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

(2021/C 27/12)

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 3 months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’

EU No: PGI-FI-02462 – 10.7.2019

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’

2. Member State or Third Country

Finland

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product [listed in Annex XI]

Class 1.2. Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

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

‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’ is a meat product made from whole-muscle ham or round slices of ham from fattening pigs. The ham’s fat and rind may also form part of the product. The product is smoked on alder wood using a direct smoking method in a smoke sauna, which distinguishes it from other smoked hams in terms of both its method of preparation and the product's characteristics.

The meat content of the finished product is always at least 90 %. The product has a protein content of at least 17 % and a maximum fat content of 5 %. The lard-covered ham has a protein content of at least 15 % and a maximum fat content of 10 %.

‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’ has a fairly dry surface, but a succulent texture. As a result of the long smoking period and direct smoking method, its outer surface is a dark reddish-brown. It is reddish in colour inside. In the lard-covered product, the colour of the fat varies from white to yellowish white. The product has the typical aroma and taste of alder wood smoke.

‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’ is put on sale whole, in portions or in slices and is either vacuum-packed, packaged in a controlled atmosphere or wrapped in film.

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

Only whole-muscle ham or portions of sliced ham from fattening pigs are used in the making of the product. The ham’s fat and rind may also form part of the product. The raw meat must come from a bacon pig; neither processed (from sows or hogs) nor wild boar meat may be used.

In addition to the raw ham, only water, salt, glucose and food additives authorised for use in meat products under Commission Regulation (EU) No 1129/2011 (2) may be used as raw materials. Nitrate may be added to the product either in the form of nitrate curing salt or as a 10 % aqueous solution.

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

The following production steps take place in Finland:

— preparation of the raw ham;

— salting and curing of the raw ham;

— stuffing into netting, wrapping or other smoke- and water-permeable covering;

— curing in a sauna, i.e. the smoking and cooking of the product in a smoke sauna on alder logs using the direct smoking method.

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

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Finland

5. Link with the geographical area

The causal link between the product and its geographical area of production is based on Finnish know-how and a Finnish method for smoking meat on alder wood logs in smoke saunas. This specific process is strongly rooted in Finnish sauna culture, which underpins the distinction from other countries and their smoked products.

Finland is located in northern latitudes where, owing to the coldness of the winter weather, people could not bathe outdoors. Saunas were built for washing oneself, but were also used for slaughtering animals, curing meat, sweetening malt, drying flax, washing laundry, resting and preserving one’s health. Salt was valuable and expensive to import to Finland. The shelf life of meat products, for instance, could be ensured more cheaply by smoking the meat in a smoke sauna.

Sauna-cured ham is prepared in Finland in accordance with long-standing traditional recipes passed down from one generation to the next. It was customary in Finland to dry meat under the beams of smoke sauna cabins. While hanging, the meat was slowly smoked over an open fire situated in the middle of the cabin. The curing of ham in saunas began in Finland in the 1800s, as a way of curing meat at home. Salted meat was smoked in a warm sauna, the final result being a product with a fairly dry surface and a strong smoky taste. The saunas used for curing the meat were made entirely of wood, but housed a stone stove. The alder wood used for heating gave the cured meat its distinctive aroma.

Curing in smoke saunas gradually converted to an industrial operation in the 1950s. The wish to preserve the traditional smoking method has led to ‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’ being made in a smoke sauna on alder wood using a direct smoking method nowadays as well. With the advent of industrial production, however, smoke saunas are now bigger than they once were.

In the direct smoking method, the sauna stove is in the smoking room. Alder wood is used to heat the sauna rocks on the stove, which generate smoke and radiate heat into the surroundings. These days the sauna stove’s firebox is, as a rule, located outside the smoking room, making the smoking process easier to control. The curing time is long (at least 12 hours), during which time the internal temperature of the product rises gradually to at least 72 °C.

Curing in a smoke sauna gives the ‘Aito saunapalvikinkku’/‘Äkta basturökt skinka’ product its typical alder wood smoke aroma and flavour, which distinguishes it from other hams prepared using modern smoking and curing technology; those are smoked using the indirect smoking method or liquid smoke preparations.

As a result of the long smoking period and direct smoking method, the outer surface of the product is a reddish-brown. The product differs from other cured hams also in terms of taste, aroma and texture. The texture is typically a little dry, but nonetheless succulent. The product’s surface layer in particular is dry because of the long smoking period. Both the taste and aroma of the product are brought out strongly by the alder wood which is used to smoke it.

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/yritykset/elintarvikeala/valmistus/elintarvikkeista-annettavat-tiedot/eun-nimisuojajarjestelma/suomalaiset-nimisuojatuotteet/

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

(2) OJ L 295, 12.11.2011, p. 1.