EN Official Journal of the European Union C 309/13

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

2010/C 309/07

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

‘GÖTTINGER STRACKE’

EC No: DE-PGI-0005-0703-17.06.2008

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Göttinger Stracke’

2. Member State or Third Country:

Germany

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 (1) applies:

‘Göttinger Stracke’ is an air-dried sausage made from raw pork which has the consistency and colour of mettwurst. It is produced from pork from freshly slaughtered pigs. To achieve optimum quality, the best meat is that of mature pigs which have been fed over a long period of time. These are heavyweight barrow pigs which have been fed over a long period of time and sows which have farrowed. The proportion of meat used from sows which have farrowed and barrow pigs must be at least 65 %, with the proportion from sows which have farrowed not below 40 %. This means that the proportion from barrow pigs should be 25 %. The barrow pigs are castrated males. For the production of ‘Göttinger Stracke’, the barrow pigs and sows which have farrowed must have a slaughter weight of 150 kg. The barrow pigs and sows which have farrowed are then at least one year old. This pork, which comes from more mature pigs which have been fed over a long period of time, is in overall terms more robust and firmer when processed. It is therefore particularly well suited to the production of ‘Göttinger Stracke’. However, meat from young pigs can also be used to produce ‘Göttinger Stracke’. The proportion of meat used from young pigs cannot exceed 30-35 %. The prime cuts of the pigs, i.e. shoulders, hams (legs) and bellies, are used to produce ‘Göttinger Stracke’. These have a very good structure for processing and therefore contribute to the special appearance of slices of ‘Göttinger Stracke’. After the meat has been minced in a mincer, spices (pepper, coriander, nutmeg, garlic), possibly rum and small quantities of sugars (dextrose, saccharose), starter cultures with added yeast and nitrite curing salt are mixed in carefully. When the maturing process is complete, the sausage has a semi-soft consistency and remains firm enough to cut. The sausage is slightly coarse-grained and has an intense red colour. ‘Göttinger Stracke’ tastes not acidic but meaty and aromatic with a hint of pepper. ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is cylindrical in shape; intestines with calibres of 40-60 mm and of varying lengths are normally used.

‘Göttinger Stracke’ is a particularly dry sausage. It is dried down to at least 35 %, and the moisture content is aw 0,88 or less. The fat content is 28 g per 100 g, of which 11,5 g is saturated fatty acids. The energy value is 356 kcal or 1 478 kJ, the protein content (g) 25, the carbohydrate content (g) < 1, comprising sugar (g) < 0,5, the fibre content < 1 and the sodium content 1,6 g per 100 g.

‘Göttinger Stracke’ can be distinguished from ‘Göttinger Feldkieker’ by means of the shape, diameter and weight of the sausage. ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is straight and uniform in diameter, whereas the diameter of ‘Göttinger Feldkieker’ varies over the length of the sausage. This means that it matures in a different way and develops a different taste.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

‘Göttinger Stracke’ is predominantly made from dry, more solid pork from older animals. The proportion of pork used from older animals must be at least 65 %. This meat has a special fat quality due to the specific way in which the pigs are fed. The advantage is that oxidative changes can be avoided as the ‘Göttinger Stracke’ matures. The sausage will therefore not turn rancid either.

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 entire manufacturing process.

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

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The area covered by the city of Göttingen

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

Traditionally, the city of Göttingen and its surrounding areas are well-known for highly developed expertise and methods with regard to manufacturing meat products. There are documents attesting to the popularity of the Göttingen mettwurst sausage which date back to the 18th century (cf. in particular Dr Günther Meinhardt’s ‘Die ‚chute Ghöttinger Wurst‘ — eine geschichtliche Dokumentation über die ‚Echte Göttinger Wurst‘ ’ (An Historical Documentation of the ‘True Göttingen Sausage’) and other documents such as an enquiry about Göttingen mettwurst sausage submitted by Minister of State von Münchhausen on 25 March 1760 — the original is now in the city’s archives).

Since 1980 at least, ‘Göttinger Stracke’ has been manufactured to a significant degree in the city of Göttingen and marketed in the Göttingen region under that name.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

In Göttingen and the surrounding region, the ‘Göttinger Stracke’ sausage is very well-known among consumers as well as being very popular as the regional sausage.

In 2005, 83 % of a representative sample of sausage consumers who had lived in the district of Göttingen for at least five years stated that they were familiar with ‘Göttinger Stracke’. The survey showed that, for consumers in the Göttingen region, ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is a special mettwurst product that stands out from other mettwurst products in the region because of its particular taste, appearance and consistency. In reply to the question ‘How does Göttinger Stracke differ from other mettwurst sausage products?’, the consumers surveyed referred to the thin, long shape and hard consistency of Göttinger Stracke as characteristics which differentiate it from other mettwurst sausage. In addition, they were asked to indicate to what extent specific statements apply to Göttinger Stracke. As expected, most (88,1 %) of consumers surveyed agreed that the concept of ‘Göttinger Stracke’ was most often associated with the concept of ‘mettwurst sausage’. However, its appearance and consistency were also regarded as special features. For example, 10,7 % said that Göttinger Stracke is ‘long’. The characteristics ‘hard’/‘firm’ were cited by 10,3 % of consumers surveyed. The characteristic ‘thin’ was mentioned by 8,7 %. The characteristic ‘air-dried’ was referred to by 7,5 %. Lastly, 5,1 % said that ‘Göttinger Stracke’‘tastes good’. Only 1,6 % were of the opinion that ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is similar to ‘Göttinger Feldkieker’.

The fact that ‘Göttinger Stracke’ enjoys a special reputation is also apparent from the extent to which respondents on average agreed or disagreed with 14 prepared statements about the product’s image. In particular, there was comparatively broad agreement with the statement that ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is ‘a typical mettwurst sausage of the Göttingen region’, but little agreement with the statement that ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is ‘not a mettwurst sausage with a particularly long tradition’.

To sum up, the survey therefore showed that the consumers surveyed regarded ‘Göttinger Stracke’ as a product that is very widely associated with the Göttingen region.

The overall conclusion of the study, which was conducted empirically, is that ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is a Göttingen mettwurst speciality which is very well-known and enjoys an excellent reputation in the Göttingen region (cf. scientific report by Prof. Andreas Scharf: ‘Göttinger Stracke — Bekanntheit und regionales Ansehen, Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung’ (Göttinger Stracke — Popularity and regional reputation, results of an empirical study), 18 March 2005).

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 good reputation enjoyed by ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is due to the fact that it is a traditional regional product. The product’s reputation is based in particular on its regional origin, a fact borne out by the abovementioned study. According to this study, ‘Göttinger Stracke’ is, from a consumer’s perspective, a typical regional mettwurst sausage speciality, and something special from the Göttingen region.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

Markenblatt Vol. 32 of 10.8.2007, Part 7a-aa, p. 14628

(http://publikationen.dpma.de/DPMApublikationen/dld_gd_file.do?id=83)

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