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Age of slaughter It is proposed that the limitation on the age of slaughter be removed because individual checks of carcasses guarantee compliance with the quality parameters laid down in the Specification. The quality of the carcass, meat and fat are affected by a large number of factors, although on account of the young low age of these animals and the traditional system of production, this number is reducing (Sañudo et al., 2013). The criteria used to define the quality of a carcass are principally the fat cover, weight, colour and conformation. These are the parameters used to qualify the carcass of the ‘Ternasco de Aragón’. There are various advantages to using these criteria to qualify the carcasses, such as greater ease of selection, which facilitates the homogeneousness of the guaranteed product. A study carried out by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zaragoza in 2014 concluded that ‘when the carcass weight is between 8,0 and 12,5 kg, the quality of the meat within the parameters set out in the Specification is independent of the age of the animal’. Therefore the study indicates that the results show that there are no significant differences in the juiciness or luminosity (L*) or hardness of the meat, between a batch of animals slaughtered at 70 days old and another slaughtered at 100 days old. In addition to this study, technicians from the control body monitored the total carcasses used in the study by checking, in each of the batches, that the carcasses sampled which were more than 8 kg for a cold carcass met the conformation and fat cover requirements contained in the Specification. Lastly, they checked that all the carcass and meat quality requirements were complied with in order to be carcasses covered by the Protected Geographical Indication. With the system of production habitually used for the PGI, carcasses are obtained of between 8 and 12,5 kg with excellent conformation, a pale rose meat colour, and an optimum level of infiltration and fat cover. The weight of the carcass is a very important parameter which, together with the young age of these animals, is linked to fat cover, colour and conformation, directly affecting the carcass quality. In paragraph F) Link to the surrounding area, heading 3. ‘Production systems’, provides the following literal description ‘… but the most significant thing about these breeds is their precociousness, a factor which will particularly influence the quality of the ternasco as fat tissues build up earlier … this proven fact of greater precociousness is a genuine differential factor as regards other breeds.’ In addition to the information stated, we should note that the process of certification of the carcasses in order to obtain the PGI designation involves their being reviewed one by one. If the carcass is outside the weight range laid down in the Specification, it is automatically rejected. For carcasses with weights between 8 and 12,5 kg, their general appearance is checked and, if this is satisfactory, the fat cover is assessed. The precociousness of the animals of the breeds concerned means that the excess fat cover determines the age and weight of slaughter, especially in the case of females. For males, weight is more important than fat cover. Animals that have not developed properly may be within the weight range but outside the age range, although this situation would be obvious from the appearance of the carcass. These animals are generally outside the certification requirements because of other factors: insufficient fat, poor conformation, meat colour (excessively red or yellowish), meat texture (because the appropriate pH was not achieved during maturing), excessive testicle size in males or abdominal wall thickness at the midline in females. In order to check the degree to which quality control of the carcass guarantees the characteristics of the product, the PGI control and certification body's technical team performed an analysis using data from 2015. This involved the use of comprehensive individual traceability data (from origin to classification) for 4 937 lambs slaughtered in Mercazaragoza, taken from 386 farms (45,89 % of the total number of livestock farms covered by the PGI). From those 386 farms, 33 were selected and checks on births were requested. The birth dates were cross-checked against classification and weight data. Comprehensive data were analysed for carcasses corresponding to 897 lambs, with the following results: 893 carcasses (99,55 %) were within the ranges for the age of the animal at the time of slaughter and the weight of the carcass; 2 carcasses (0,22 %) had appropriate weights and characteristics, but the animals were slaughtered at an age of more than 100 days; and the 2 remaining carcasses (0,22 %) exceeded 12,5 kg, with the animals also being slaughtered at an age of more than 100 days. We can therefore conclude that lambs whose carcasses are within the weight ranges laid down in the Specification comply with all the quality parameters relating to the PGI, irrespective of the age at slaughter. This amendment does not require a change to the production system, which addresses the precociousness of the fat cover, or affect the way in which the product is made (slaughter, hanging and conservation). It does not, therefore, affect the production of a carcass that meets the requirements laid down in the description of the link: ‘… ideal tissue composition, and the osseus tissue is not exaggerated and there is an appropriate development of the subcutaneous and intermuscular fat covering, including intramuscular fat’. Controlling the weight of the carcass, in addition to the conformation, colour and state of fat cover, can guarantee the quality of the PGI carcasses for ‘Ternasco de Aragón’ and, therefore, we can replace sample-based checks on the age at slaughter by individual classification of the carcasses on the basis of weight and other characteristics.