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

(2019/C 203/06)

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

‘TELEMEA DE SIBIU’

EU No: PGI-RO-02473 – 6.6.2018

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s)

‘Telemea de Sibiu’

2. Member State or Third Country

Romania

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

‘Telemea de Sibiu’ is a semi-hard cheese made entirely of freshly milked, unpasteurised raw sheep’s milk by means of enzymatic coagulation using rennet. ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ is offered for sale both fresh and mature. Mature ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ must be matured for at least 21 days.

Whether fresh or mature, the cheese has the following physical properties:

— shape: cuboid blocks, with a square or rectangular base;

— height: 12 – 14 cm;

— weight: 0,3 – 3 kg.

Chemical properties:

Fresh ‘Telemea de Sibiu’: water: 57 % maximum; fat relative to dry matter: 47 % minimum; protein substances: 15 % minimum; sodium chloride: 6 % maximum.

Mature ‘Telemea de Sibiu’: water: 55 % maximum; fat relative to dry matter: 50 % minimum; protein substances: 15 % minimum; sodium chloride: 8 % maximum.

Organoleptic characteristics:

Fresh ‘Telemea de Sibiu’:

— External appearance: uniform blocks, with a smooth surface, without a rind; cheesecloth marks may be visible;

— appearance in cross-section: a neat, uniform, compact block, occasionally with mechanical openings and fermentation eyes;

— consistency: a compact, dense block, with a uniform consistency that is easy to break into pieces without it disintegrating;

— colour: uniformly white all the way through;

— taste and smell: pleasant, mellow, tangy, moderately salty, with a light scent of sheep’s milk combined with other scents typical for the product, such as mature wild grasses and hay.

Mature ‘Telemea de Sibiu’:

— External appearance: uniform blocks, with a smooth surface, without a rind; cheesecloth marks may be visible;

— appearance in cross-section: a neat, uniform, compact block, occasionally with mechanical openings and fermentation eyes;

— consistency: a compact, dense block, with a uniform consistency that is easy to break into pieces without it disintegrating;

— colour: uniformly white all the way through;

— taste and smell: intense and pleasant, subtly tangy, salty, with a smooth aftertaste and a light scent of sheep’s milk combined with other scents typical for the product, such as mature wild grasses and hay, with the sheepy scent slightly predominating but without any of the scents overpowering the others.

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

The raw material used to make this product is freshly milked unpasteurised raw sheep’s milk from animals raised in the defined geographical area. The animals whose milk is used graze mainly on grassland for a minimum period of 200-230 days, depending on the weather (from April to November). In the winter, when the sheep cannot be put out to pasture, they are fed on green fodder and non-fermented farm hay grown in the defined area.

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

The raising of the animals, the production of the milk and the production and maturing of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ all take place in the defined geographical area.

The stages in the preparation and production of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ are as follows: the delivered milk is checked in terms of quality and quantity (acidity, density, fat content), filtered, prepared for renneting and then renneted; the coagulum is processed and the curds cut, before brining and maturing.

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

—

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

In addition to the elements required under the regulations, the label also states:

— product name: ‘Telemea de Sibiu’, 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);

— name and address of the manufacturer;

— the logo of the inspection and certification body.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area where ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ is produced and matured is the administrative territory of Sibiu county.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link with the geographical area is based on the specific characteristics of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ cheese.

The combination of the geographical area, the geological, climate and hydrological conditions and the soil substrate in the ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ production area is favourable for the development of natural grasslands with a diversified flora that contributes directly to the quality of the milk used to make the cheese. This gives the final product a series of particular characteristics that contributes to its specificity.

Most of the terrain is located at between 250 m and 2 500 m above sea level.

The distinctive nature of the rearing system, whereby the sheep spend a large part of the year grazing in natural grasslands (200-230 days depending on the weather), means that they feed mainly on wild flora from the production area.

In terms of climate, the ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ production area is in a continental temperate zone.

The distinctive taste of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ is due to specific components, such as terpenes and sesquiterpenes, which are present in appreciable quantities only in certain plant families, such as Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae and others normally grazed on by the sheep. As they are highly aromatic and linked to certain specific plants, their presence in the cheese reflects the area where the animals grazed. It is thus the wild microflora that determines the organoleptic characteristics of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’.

The combination of factors involved in how the animals are reared and fed and the local processing techniques give the milk its specific character as raw material, thus contributing to the characteristics and quality of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ when compared to other products in its category, with the organoleptic characteristics of the product being imparted by the flora and microflora.

The special character of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ derives from its intense and pleasant, subtly tangy, salty taste, with a smooth aftertaste and a light scent of sheep’s milk combined with other scents typical for the product, such as mature wild grasses and hay, with the sheepy scent slightly predominating but without any of the scents overpowering the others.

In the ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ production area, the profession of baci (a shepherd in charge of cheese-making) is a prestigious one, testifying to a long-standing, historically documented tradition. The baci’s know-how is an important element in the product’s specificity, production being carried out by hand. It is essential for the baci to be able to identify the right point of coagulation of the milk in order to then move on to processing the coagulum.

The centuries-old tradition of cheese-making in the ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ production area has made it possible for production techniques to be kept intact and unchanged over time. The baci’s know-how is an important element in the product’s specificity, production being carried out by hand.

The quality of ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ is influenced by the way the milk is prepared and renneted using local methods. The milk is placed in a vat, where it is heated to 28°-30 °C while being constantly stirred by hand in a circular motion in a single direction, so that it does not catch on the bottom of the vat. Once the milk reaches 28°-30 °C, the appropriate quantity of rennet is added and the milk is stirred in a circular motion in a single direction and then in the other direction for 1-2 minutes, after which it is left to rest for 45-60 minutes to coagulate.

The coagulum is removed from the vat using a special scoop called a ‘telemea spoon’, in slices as wide as the scoop and 2-3 cm thick, which are placed next to each other in the receptacle on cheesecloth in a fish scale pattern and then cut up lengthwise and crosswise with a special round-tipped knife to form uniform strips 3-4 cm wide. The cutting is done with slow movements. The coagulum must be cut carefully, so that it is not broken up and lost in the whey. The operation is repeated two more times, after which the blocks of curd are pressed for 30-35 minutes in order to get rid of the whey and achieve the characteristic consistency, the blocks being 12-14 cm high.

Throughout the production area, a large number of festivals, feasts and folk events are held each year, celebrating sheep-rearing and ‘Telemea de Sibiu’. Examples include the ‘Sus pe muntele din Jina’ festival, the Cheese and Brandy Festival and the ‘Bujorul de Munte’ festival. ‘Telemea de Sibiu’ features at these events as one of the iconic products of the region.

The production area, the use of traditional tools, the manual processing of the product and the fact that it is made entirely of freshly milked, unpasteurised raw sheep’s milk, the way the coagulum is processed, and the fact that the cheese is matured and kept in brine all bear living witness to production techniques that have been maintained intact and unchanged over time.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

http://www.madr.ro/docs/ind-alimentara/2018/telemea-de-sibiu/caiet-sarcini-telemea-de-sibiu-2018.pdf

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