EN Official Journal of the European Union C 27/19

Publication of an application in accordance with 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 27/08

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘FOURME DE MONTBRISON’

EC No: FR-PDO-0005-0542-30.03.2006

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité Address: 51 rue d’Anjou 75008 Paris FRANCE Tel. +33 153898000 Fax +33 153898060 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr

2. Group:

Name: Syndicat de la Fourme de Montbrison AOC Address: 11 boulevard de la Préfecture 42600 Montbrison FRANCE Tel. +33 477589130 Fax +33 477589130 E-mail: fourme-montbrison@wanadoo.fr Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( X ) Milk collectors

3. Type of product:

Class 1.3 — Cheese

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name:

‘Fourme de Montbrison’

4.2. Description:

Fourme de Montbrison is a cheese produced from renneted cow's milk. It is made in the form of a cylinder between 17 and 21 cm in height and 11,5 and 14,5 cm in diameter, weighing between 2,1 and 2,7 kg, has blue veins, is unpressed, uncooked, fermented, and salted by adding salt to the curd when placed in the mould.

There is a bloom on the dry, orange-coloured rind, where white, yellow and red mould may also be present. The inside of the cheese is cream in colour, with some cracks and a marbling of light blue veins. These slight cracks and its limited amount of blue veins give the cheese a certain mildness.

The cheese has a fat content of at least 52 % after total desiccation, and the dry matter content of the matured cheese must be at least 52 %.

4.3. Geographical area:

The geographical area extends along the Forez mountains which are bordered on the east and west by the two rift valleys that form the Forez plain and the Ambert valley. It covers 33 communes of the Loire and Puy de Dôme departments

Department of the Loire: communes of Bard, Cervières, Chalmazel, La Chamba, La Chambonie, Champoly, Châtelneuf, La Côte-en-Couzan, Ecotay-l’Olme, Essertines-en-Châtelneuf, Jeansagnière, Lérigneux, Noirétable, Palogneux, Roche, Saint-Bonnet-le-Courreau, Saint-Didier-sur-Rochefort, Saint-Georges-en-Couzan, Saint-Jean-la-Vêtre, Saint-Julien-la-Vêtre, Saint-Just-en-Bas, Saint-Laurent-de-Rochefort, Saint-Priest-la-Vêtre, Saint-Romain-d’Urfé, Les Salles, Sauvain, La Valla, Verrières-en-Forez.

Department of Puy-de-Dôme: communes of Brugeron, Job, Saint-Anthème, Saint-Pierre-la-Bourlhonne and Valcivières.

The milk is produced and the cheese made, matured and conserved for 32 days following the date of renneting, within the geographical area.

4.4. Proof of origin:

Any operator wishing to become involved in all or part of the process of producing and collecting milk and producing and maturing Fourme de Montbrison, must present the group with a statement providing identification.

All operators must ensure that the competent authorities have access to their registers and any documents required for checking the origin, quality and production conditions of the milk and cheese, in particular, a daily record of the incoming and outgoing milk and cheese or an equivalent accounting document.

The operators of the maturing cellar must keep special registers or equivalent accounting documents of the inward and outward movements, in particular noting the following details: the date the cracks were made, the number of cheeses and batch numbers and the date the cheeses left the cellars or ripening rooms after the maturing period.

As part of the checks carried out on the characteristics of the product to which the designation of origin refers, an analytical and organoleptic test is conducted to ensure that the products submitted for examination are of high quality and possess the requisite typical characteristics.

4.5. Production method:

The milk is produced, and the cheese made, matured and conserved for 32 days following renneting, within the geographical area.

Throughout the year, the staple feed of the dairy cows is fodder from the defined geographical area.

The fodder should consist of hay, grass, wilted grass or silage. When grass is available, grazing is mandatory as soon as the weather allows. After renneting, the coagulated milk is divided by cutting it into pieces of around 0,5 to 1 cm thick. The curd mixture is then repeatedly turned and left to rest.

Next the curd is drained then rested and lightly pressed, before being broken up, salted and placed in moulds.

After draining, when removed from the mould, the cheese is lightly salted on the outside and then placed on resinous wooden racks for at least six days. The temperature of the room is kept between 18 and 22 °C.

As of the 10th day following renneting, holes are made in the cheese, which is then matured in a cellar or ripening room at a constant temperature of 6 °C to 12 °C for at least 15 days. The cheese is then stored in a room at a temperature of between 2 °C and 6 °C until 32 days after renneting.

Farm-produced cheese is made using unpasteurised whole milk, non-standardised in terms of fat and protein.

4.6. Link:

The production of this cheese dates back to the early middle ages in the region of the Haut-Forez, which was predominantly agricultural until the second world war: the cheese, exclusively farm-produced at the time, was made in ‘jasseries’ (wooden huts or cabins), equivalent to high-mountain pasture chalets in the Alps or ‘buron’ huts in Auvergne. These jasseries extended along both sides of the mountainous massif in the Forez mountains. The product name came from the name of an important market on one side of the massif: Montbrison in the Loire (while another important market on the other side — Ambert in the Puy de Dôme — gave its name to the Fourme d’Ambert).

The defined geographical area is formed by the top of the Forez mountains and some communes in the eastern part of the Forez mountains where customs are long-established. This area lies on granite bedrock where glacial action was moderate, mainly on the terraces and valleys. Rainfall is relatively high (annual average exceeds 1 000 mm).

The climate is subject to an oceanic and continental influence. Average annual temperatures are therefore cold, under 10 °C and often under 5 °C.

The different vegetation formations recorded depend on the site conditions and current and past agricultural use.

The production conditions for Fourme de Montbrison, particularly the mandatory grazing during the period when this is possible, the grass-based fodder and the restricted use of maize silage make the best possible use of the Forez mountain vegetation.

Characteristic features of Fourme de Montbrison are the pre-draining, milling and salting of the curd, followed by the placing on racks.

The size of the grains of curd, its salting in the mass and draining on wooden racks, techniques that have been used for centuries, give the product its particular characteristics, notably its small cracks, limited development of mould, orange-coloured rind and mild taste.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: I.N.A.O. Address: 51 rue d’Anjou 75008 Paris FRANCE Tel. +33 153898000 Fax +33 142255797 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr

Name: D.G.C.C.R.F. (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) Address: 59 Bd V. Auriol 75703 Paris Cedex 13 FRANCE Tel. +33 144871717 Fax +33 144973037

4.8. Labelling:

In addition to the regulatory information requirements applicable to all cheeses, the label for the cheese must bear the name of the registered designation of origin (Fourme de Montbrison) in characters at least two thirds the size of the largest characters on the label.

All cheeses which have a registered designation of origin must bear the words ‘Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée’ on the label.

It is forbidden to place any qualifier directly next to the registered designation of origin, with the exception of trademarks or brand names.