EN Official Journal of the European Union C 182/7

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

(2015/C 182/07)

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

‘SAUCISSON D’ARDENNE’/‘COLLIER D’ARDENNE’/‘PIPE D’ARDENNE’

EU No: BE-PGI-0005-01222 — 08.05.2014

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name

‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’/‘Collier d’Ardenne’/‘Pipe d’Ardenne’

2. Member State or Third Country

Belgium

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

The three names refer to the same smoked, dried, cold meat product (sausage), produced by the fermentation of pork, or pork and beef.

This cylindrically-shaped product exists in three forms (each with its own name):

— ‘saucisson’: long and straight, with a diameter of between 30 and 90 mm, a maximum length of 60 cm (and maximum weight of approximately 2,2 kg) when it is sold to the consumer whole,

— ‘collier’: semi-circular, with a diameter of between 20 and 40 mm and a weight of between 200 and 600 g,

— ‘pipe’: long and straight, with a weight and diameter of maximum 150 g and 30 mm respectively.

The outer appearance is smooth and slightly oily. The skin is thin and dark red. Its natural appearance must on no account be modified. When it is cut, the colour of the meat is pure red and the fat is white. The grains (lean and fat) are clearly separate and defined, rounded or slightly elongated. Although the grains are separate, the mince has a perfectly bound appearance. The size of the grains is fine to medium: their maximum length varies between 4 and 8 mm.

The flesh texture is tender but firm. The medium dryness of the product (maximum 60 % moisture content with fat removed), makes the product firm enough that it cannot be distorted simply by pressing a finger on the outside. However, the texture in the mouth is smooth and does not come across as dry, even though the fat content is not very high (maximum 50 % of the dry matter). It has an even, non-granular consistency.

The smoked aroma prevails, while the smoked flavour is refined and more or less pronounced depending on the producer; it lingers in the mouth. The refined flavour is due to the slow burning (cold smoke), in a smoke chamber, of wood from broad-leaved trees (oak and/or beech). A slight odour of fresh meat and spices can be detected. The smoked taste of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ is harmoniously combined with a slight acidity and spiced flavours (woody, peppery, resinous), closely associated with juniper berries, the seasoning traditionally used during smoking. Other spices should remain discreet. If there is a flavour of garlic, it is light.

The ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ can be distinguished from its Gaume counterpart by its finer grain, higher level of desiccation and the use of specific spices (juniper berries in particular), either in the mixture or at the smoking stage.

Physico-chemical criteria:

— acidity (pH): 4,7 to 5,2,

— moisture content with fat removed: maximum 60 %,

— fat content: maximum 50 % of the dry matter,

— protein content: minimum 40 % of the dry matter,

— water/protein ratio: maximum 2,0,

— collagen/protein ratio: maximum 0,15,

— reducing sugar content (expressed as glucose): maximum 2,0 %,

— water activity: maximum 0,92; the maximum may exceed 0,92 if a challenge test can guarantee that there is no growth of Listeria monocytogenes (Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 (2)),

— salt content: maximum 4,0 % of the fresh content of the finished product.

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

The raw material consists either exclusively of pork, or of pork and beef. The beef content must not exceed a maximum of 40 % of the total fresh weight of the raw material. The pork is composed of fat meat and lean meat. Offal, mechanically recovered meat, as well as pork and beef diaphragm and rind are not permitted.

A positive list sets out the authorised ingredients, processing aids and additives.

Only natural, porous casings, cellulose casings (for pre-sliced forms only), collagen or bonded casings are authorised. They must not be coloured.

For smoking, the sawdust, wood shavings or logs used come from broad-leaved trees (oak and/or beech). The use of coniferous wood and recycled wood is forbidden in all forms (sawdust etc.). Suppliers guarantee to use food-quality oil to grease their equipment. The addition of juniper berries to the fuel is permitted.

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

The entire production process (from the preparation of the mixture to the drying stage) takes place in the Ardennes region.

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

All packagers/pre-slicers must contact the independent certifying body for the producer/supplier concerned before beginning any operations for this producer customer and/or a new distributor customer and/or on their own account. All producers must notify their independent certifying body of any packagers/pre-slicers that they are aware of linked to their production.

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

All products that are entitled to one of the three registered names are labelled at the end of the production process or, if applicable, at the packaging stage.

The product label, including for the pre-sliced forms, consists of the registered name corresponding to the form of the product, the European Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo (in the same field of vision as the name), a reference to the independent certifying body for the producer and, for the pre-sliced forms, the reference of the producer.

The independent certifying body for the producer concerned must be notified of all labelling and means of identification.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The Ardennes region is identical to that defined in 1974 for ‘Jambon d’Ardenne’ PGI. It covers the entirety of the province of Luxembourg and some judicial cantons, or parts of cantons, belonging to the provinces of Liège (7 cantons, 29 entities, 82 former municipalities) and Namur (4 cantons, 14 entities, 114 former municipalities).

5. Link with the geographical area

The link between the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ and its geographical area of production is two-fold, founded on natural factors and a solid reputation.

Natural factors

The Ardennes region, as defined in point 4, includes hills that rise to an altitude of 700 metres. They act as a barrier to the damp air masses brought by the prevailing south-westerly winds, resulting in a characteristic cold, damp climate: long, cold winters (October to May) and rainy summers.

Today’s Ardennes forest is the descendent of the ancient Silva Carbonaria (‘Charcoal Forest’), in which the dominant trees were beech and oak, species endemic to this region. Livestock farming dominates in this region, because the landscape of plateaus with large slopes, along with relatively infertile soil, is not conducive to the cultivation of arable crops.

The clearing of the forest and the ancestral agro-pastoral techniques applied in these areas have led to the appearance of wet heaths in the valleys, the typical flora of which consists largely of heathers and juniper.

Smoking

The art of curing by smoking is an unquestionable part of the Ardennes tradition. The smoked quality of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ is therefore its main distinguishing feature.

The smoked character is pronounced and prevails in the aroma, while being delicate to the taste. Its refined flavour comes from the slow burning of wood from broad-leaved trees, mainly oak and beech. According to the producer’s preference, the result of this impregnation with smoked aromas may be improved by burning juniper berries, a condiment that is typically used in the Ardennes region. The berries add a particular aromatic feature, characterised by a woody, peppery and slightly resinous taste.

The practice of smoking cured meat in the Ardennes region differs from that of the neighbouring or nearby areas: in the Black Forest (Germany), meat is smoked to a much greater extent and comes from the burning of coniferous wood; in the Gaume region, it is more discreet, and in the French Ardennes, cured meat is not smoked at all.

Pork and beef

The history of pigs in the Ardennes region is closely linked to the history of the forest that used to cover the Ardennes mountain range. The ‘pigs, cured meat and sausage’ trio has had a profound impact on this region.

The traditional pork butchers of the region have accumulated expertise over the centuries, enabling them to use every part of the pig. The finest cuts are made into ‘Jambon d’Ardenne’ (ham), and the less prime cuts are used for the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’.

At the end of the 19th century, the development of mixed cattle farming inspired pork butchers to include beef in the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’. Starting in the 1950s, the move towards cattle with more meat and less fat, culminating in the young beef bulls of the Belgian Blue breed that dominate the national market today, had the effect of reducing the quantity of inferior beef cuts for which a use had to be found; those cuts could be used, because of the required characteristics (fat, colour), by the pork butchers. There was therefore a general reduction in the use of beef, to the point that it is no longer used at all by some producers. However, the practice has been partly maintained. Indeed, when hypermarket butchers started using young bull meat, which was lean but lacking in much flavour, some traditional butchers moved towards working with meat from cows or heifers in order to continue to offer a fattier but more flavoursome meat to consumers who preferred that kind of product. They therefore once again had inferior cuts to use in their products, but cuts with the characteristics required for beef for use in high-quality pork products (binder properties, fat content, colour). Two recipes are currently used: one is pork-based, while the other includes beef up to a proportion of 40 % of the weight of the mixture.

It should be noted that the differences in taste between one ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ and another are mainly due to the quality of the smoking and the flavour added by the spices in the mixture rather than the ratio of pork to beef. The influence of the type of meat cannot be detected by the consumer.

Reputation

Reputation and prior use of the name

The use of the name ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ is documented from 1890, when written recipes for ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ (1890-1900) start to appear in specialised works, thanks to the arrival of modern technology and mechanisation: mincers, meat mills, cutters and cold rooms.

Butchery manuals and the specialised press explain the manufacturing process of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’. Examples are La science moderne de la charcuterie (The modern science of pork butchery) (1943) by M. Van Kerckhoven, the Manuel technique pour bouchers et charcutiers (Technical manual for butchers) (1948) by V. Vinck and Le Journal de la Viande (The Meat Journal) in May 1950 and again in November 1951. Today, you can learn how to produce this sausage on the butchery course at the Institut des Techniques et des Commerces agroalimentaires de Namur (Namur Institute for Agri-food Techniques and Businesses).

Advertisements in travel guides, such as those for the Maison G. Fauchon (Florenville) and the Boucherie-Charcuterie H. Bernique-Jacquet (Florenville), found for example in the Guide Cosyn de Florenville, Chiny, Martué, Sainte-Cécile, Herbeumont, Orval (Cosyn guide to Florenville, Chiny, Martué, Sainte-Cécile, Herbeumont and Orval), published in around 1930, present the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ as a tourism asset for towns in the Ardennes region. It is also presented as one of the ‘regional specialities’ of the province of Luxembourg in the Inventaire des produits régionaux (Inventory of regional products) compiled in 1981 by the Tourist Federation of the Belgian Province of Luxembourg. C. Van Gelderen includes the sausage as a Wallonian culinary speciality in her book Trésors gourmands de la Wallonie (Culinary treasures of Wallonia) (1999).

The ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ can also be found in recipe books. In his 1947 work Un choix de hors d’œuvre et de plats froids (A selection of starters and cold dishes), G. Clément explains that the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’‘makes a marvellous starter or accompaniment to cold meats’ and uses it in a recipe for ‘Poteye de bœuf’, a culinary speciality of the province of Luxembourg, as explained in his 1977 work Le Conseiller culinaire (The culinary advisor). In Les meilleures Recettes de Wallonie recueillies par Zone Verte (The best Wallonian recipes collected by Green Zone) (1981), S. Zeller includes it in the recipe for ‘Oiseaux sans tête à l’Ardennaise’.

The ‘Collier d’Ardenne’ is mentioned in particular in an advertisement for the Etablissements A. Germonprez that appears in Le Journal de la Viande (5 June 1949) and in R. Buren’s work Le goût de l’Ardenne (The flavours of the Ardennes region) (1995). It is used in the recipe for ‘Couées Grand-Mère’ by A. Dion in Les meilleures Recettes de Wallonie recueillies par Zone Verte (1981).

Finally, the ‘Pipe d’Ardenne’ is mentioned in N. Nicolas’ book, Wallonie: Cuisine et traditions (Wallonia: cuisine and traditions) (1995) and the Office for Wallonian Products is currently promoting it on their website.

Current reputation

Restaurants make an important contribution to the renown of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’, largely thanks to the ‘Assiette de charcuterie ardennaise’ (Selection of cold meats from the Ardennes region), such as that served at the Eden Ardenne hotel (Neufchâteau). The ‘Pipe d’Ardenne’ is sold in snack restaurants such as Le Pistolet (Brussels) or branches of the Maxi-Frites chain etc.

The sales price of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ is between EUR 14 and EUR 23 per kilogram and may reach twice the price of a salami of the same category, testimony to the fact that the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’ enjoys high added value. The price of the ‘Collier d’Ardenne’ is between EUR 12 and EUR 23 per kilogram. The ‘Pipe d’Ardenne’, a more basic product, is usually sold individually at a price of EUR 0,90 to EUR 2, or in bundles.

Currently, the specific ‘smoked’ quality is, for the Belgian consumer, undoubtedly the feature that seals the reputation of the ‘Saucisson d’Ardenne’, making it clear that this is its essential distinguishing feature and linking it all the more profoundly to its production area of origin (Etude ‘Tests consommateurs et questionnaire marketing “Cœur de Jambon d’Ardenne”’ (Study: Consumer tests and marketing questionnaire on the ‘Cœur de Jambon d’Ardenne’) by C. Lehoux and A. Masson, (2009)). The notions of ‘Ardennes’ and ‘smoked’ are therefore inseparable.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

http://agriculture.wallonie.be/apps/spip_wolwin/article.php3?id_article=73

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 1.