EN Official Journal of the European Union C 278/17

Publication of an amendment application pursuant to 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

(2007/C 278/08)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Amendment application pursuant to Article 9 and Article 17(2)

‘LAGUIOLE’

EC No: FR/PDO/117/0120/18.02.2004

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Heading in the specification affected by the amendment

Name of product Description Geographical area Proof of origin Method of production Link Labelling National requirements Other [to be specified]

2. Type of amendment(s)

Amendment to Single Document or Summary Sheet Amendment to specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the single document nor summary has been published Amendment to specification that requires no amendment to the published single document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006) Temporary amendment to specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phyto-sanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

3. Amendments

Geographical area

Extension of the geographical area to 3 municipalities in the département of Cantal: Fridefont, Maurines and Saint-Martial, all of which meet the natural and human criteria identified as applying to this designation.

Method of production

The following paragraphs are to be added to the description of the production method:

‘The milk may not be concentrated by partially removing the watery part before coagulation.’

‘In addition to the dairy raw materials, the only ingredients or production aids or additives authorised in the milk or during manufacture are rennet, bacterial cultures, yeasts and moulds that are shown to be harmless, and salt.’

‘The dairy raw materials, partly finished products, curd and fresh cheese may not be conserved by keeping them at below 0 °C.’

‘Fresh cheese and cheese undergoing the maturing process may not be conserved under a modified atmosphere.’

The use of treatments and additives to make cheese is subject to a set of general rules.

It appears that some new techniques, including the use of treatments and additives, such as microfiltration, partial concentration of milk or enzymes for the maturing process, have a potential impact on the characteristics of cheeses with designations of origin. Certain enzyme additives in particular appear to be incompatible with maintaining the key characteristics of PDO products.

It has therefore become necessary to stipulate in the specification for PDO products, under the heading ‘Method of production’, the current practices regarding the use of treatments and additives for milk and in cheese manufacture, in order to prevent future practices not covered by the rules from undermining the characteristics of PDO cheeses.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘LAGUIOLE’

EC No: FR/PDO/117/0120/18.02.2004

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 (INAO) Address: 51, rue Anjou F-75008 Paris Telephone (33) 153 89 80 00 Fax (33) 153 89 80 60 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr

2. Group:

Name: Syndicat de Défense et de Promotion du fromage de Laguiole Address: Coopérative fromagère Jeune Montagne Route de Saint Flour F-12210 Laguiole Telephone (33) 565 44 35 54 Fax (33) 565 44 47 57 E-mail: coop.jm@wanadoo.fr Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 1.3 — Cheese

4. Description of the specifications:

(Summary of the requirements in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1 Name: ‘Laguiole’

4.2 Description: Soft pressed cheese from cow's milk with a thick, dry, brushed rind; cylindrical in form, 30 to 40 cm in diameter, 40 cm in height, between 25 and 50 kg in weight; containing at least 45 % fat when completely dried out and at least 58 % dry matter.

The cheese is yellow with a whitish/light orange rind which turns light brown in maturation.

The marketing of grated ‘Laguiole’ is prohibited.

If the cheese is sold in pre-packaged pieces, each piece must have part of the designation's distinctive rind.

4.3 Geographical area: Around sixty municipalities on the Aubrac plateau, straddling the départements of Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère.

Département de l'Aveyron

Rodez district:

— Canton of Entraygues-sur-Truyère: municipalities of Entraygues-sur-Truyère (right bank of the Lot and left bank of the Truyère upstream of the confluence of the two)

— Canton of Espalion: municipalities of Castelnau-de-Mandailles, Le Cayrol, Espalion (right bank of the Lot), Saint-Côme-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot)

— Canton of Estaing: municipalities of Coubisou, Estaing, Le Nayrac

— Canton of Laguiole; Canton of Saint-Amans-des-Cots; Canton of Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac

— Canton of Saint-Geniez-d'Olt: municipalities of Aurelle-Verlac, Pomayrols, Prades-d'Aubrac, Sainte-Euladie-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot), Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot)

— Canton of Sainte-Geneviève-sur-Argence.

Millau district:

— Canton of Campagnac: Saint-Laurent-d'Olt (right bank of the Lot).

Département du Cantal

Canton of Chaudes-Aigues: municipalities of Anterrieux, Chaudes-Aigues, Deux-Verges, Espinasse, Fridefont, Jabrun, Lieutadès, Maurines, Saint-Martial, Saint-Rémy-de-Chaudes-Aigues, Saint-Urcize, La Trinitat.

Département de la Lozère

Mende district:

— Canton of Aumont-Aubrac: municipalities of Aumont-Aubrac, La Chaze-de-Peyre, Fau-de-Peyre, Sainte-Colombe-de-Peyre

— Canton of Fournels: municipalities of Brion, Chauchailles, Fournels, La Fage-Montivernoux, Noalhac, Saint-Laurent-de-Veyrès, Termes

— Canton of Marvejols: municipality of Saint-Laurent-de-Muret

— Canton of Nasbinals

— Canton of Saint-Chély-d'Apcher: municipalities of La Fage-Saint-Julien, Les Bessons

— Canton of Saint-Germain-du-Teil: municipalities of Les Hermaux, Les Salces, Trélans, Saint-Germain-du-Teil, Saint-Pierre-de-Nogaret

— Canton of La Canourgue: Canilhac (right bank of the Lot), Banassac (right bank of the Lot).

4.4 Proof of origin: Each operator lodges a ‘declaration of aptitude’ which is filed by the INAO and enables it to identify all the operators. All operators must keep at the INAO's disposal their registers and any documents required for checking the origin, quality and production conditions of the milk and cheese.

As part of the checks carried out on the specified features of the designation of origin, 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 Method of production: The milk must be produced and the cheese manufactured and matured in the geographical area.

Only the French Simmental and Aubrac breeds are authorised.

The cows' feed is provided, weather permitting, by fodder produced in the geographical area: grass grazed for at least 120 days in the summer, at least 30 % hay in the winter, plus wilted grass silage. The dairy cows' feed may not contain maize silage.

Average milk production per cow on the farm may not exceed 6 000 litres per year.

In addition to the dairy raw materials, the only ingredients or production aids or additives authorised in the milk or during manufacture are rennet, bacterial cultures, yeasts and moulds that are shown to be harmless, and salt.

Manufactured exclusively from raw, whole-cream cow's milk and renneted within 48 hours of the first milking at a temperature of between 30 and 35 °C, the curds are broken up and pressed for initial maturation, during which they are turned at least five times. After a second crushing, the cheese mass is salted, put into moulds and undergoes a second, long and gradual, pressing. Maturation takes place in cold, damp cellars, at 6 to 12 °C, and lasts at least 4 months.

4.6 Link: Cheese has been produced in this region since the IVth century. From the XIIth century, the manufacture of cheese was organised by the abbeys of Aubrac and Bonneval so that milk produced in the summer could be used in the winter to feed pilgrims; this practice was taken up by the neighbouring farms. Reflecting, as it does, the region from which it comes, the cheese reminds one of the stone used for the pillars in the Romanesque churches of the Massif Central and is likewise born of the zeal of those making their way to Santiago de Compostela. In 1897, the hill farmers got together to sell their cheese through a syndicat de vente, which became a syndicat de défense in 1939, and secured the designation in 1961.

The Aubrac region is marked by very distinctive features (the nature of the soil and harsh climate, high altitude and natural boundaries by virtue of the landscape). Its rich, aromatic and abundant flora contributes to the richness and taste of the milk. The methods and know-how of centuries of producers have been passed down to ensure the survival of the traditional manufacturing process, in particular the slow and painstaking maturation in cold, damp cellars.

4.7 Inspection body:

Name: Institut National de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) Address: 51, rue Anjou F-75008 Paris Telephone (33) 153 89 80 00 Fax (33) 153 89 80 60 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr

The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is a public administrative body with legal personality and reports to the Ministry of Agriculture.

It is responsible for monitoring the production conditions for products with a designation of origin.

Failure to comply with the defined geographical production area or any of the production conditions results in forfeiting the right to use the designation of origin in any form or for any purpose.

Name: Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF) Address: 59, Boulevard Vincent Auriol F-75703 Paris Cedex 13 Telephone (33) 144 87 17 17 Fax (33) 144 97 30 37 E-mail: C3@dgccrf.finances.gouv.fr

The DGCCRF is a department of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry.

4.8 Labelling: Apart from the name of the designation of origin and the words ‘Appellation d'Origine’ in letters at least two-thirds as big as the largest letters on the label, cheeses using the designation must be labelled with the logo containing the INAO acronym, which also has the words ‘Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée’ and the name of the designation of origin. If the logo is applied using an ink stamp, it must appear in at least two places on the side of each cheese.

The words ‘buron’ (shepherd's hut) and ‘fermier’ (farmhouse) are authorised under certain conditions.

The cheese can also be identified by an embossed stamp on the rind comprising the Laguiole bull and the word ‘Laguiole’.

The labelling may be replaced by direct printing on the rind of the cheese.

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.