Publication of an application for registration of a name 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

(2020/C 15/05)

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) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘CAŞCAVAL DE SĂVENI’

EU No: PGI-RO-02361 — 27.4.2017

PDO () PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

‘Caşcaval de Săveni’

2. Applicant country(ies)

Romania

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Product type

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ is a semi-hard ripened cheese (aged for a minimum of 60 days) with a scalded curd mass. This type of cheese is made from raw cow’s milk that undergoes enzymatic coagulation with rennet and processing according to a method specific to the area.

Physical and chemical characteristics:

Characteristic Unit meas. Value Humidity % max. 44 Fat content % min. 23 Fat relative to dry matter % min. 38 Sodium chloride % 1,5 - 3

Organoleptic characteristics:

External appearance: Whole blocks are cuboid or cylindrical in shape, undistorted, with a clean surface. On the outside there is a thin rind on all sides, which is darker yellow than the inside. ‘Caşcaval de Săveni’ is sold in two forms: coated in a wax mixture or covered with a heat-shrinkable film.

Appearance in cross-section: The product is homogeneous and not crumbly. Isolated fermentation bubbles are permitted. Slices of product come away in strips, without breaking.

Consistency: doughy, springy and creamy.

Colour: cream to pale yellow, uniform throughout each block.

Taste and aroma: Pleasant, both sweet and salty, with a hint of bitterness, reminiscent of walnuts, which is due to proteolytic fermentation. During ageing, the aroma intensifies and becomes reminiscent of moist earth owing to the local vegetation (floral aromas), and these aromas are transferred via the raw material to the final product.

Shape and dimensions: wheels and rectangular blocks of ‘Caşcaval de Săveni’ weighing between 0,450 kg and 9 kg.

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

The raw material used to make ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ is raw cow’s milk, collected from the identified geographical area from the local animals, which are a mix of traditional local cattle breeds such as ‘Sura de stepă’ and ‘Bucșan’ crossed with other cattle breeds that produce high quantities of milk.

The milk must have the following characteristics in order to comply with the technological process for producing the cheese:

— Density of the raw milk — min. 1,026 g/cm3.

— Total acidity — 15-19 °Th (Thorner)

— Fat content — min 3,2 % fat

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

The following production steps take place in the identified geographical area: production of the raw material (milk), collection and transport of the milk, reception in processing facilities, curd production, production of the cheese and maturation.

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

—

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

The label includes the following:

— the name of the product, ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ followed by the words ‘Indicație Geografică Protejată’ (Protected Geographical Indication) or the abbreviation ‘IGP’ (PGI) (translated into the language(s) of the country in which the product is marketed);

— the name of the producer;

— the name of the inspection and certification body.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

From an administrative perspective, the geographical area corresponds to the northern half of Botoșani County, namely: Bucecea; Vârfu Câmpului; Cândeşti; Mihăileni; Dersca; Hilișeu-Horia; Lozna; Şendriceni; Văculeşti; Brăeşti; Leorda; Dimăcheni; Corlăteni; Broscăuţi; Dorohoi; Ibăneşti; Pomîrla; Cristineşti; George Enescu; Cordăreni; Vorniceni; Ungureni; Unţeni; Ştiubieni; Havîrna; Hudeşti; Conceşti; Darabani; Mileanca; Drăguşeni; Săveni; Vlăsineşti; Dîngeni; Truşeşti; Dobîrceni; Hăneşti; Avrămeni; Adăşeni; Coţuşca; Viişoara; Păltiniş; Rădăuţi Prut; Mitoc; Manoleasa; Mihălăşeni; Ripiceni; Suharău.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link between ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ and the geographical area is based on the specific quality of the product and on its long-standing reputation owing to the milk-processing endeavours of several generations of workers, starting with the master cheesemaker, Nicolae Caranica.

The production of milk in this geographical area enables not only the optimum use of local grazing resources in line with traditional practices but also the use of the milk obtained from local animals, which are a mix of traditional local cattle breeds such as ‘Sura de stepă’and ‘Bucșan’ crossed with other cattle breeds that produce high quantities of milk.

This milk, produced in large quantities owing to the specific plants on which the cattle graze and fodder, is suited to the production of ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ because the coagulum obtained after the rennet is added to get the curd is firmer, which makes it ideal for the type of processing specific to this particular cheese.

The typical characteristics of ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ are due to:

— the quality of the raw material (milk), which has a verified fat content of minimum 3,2 %, thus directly influencing the homogeneity of the product;

— the milk being processed in a traditional way, with the stages (such as cutting the coagulate with a harp, scalding the curd, kneading and pouring the ‘buric’ into moulds) being performed manually, thus allowing for better monitoring of the production stages;

— the product’s long maturation (60 days) at low temperature (2 °C to 8 °C), until it acquires a slightly bitter taste similar to walnuts, which is caused by proteolytic fermentation.

The link between the geographical area, the soil substrate and local climate conditions is favourable to the development of natural pastures with a diversified flora, which contributes to the quality of the milk used to make ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’.

The characteristics of the milk are due to the rolling hills that are favourable to the development of grassland and pastures with diversified flora: 50-60 % grasses, 35-40 % leguminous species and 5-10 % forage crops of other families, which give rise to pasture of unusually high quality. The abundance of plant varieties enables high yields of fodder to be obtained through good re-growth and the high content of proteins and vitamins that are necessary for animal nutrition. In addition, natural grazing on the hilly pastures in the identified geographical area of Săveni makes it possible to obtain milk that preserves part of the aroma of the local vegetation. These aromas are then in part transferred to the final product.

The quality of ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ is influenced by the use of raw cow’s milk heated to 30-33 °C to activate the rennet, which allows local microbial flora to take effect. This makes ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ different from other similar products. This step plays a very important part in obtaining the characteristics of ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’.

‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ is distinguished from other products in the same category by the long period of maturation (60 days) at low temperature (2 ° to 8 °C). This long period of maturation gives the product an homogeneous and creamy consistency, and deepens the colour from cream to pale yellow. The flavour has tones of walnuts, and there is a slight bitterness due to the proteolytic fermentation. Moreover, the aroma, which becomes stronger in the course of the maturation, is reminiscent of moist earth.

The identified geographical area is favourable to animal husbandry, as shown by the fact that there have been live animal markets there since the 16th century. The tradition of animal husbandry continues. In terms of the number of cattle, Botoșani is the second most important county in Romania, and the leader when it comes to cattle crossed with the ‘Bucșan’ breed, producing large quantities of high-quality milk.

The quality and abundance of milk in the Săveni area led to the construction of the milk processing plant in 1959. In order to diversify the way in which milk was processed and to obtain a product that would exploit the potential of this geographical area, recourse was had (in 1963) to a famous master cheesemaker by the name of Caranica.

Nicolae Caranica, a master cheesemaker, instructed generations of young workers from Săveni and neighbouring districts, passing on to them the traditions of milk processing, teaching them the secrets of turning milk into ‘cașcaval’ and combining the techniques of ‘cașcaval’ production with local methods: using the ‘barulă’ (a wooden spatula) to knead the curd mass, scalding at about 80 °C, in willow wicker baskets (which allow the hot brine to drain away), manual kneading and shaping of the hot curd mass, pressing the ‘buric’, and removing the air in order to obtain a compact mass.

The young workers of that time became, in their turn, masters of the ‘art’ of ‘cașcaval’ making, preserving until now and passing down the knowledge of how to turn raw cow’s milk into ‘cașcaval’.

In 1986, the Botoșani region’s local newspaper, Clopotul (‘The Bell’), published an article stating ‘For decades, milk at the Săveni plant has been turned into ’cașcaval’by hand. As a result, the plant had to be expanded in order to satisfy customer demand both in Romania and abroad.

The ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ plant was renowned both in Romania and abroad, and the press of the time made many references to the reputation and the quality acquired by ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ over time. Also, worth mentioning are an article that appeared in Jurnalul de dimineață (The Morning News) on 28 February 2001, entitled ‘The man who gave ‘cașcaval’to Romania and the world’, and Filip Corneliu’s book ‘Botoșani Sequences’, published by Sport — Turism in 1983 (pp. 96-97).A detailed presentation of the local inhabitants’ cheese-making activities and of the reputation of ‘Cașcaval de Săveni’ was given in the book written by Professor Constantin Cojocaru, ‘The town of Săveni — a monograph’, published by AXA, Botoșani in 2001 (pp. 194 and 195).

Reference to publication of the specification

https://madr.ro/docs/ind-alimentara/2018/caiet-sarcini-cascaval-saveni-2017.pdf

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

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