, turned inside-out and placed in cold water in the sink, seawater and salt would be added before leaving them covered for 24 hours. The intestines would be then rinsed in cold water and then hot. This lengthy process softened the lining of the stomach, allowing the crofters to scrape the intestines clean, leaving them beautifully white and clean. A full intestine would form the skin for at least five Marag Dubhs — the Deasainn (from the rumen), the Brog (or Boot), the Curachd an Righ (King’s Crown) and two long puddings cut at the ileum and tied.

Crofters could not afford to waste any meat, so they would eat the same food every day until it was finished. The puddings provided a rich source of iron and were a very important part of a crofter’s diet and still remain so for the people of Stornoway. The Scottish oatmeal used in ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ is responsible for its good, rough texture. In cold climates, such as the Hebrides, the high calorific value of suet makes it an ideal food in winter.

The production of ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ involves many direct manual skills such as:

— preparation of the beef suet involves cleaning and preparing the suet to the required size,

— mixing of dry ingredients requires careful weighing of ingredients, to ensure the overall consistency of the mix has the right thick density — this is a skilled process judged by the eye and expertise of the butcher,

— filling the casings is carried out by machine with manual assistance applied, some sausages are then hand tied,

— cooking and cooling of the pudding — once cooked, each pudding is hung individually to cool.

The skills involved have been developed locally and passed down through generations which has resulted in the maintenance of the traditional characteristics of ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ is unique in that it uses only the following ingredients in order of quantity: beef suet, oatmeal, onion, blood (with the addition of water where dried blood is used), salt and pepper. They are free from artificial colours, flavours, bulking agents and preservatives. They have a rich, deep reddish-brown to deep brown colour when raw.

Unlike other regional black puddings, beef suet is a major constituent of ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’. Suet is the fat around the kidney and loins of cattle. It has a low melting point 45-50 degrees centigrade, which means it is easy to use in the solid form when making puddings but will melt when steaming or boiling. Although almost flavourless, suet enhances the flavour of added ingredients and also lightens the texture of puddings. In cold climates, such as the Hebrides, the high calorific value of suet makes it an ideal food in winter. The type of oatmeal grown in Scotland provides a good rough texture for the ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’.

The basic recipe for the ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ has remained unchanged over the years — they still contain only beef suet, oatmeal, onions, blood, salt and pepper, but the methods of production have had to change, as greater hygiene regulations have come into force and as demand for the puddings has increased. The production steps in the making of ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ involve a great deal of skill. Manual preparation of the beef suet must be carried out to ensure that pieces are cut into consistently sized fine pieces. In addition, the dry ingredients are mixed first, either by hand or machine, before water is added and mixed. All ingredients are very carefully weighed throughout the process, to ensure consistency of product, which is a thick porridge-like consistency, which can still be stirred, but with some effort. The mixture is then transferred to a sausage filler machine which feeds the mixture into the sausage casings. The sausages are filled by manually placing the sausage skin onto the machine nozzle. Regulating the flow of meat is also carried out manually. The ends are then either hand-tied with string, or clipped by machine. Once cooked, each pudding is hung individually on a rack, to cool.

‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ may be cooked in or out of the skin, they maintain their shape well throughout the cooking process. Once cooked, they appear almost black and break apart very easily when cut, yet do not significantly crumble. The meaty flavour is moist, rich, full, savoury, well seasoned — but not spicy — with a non-greasy, pleasant mouth and clean after taste feel.

Butchers continue to make this distinctive local product using recipes passed down over generations while retaining the traditional characteristic features which come from the specific ingredients and texture of the product.

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):

Crofting, a form of tenant small holding unique in Scotland, has been the mainstay of island life on Lewis for hundreds of years. Crofters could not afford to waste any meat, so they would eat the same food every day until it was finished. The puddings provided a rich source of iron and were a very important part of a crofter’s diet and still remain so for the people of Stornoway.

The ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ is unique in that it uses only the following ingredients in order of quantity: beef suet, oatmeal, onion, blood, salt and pepper with the addition of water. They are free from artificial colours, flavours, bulking agents and preservatives.

Unlike other regional black puddings, beef suet is a major constituent of ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’. Suet is the fat around the kidney and loins of cattle. It has a low melting point 45-50 degrees centigrade, which means it is easy to use in the solid form when making puddings but will melt when steaming or boiling. Although almost flavourless, suet enhances the flavour of added ingredients and also lightens the texture of puddings. Most regional black pudding are made using blood from pigs. ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ however use sheep’s, cow’s or pig’s blood, the blood being obtained from the local abattoir on the island where possible.

Some of the Stornoway butchers who form the ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ Producers’ Association have been making and selling their puddings since 1931. The ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ have been sold by that name since that time. The butchers have cooperatively used the ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ name and have sought to maintain high standards in production and to retain the links back to Hebridean heritage. As a result, the pudding has gathered an increasingly international reputation for its taste and quality and is now known as one of the top gourmet puddings in the UK. The product has made the transition of being traditionally known as staple ‘crofting dish’ food to today being associated with being a world renowned delicacy.

The ‘Stornoway Black Puddings’ is intrinsically linked to the area’s tourism, frequently purchased by visitors as a souvenir or ‘taste of the islands’. There is world recognition of the brand and the link back to Stornoway as an area. Most of the guide books on Scotland mention the Marag Dubh in connection with Lewis. Several hundred entries for Google also mention the link. The Hebrides are experiencing a growth in visitor numbers and the tourist industry in the area has been boosted by the success of TV exposure via programmes such as Monty Hall’s ‘Great Hebridean Escape’. The pudding featured in the January 2010 edition of National Geographic and was an essential part of Visit Scotland’s 2010 ‘Homecoming Campaign’.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://www.archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/industry/regional/foodname/products/documents/stornoway-black-pudding-pgi.pdf

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