Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2003/C 246/04)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in a Member State, in a WTO member country or in a third country recognised in accordance with Article 12(3) within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO (x) PGI ( )

National application No: 1/2003

1. Responsible department in the Member State Name: Ministry of agriculture and forests

Address: Via XX Settembre, 20 - I-00187 Roma

Tel. (39-06) 481 99 68

Fax (39-06) 42 01 31 26

e-mail: qtc3@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant group 2.1. Name: Consorzio per la tutela del Pecorino di Filiano

2.2. Address: Via Giovanni XXIII - I-85020 Filiano (Potenza)

Tel. (39-09) 71 83 60 10

Fax (39-09) 71 83 60 09

2.3. Composition: producers/processors (x) other ( )

3. Type of product: cheese - 1.3

4. Specification (Summary of requirements under Article 4(2)):

4.1. Name: "Pecorino di Filiano"

4.2. Description: Pecorino di Filiano is a hard cheese made with whole ewe's milk obtained by one or two milkings and produced in the geographical area described here.

It is a cylindrical medium-hard cheese with straight sides and a straight or slightly convex heel. It has a rind bearing typical basketwork traces ranging in colour from golden yellow to dark brown in the case of the more mature specimens, and is treated superficially with extra-virgin olive oil and wine vinegar.

The cheese varies in colour between white and, in the case of the more mature product, straw yellow, is of firm consistency and has irregular, small eyes. The taste is initially mild and delicate, becoming slightly pungent by the end of the minimum ripening period and increasingly so if ripened longer.

The fat content, expressed as a percentage of the dry matter, may not be less than 30 %. The weight varies between 2,5 and 5 kg, the diameter from 15 to 30 cm and the height of the heel from 8 to 18 cm.

The product is released on the market after a minimum ripening period of 180 days.

4.3. Geographical area: The milk is produced and processed and the cheese matured within the area defined in the rules of production, which is made up of thirty communes in the province of Potenza (region of Basilicata) lying in the Apennines between the Monte Vulture massif and the high mountain of Muro Lucano: the area has volcanic soils and natural pastures rich in wild plants.

4.4. Proof of origin: This area has always produced pecorino cheese: flocks of sheep existed there at the time of the Roman expansion in Italy and were numerous around the Appian Way, which was the centre of a dense network of sheep-tracks used by shepherds during the transhumance.

In relatively recent times the production of pecorino cheese played an important role in the economy of the Kingdom of Naples, whose capital was the natural outlet for this product. Thanks to a gift from Emperor Charles V, the Doria family, has since 1530 owned large tracts of land in the area surrounding Monte Vulture that largely coincide with the geographical area of Pecorino of Filiano; it organises production structures and processing plant for milk and wool. The registers of the family business show that the sheep flocks of Filiano, which in 1952 was granted administrative autonomy by the Comune (administrative district) of Avigliano (of which it is part) numbered 10000 head and were moved from the Ofanto valley in summer to the higher slopes of the Vitalba valley.

The sheep feed on excellent pasture, mainly consisting of ryegrass, alfalfa, poa, fescue, wild oats, spontaneous sulla, thyme and wild fennel, plus the mineral-rich water from the volcanic slopes of Monte Vulture. Only milk fulfilling these criteria may enter the processing plants.

The rennet used to coagulate the milk is taken from the stomachs of lambs and kids using strictly laid down methods that are described in the production rules.

The cheese produced by small holdings is matured, and often made as well, in natural tuff caves or underground chambers that give its much appreciated freshness and sensory characteristics.

The proof of origin is further underpinned by the detailed rules with which the milk producers, cheese makers and ripeners agree to comply in order to guarantee that the product can at all times be traced on the basis of documentary checks and visits by an authorised inspection body.

4.5. Method of production: The milk used in the production of Pecorino di Filiano comes from sheep of the breeds Gentile di Puglia and di Lucania, Leccese, Comisana and Sarda, and crossbreeds.

The raw milk is filtered and heated in large vats up to a temperature of not more than 40 °C; at between 36° and 40 °C there is the addition of traditional non-industrial rennet made in accordance with the rules of production.

The curds are broken up energetically using a wooden instrument with a rounded top until they are the size of small grains of rice.

After being left in whey for a few minutes, the curds are taken out and placed in containers made of rush or other rush-like material suitable for food products.

The curd is then pressed manually to extract the whey. The cheese is then immersed for 15 minutes in the whey at a temperature of not more than 90 °C.

It is dry salted or immersed in brine.

The cheese is then left to mature in the tuff caves or suitable underground chambers at a constant temperature of 12-14 °C and a relative humidity of 70-85 % for at least 180 days; it may be treated on the surface with extra-virgin olive oil and wine vinegar after the 20th day of maturing.

Pecorino di Filiano is produced throughout the year.

4.6. Link to the area: This sheep's cheese takes its name from the administrative district of Filiano, province of Potenza, region of Basilicata, once called Lucania.

Peak production is in spring and early summer because the sheep can feed on the excellent spring mountain pastures, demand for lamb is high over the Easter period and lambing is accordingly programmed. This means that the sheep produce the most milk exactly during the period when there is the most abundant natural pasture: ryegrass, alfalfa, poa, fescue, cocksfoot, vetch, wild oats, spontaneous sulla and herbs like thyme, mallow and wild fennel.

The milk is processed in small-scale cheese-making centres, each of which makes its own rennet using the traditional method described in the production rules; this too is subject to conformity checks. The production method preserves the qualities of the raw material, bringing out all its sensory characteristics. Note the use of raw milk and the fact that processing of the milk must start within 24 hours of first milking and traditional-style rennet is used to coagulate the milk.

A further link to the local environment is the ripening of the cheese in natural tuff caves or, failing that, in structures that reproduce the same conditions of temperature and humidity. Stockfarmers and makers of Pecorino di Filiano use these special structures to confer on the product its distinctive freshness and sensory characteristics.

The cheese's popularity over the last century is demonstrated by the successful sagra (festival) of Pecorino di Filiano, which has been held without interruption for the last thirty years, attracting, producers, specialists and consumers.

4.7. Inspection body Name: Agroqualita

Address: Via Montebello, 8 - I-00185 Roma

4.8. Labelling: When placed on the market, Pecorino di Filiano must be identified by a brandmark in the form of an oval containing the letter "F", a star, and the words "PECORINO di FILIANO" and "denominazione di origine protetta" or the abbreviation "D.O.P.".

The product may be marketed in halves or quarters of the certified whole cheese as long as each portion carries the brandmark described above.

4.9. National requirements: -

EC No: IT/00279/03.02.25.

Date of receipt of the full application: 4 July 2003.