Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(2021/C 125/04)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be consulted in the Commission’s eAmbrosia database.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘TERNERA ASTURIANA’

EU No: PGI-ES-0182-AM01 – 4.8.2020

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name

‘Ternera Asturiana’

2. Member State or Third Country

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.1. Fresh meat (and offal)

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

Bovine meat obtained from animals of the Asturiana de los Valles or Asturiana de la Montaña breeds, or crosses between them, which were born, reared and fattened in the Principality of Asturias. The animals may also be obtained by crossing pure-bred males of the above breeds with females that are genetically descended from those two Asturian breeds but which do not display characteristics of absolute breed purity and have some morphological characteristics that are not in keeping with the breed standard. The dams and calves covered by the PGI do not necessarily have to be entered in the official herd books of the two breeds.

Products are categorised on the basis of the age of the animal at slaughter as follows:

— ‘Ternera’: less than 12 months old,

— ‘Añojo’: between 12 and 18 months old.

In each category, products are differentiated according to the European system for the classification of carcasses as follows:

— ‘culón’: carcasses in conformation classes S or E, except for animals of the Asturiana de la Montaña breed,

— ‘valles’: animals in conformation classes U or R, except for animals of the Asturiana de la Montaña breed,

— ‘casín’: animals of the Asturiana de la Montaña breed in conformation class R or higher.

To be eligible, carcasses must be in classes S-E-U-R under the European rules, with fat cover grades of 2 or 3, except for classes S and E, where grade 1 is permitted.

The meat must be fresh or chilled only. The colour of the meat must be between values ‘2’ (pink) and ‘4’ (red). The meat must be moist in appearance. The fat must be white to creamy white in colour, without deposits.

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

The animals must be managed and fed in accordance with the traditional management practices in Asturias, based on the use of natural resources.

They must suckle for at least the first 5 months of their lives. Feed used for fattening must be natural and traditional, and the use of substances that alter the normal growth rates of the animals, pose a risk to human consumption or have a negative effect on the quality of the meat is prohibited.

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

The animals must have been born, reared and fattened on registered Asturian livestock holdings, must be butchered and marketed by registered entities in Asturias and must meet all the requirements laid down in the product specification for the protected geographical indication.

Livestock holdings registered for the ‘Ternera Asturiana’ PGI must be located within the territory of the Principality of Asturias.

Processing plants, i.e. slaughterhouses, cutting plants and wholesale suppliers, registered for the ‘Ternera Asturiana’ PGI must be located within the territory of the Principality of Asturias.

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

All carcasses covered by the PGI must be labelled with a numbered label issued by the Regulatory Council, bearing the name (Indicación Geográfica Protegida ‘Ternera Asturiana’ [Protected Geographical Indication ‘Ternera Asturiana’]), the logo, the animal’s ID, the breed, the holding from which the animal came and the date of slaughter, as well as any other information generally required under the legislation in force.

Meat destined for consumption must bear a label registered by the Regulatory Council and a numbered secondary label issued by the Regulatory Council.

In addition to the labels affixed to the product, each carcass and half-carcass must be accompanied by a guarantee certificate, which, in addition to the ‘Ternera Asturiana’ logo, must provide information on the farm of origin, the animal’s type and ID, its age at slaughter, the slaughterhouse, the date of slaughter, EUROP classification and carcass weight and the minimum durability date.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area covered by the ‘Ternera Asturiana’ PGI comprises the entire territory of the Principality of Asturias.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Historical factors

According to phylogenetic theory, the Asturian breeds are descended from Bos brachyceros europaeus. Sánchez Belda (1984) described three groups of cattle in the Iberian Peninsula, namely red convex or Turtedano cattle, black orthoid or Iberian cattle and brown convex or Cantabrian cattle. The Asturiana breed of cattle is the most important brown breed in the Iberian Peninsula, in terms of both numbers and its production characteristics.

Sánchez Belda and Sánchez Trujillo (1979) said of the Cantabrian group (brown concave cattle) that ‘their distribution coincides with the Cantabrian mountain range, extending at the western end to the lower-lying land of Zamora and Portugal ...’

Recently, molecular genetics has confirmed the theory of the existence of a bovine subset of Indo-European origin that is medium sized or stocky and has a coat colour made up of different combinations of black and red hairs. It is basically distinguished by two unvarying characteristics: the cattle have black extremities and mucous membranes and the calves are red at birth.

There are two breeds of Asturian cattle, namely Asturiana de los Valles and Asturiana de la Montaña. There was no clear differentiation between the two types we know today until the second decade of the 20th century, when authors such as Naredo and Bajo (1916) and Abril Brocas (1918) described the cattle in more detail and distinguished two different types.

The Asturiana de los Valles was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for meat, milk and work. It originated in a coastal municipality (Carreño) and spread across the region until it occupied the whole of the western half of Asturias.

From the 11th century, there was a great expansion in farming of the Asturiana de los Valles breed, particularly in the western central area, leading to intense competition for grazing land, which would increase from the 13th century onwards.

From the 13th century, with the decline of feudalism, that farming system was replaced by models such as long-term land-use contracts (foros), leases and sharecropping, and ultimately the subsequent redemption and joint purchase by villages of unenclosed mountain areas that were sometimes common land and sometimes owned by monasteries or the nobility. This was the situation at the beginning of the 19th century, when there were large numbers of indigenous cattle distributed throughout almost all of Asturias.

With the mechanisation of farming and the introduction of specialised dairy breeds, the Asturiana breed began to be used less and less for milk and work and became restricted to marginal areas of the Asturian mountains where a production system suited to the area was employed, the techniques and traditions of which have been passed down from parent to child to the present day. That production system consists mainly of small areas of crops, grown for family consumption, and natural pastures in valleys and on mountain slopes, used for grazing animals in spring and autumn, the fodder grown there during the summer being preserved as hay and used as winter feed. The high mountain pastures, which are usually common land and are interspersed with deciduous woodland, are grazed during the summer, with the cattle moving from the lower to the higher elevations as the hot season progresses. The system of livestock production based on extensive farming of the indigenous cattle with transhumance between the high pastures and the valleys has contributed to the current pattern of land use, with small population centres spread out along the transhumance routes, from the winter dwellings in hamlets and villages to the cabins in the highest pastures, which are used today for frequent short periods throughout the summer.

The Asturiana de la Montaña breed is thought to have had its geographical origin in the municipality of Caso, which is why it is popularly known as the ‘casina’ cow. The livestock farmers traditionally made use of the villages’ communal pastures from the end of spring until the autumn, followed by transhumance to coastal areas (from Villaviciosa to Llanes). The cycle was completed by short intermediary stays at the hamlets or wintering places, relatively close to the villages, where the cattle grazed the meadows and ate the dried grass gathered during the summer.

The areas in which they were introduced or established and where they are currently farmed are characterised by very harsh ecosystems, to which the breed is well adapted, performing an important role in conserving the natural environment and the countryside, while helping to maintain human settlement in mountainous areas.

5.2. Natural factors

Orography

Notable physical aspects of the region’s orography are the different altitude strata and their range, which extends from a minimum altitude of 0 m (sea level) to a maximum of 2 648 m (Torre Cerreu). Over half of the territory is therefore above 400 m in altitude, and more than a quarter is above 800 m. This has been a determining factor for the region’s climate, biology and sociology over the centuries.

Climate

The geographical location of Asturias in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere means that it has a humid, temperate climate.

Furthermore, the atmospheric dynamics are influenced to a certain extent by the region’s mountainous nature, which results in the movement of air masses, creating a highly dynamic mosaic of climate types, with a similar frequency of cyclonic and anticyclonic situations, which explains the even distribution of rainfall throughout the year (1 000 mm), with most and least rainfall occurring in winter and summer, and very changeable weather in spring and autumn.

Vegetation

The vegetation of Asturias is typical of an Atlantic region dominated by deciduous forests, which thrive on the region’s heavy rainfall and mild temperatures, but is also influenced by pedological, climatic and biotic factors.

Different layers of vegetation can be distinguished by climate, influenced by temperature variations, and on the basis of relief.

First, oak, beech and birch forests, in that order, can be distinguished with increasing altitude. Then, above 1 600 m, the vegetation is creeping scrub, and above 2 200 m there are only meadows.

It is important to highlight the biotic factor, which is linked to the harvesting of timber or to the alternate use of forest land for cultivation and grazing, which gradually altered the area’s vegetation, with numerous coniferous forests usually found in the areas nearer the coast as a result of restocking and numerous meadows in low- and medium-altitude areas. Together with the high-altitude meadows, these have determined the way in which Asturian beef cattle are farmed. Natural meadows account for 25,3% of the total area of the Principality of Asturias, and have been on the increase over the last few years as the cultivation of artificial pastures has ceased.

The typical grassland at altitudes of between 800 m and 1 700 m is botanically very similar to the natural meadows, the difference being that its natural grass cover is cropped exclusively by grazing. Mountain pastures account for 1,2% of the total area of the region. These high-altitude pastures are composed principally of species of agricultural value, such as grasses, legumes and labiates, which make them suitable for grazing cattle.

Scrub occupies 20,15% of the area and can be grazed by indigenous beef cattle under an extensive farming system.

5.3. Production conditions

There are three types of farming, depending on the geographical location and feed resources available. The three systems used are traditional, semi-intensive or semi-stabling, and improved pasture.

Traditional system

The breed is farmed in the traditional way in the mountain areas of western south-central Asturias, from Aller to the mountains of Cangas del Narcea. The holdings are generally small and are heavily dependent on areas of common pastureland (mountain pastures), where most of the calves are born between the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The system is based on using meadows close to the holding in spring and autumn, until snow makes it necessary to stable the animals, and summer grazing on mountain pastures, which is when the meadows are cut to make winter feed for the herd.

Semi-intensive system

The semi-intensive management system is used in the low-lying coastal areas of Asturias. These areas have favourable terrain for agricultural activities, allowing the use of a more sophisticated feed regime than the traditional system. The animals’ diet is based on maize silage, pasture, dried grass, fresh grass in the manger and feedingstuffs. Artificial insemination is widely used, so births are spread out throughout the year.

In winter, the animals are stabled. In spring and autumn, they graze the meadows on the farm and in the nearby hills but are stabled overnight. In summer, cows that have calved are usually stabled during the day and put out to pasture when it gets dark, while dry cows and heifers spend the whole day outside.

Improved-pasture system

This is a farming system typical of western Asturias (mainly the municipalities of Óscos, Allande and Tineo). The holdings on which it is used, although sometimes standing relatively high above sea level, are on gently sloping land suitable for mechanised farming, which facilitates their exploitation.

Generally, these holdings are large, with a large number of dams, and operate a system based on permanent grazing throughout the year, which makes it easier to manage the herd. The cattle are brought inside only in the event of heavy snow, in which case they are fed grass silage and, to a lesser extent, dried grass.

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

https://www.asturias.es/Asturias/descargas/PDF_TEMAS/Agricultura/Alimentaci%C3%B3n/2019_10_03_ternera_asturiana_modif.pdf

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.