EN Official Journal of the European Union C 2/3

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 2/03)

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

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

‘CAPÃO DE FREAMUNDE’

EC No: PT-PGI-0005-0846-10.1.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Capão de Freamunde’

2. Member State or Third Country

Portugal

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Product type

Class 1.1 Fresh meat (and offal)

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

Capão de Freamunde is the product of all breeds of slow-growth varieties of the Atlantic Gallus domesticus which is castrated before reaching sexual maturity and which is exclusively intended for the production of quality meat, raised from very young in the geographical area delineated below and fed as described in the specification.

Only either the feathered neck Redbro and the Redbro Cou Nu varieties are used, or the typically Portuguese breeds found in the north of Portugal: Pedrês Portuguesa, Preta Lusitânica and Amarela.

Capão de Freamunde is put up for sale as follows:

(a) live, aged between 10 and 11 months, duly identified;

(b) in the form of carcases, from birds slaughtered aged between 10 and 11 months, properly packaged and labelled, plucked and legs and head off, but packaged with the liver and gizzards (commonly referred to as ‘giblets’);

(c) in the form of frozen carcases, from birds slaughtered aged between 10 and 11 months of age.

As a result of the method of production followed in the geographical area, Capão de Freamunde has the following characteristics:

(i) Physical characteristics:

Live: Feather colouring: red to bright red; Comb: none; Wattle: none; Shape of the breast: broad, with abundant muscle tissue; Colour of the feet: yellow; Colour of the skin: yellow; Tarsus: scaly, broad and yellow; Thighs: highly-developed and muscular; Weight: between 5 and 7 kg.

Carcases: Colouring: yellowish; Appearance: smooth; Skin: thin, smooth, hydrated and not very noticeable pores; Weight: between 3 and 4,5 kg.

(ii) Sensory characteristics:

The raw carcase of a Freamunde capon is a uniform yellowish colour on the skin, reddish muscle tissue and slightly soft inner fatty areas. The meat has a light raw meat aroma (caged bird aroma) with hardly any smell of blood (a liver-like or metallic smell) or rancidity. When roasted, the meat of the Freamunde capon is moderately tender, slightly doughy (spongy), with a significant initial juiciness that develops during the entire period of chewing and slightly sticks to the teeth. The aroma is slightly of toast and cooked skin, with no rancid odour; moderately intense taste, with very little rancidity or taste of blood (a liver-like or metallic taste) or of raw meat (caged birds).

(iii) Chemical characterisation (lipid profile)

The Freamunde capon has a proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids that varies between 42 and 45,50 % and an oleic acid content of between 35,5 and 40 %.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

—

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The plant species used in the feed of the Freamunde capon and which form the basis of its feed are native to the region. They are corn, Zea mays L, both whole and ground, which is the highest proportion of cereal in the diet, and may not be less than 60 % of the total feed, as well as the Holcus mollis, Lolium multiflorum and Plantago lanceolata L varieties of graminoids and broad-leaved weeds.

The feed provided until the animals reach the age of two months and/or a live weight of 1 kg is based mainly on a food ‘cake’ consisting of cornflour, shredded cow cabbage and rice and/or corn grain, usually of the yellow variety.

Once they are five weeks old, the animals have continuous access during the day to open areas covered by vegetation, and are free to go outside from dawn until dusk. The open areas covered by vegetation must have a minimum vegetation cover of 2 m2/chicken or 4 m2/capon and a medium to medium-high density of grass (height between 6 and 15 cm), distributed evenly, and there must not be more than 30 % of the total surface area which has a density lower than the average density.

After castration, between 3 and 4 months of age, until the slaughter or sale of the live animal, the feed administered at will must contain at least 80 % yellow or white corn, whether ground or whole, and the remainder may include waste baking flour, cow cabbage, wild vegetation and cereal seed.

Where commercial feed is used, as a supplement and only because of a temporary shortage of natural feed, this must consist of at least 80 % cereals. In any case, the commercial feed must not exceed 20 % of the animals’ feed throughout their entire life cycle.

Feeding with commercial feed must be stopped 5 days before slaughter.

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

The Freamunde capon is raised from very young only in holdings located within the defined geographical area, where the tradition for farming capons and the expertise linked to the castration of animals ensures its authenticity. The chicks brought onto the holdings do not have to come from the defined geographical area.

3.6. Specific rules on slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

Freezing is only carried out to order and where the product is intended for export.

3.7. Specific rules on labelling

The labelling must include the words ‘Capão de Freamunde IGP’ and the product logo, as shown below.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Freamunde capons are farmed in holdings located within the geographical area limited to the following municipalities and parishes: Municipality of Paços de Ferreira: all parishes; Municipality of Lousada: the parishes of Boim, Casais, Covas, Cristelos, Figueiras, Lodares, Lustosa, Nespereira, Nevogilde, Nogueira, Meinedo, St. Estêvão, Silvares, Sousela, Ordem and Pias; Municipality of Paredes: the parishes of Beire, Duas Igrejas, Vilela, Lordelo, Sobrosa, Cristelo and Louredo.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The geographical production area includes irrigation areas, headwaters of rivers forming the boundary of the municipality of Paços de Ferreira, which mark it out as a secondary catchment area, draining inland to flow into the River Ferreira. Within the defined geographical area the water catchment includes, in addition to the river itself, the Carvalhosa, Eiriz and Taio tributaries. This is an irrigated terraced area ranging in altitude from 150 to 600 metres, where the average monthly air temperature in the production area is approximately 15 °C and where the extremes noticeably oscillate between 12 °C and 18 °C.

This mild climate is ideal for the best development of the Capão de Freamunde since it encourages the growth of a variety of grasses and broad-leaved weed species (spontaneous vegetation — Holcus mollis, Lolium multiflorum and Plantago lanceolata L.), which are most suitable for feeding the chickens and capons.

Conversely, the centuries-old traditional farming methods used by breeders, such as providing continuous access during the day to open areas covered by wild vegetation, keeping the capons apart from other birds after they are castrated and the special feature of capon farming whereby each farm keeps birds of the same origin, species, breed and age, guarantees all the animals a balanced life, with continuous access during the day to natural grasslands after they reach the age of five weeks, in a natural outdoor environment, with a low stocking density and no stress. Once they are five weeks old, the animals have continuous access during the day to open areas covered by vegetation, and are free to go outside from dawn until dusk.

The defined geographical area is a part of Portugal where corn has been grown for centuries, which is why this cereal is the most abundant part of the feed provided to capons and constitutes at least 60 % of their total feed.

The local production method was developed over generations and is still in use, proving the existence of human ‘known-how’ which is linked to the specific characteristics of the region. The historical references date the tradition of raising capons in Freamunde back to the time of the Romans. The economic importance of this activity was such that tithes could be paid in capons as far back as the 12th century. In the Middle Ages (from the 5th to the 15th centuries), the capons were paid in tax to feudal lords and to the clergy as the birds were highly valued by them.

The Feira dos Capões (Capon Fair) is held every 13 December, having been officially set up in 1719 by an order of King João V dated 3 October of that year.

Some academics point out that it was a medieval custom, since even documents of the 15th century refer to the tradition of castrating birds and selling them ‘in the parish of Salvador de Friamunde’.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The Freamunde capon is produced exclusively from slow-growth varieties and breeds, which are carefully castrated and reared free-range, with a diet based largely on natural grasslands, supplemented with cereals, mainly with corn. The capons’ entire life cycle is structured with a view to their reaching full maturity shortly before Christmas.

Their carcases can be clearly distinguished from the carcases of other birds raised in the usual way by their greater weight, more intense colouring, broad breast with abundant muscle tissue, and their thin, smooth and hydrated skin. The carcases of the Freamunde capons can also be clearly distinguished from common birds after cooking, as they have a moderately tender texture, are slightly doughy, very juicy and have no strange odours.

Another specificity is the somewhat balanced lipid profile as a result of the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids being significantly higher than in other poultry meat as well as a lower proportion of saturated fats.

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 link between the product and the geographical area is geological, climatic and human in nature. The mild climate is ideal for the best development of the Capão de Freamunde since it encourages both the growth of a variety of grasses and broad-leaved weed species (spontaneous vegetation), which are the most suitable for feeding the capons, and also the production of corn and other plants used through the capons’ entire life cycle. It also makes it possible for the animals to spend most of their lives outdoors, with enough space to grow slowly, in an unstressed environment.

This centuries-old traditional farming method used in rearing the capons makes it possible to obtain fat and corpulent animals, with firm yet tender meat that is tastier and more succulent than that of other birds.

This natural diet the animals received combined with the space in which they are reared gives their meat its balanced lipid composition, although the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids is significantly higher than in other poultry meat, as is the oleic acid content.

The capon is the signature dish of the heavily populated and well-developed parish of Freamunde, located in the municipality of Paços de Ferreira, in the district of Porto. The custom of castrating young cocks in order to make them plumper and more docile has long been practised in the parish and its surrounding area. It is a well-known fact that the custom of castrating birds and selling them is very old and, since the Middle Ages, was customary in the parish known as ‘Salvadori de Friamunde’.

The Freamunde Capon Fair is well-known even today and attracts many tourists. This fair, which was already being held in the 15th century, falls on the same day as the Catholic feast of Saint Lucia, patron saint of the blind.

The ‘Capão de Freamunde’ is traditionally consumed in the winter months (November to January) and sets the standard for the eating habits of the production area, peaking during the Christmas season. It is also offered as a gift at Christmas, which attests to the important symbolic value of this product to the people of the region.

The specificity and peculiarities in rearing the Freamunde capon have led to the development of special gastronomic dishes that have already become traditional in the region, making them serious staples of local restaurants and expanding the capon’s fame further and further afield. The recipe for Freamunde capon, which has already achieved traditional status and fame — ‘Roast Capão de Freamunde stuffed with capon giblets and small pieces of salpicão (pickled sausage) and ham’ — is, unsurprisingly, a recipe that highlights the capon’s flavour, promoted every year in a gastronomic competition on 12 December in Freamunde involving several restaurants from the municipality of Paços de Ferreira that take part in the initiative.

Reference to publication of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

http://www.dgadr.mamaot.pt/images/docs/val/dop_igp_etg/Valor/CE_capao.pdf

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3) See footnote 2.