Commission Regulation (EC) No 2527/98 of 25 November 1998 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2301/97 on the entry of certain names in the 'Register of certificates of specific character' provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 on certificates of specific character for agricultural products and foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 1998-11-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, designation of origin, foodstuff, product designation

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2527/98

of 25 November 1998

supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2301/97 on the entry of certain
names in the ‘Register of certificates of specific character' provided for in
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 on certificates of specific character for
agricultural products and foodstuffs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92
of 14 July 1992 on certificates of specific character for
agricultural products and foodstuffs (1), and in particular
Article 9(2)(b) thereof,

in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation
Whereas,
(EEC) No 2082/92, the Member States have forwarded to
the Commission applications for the entry of certain
names in the register of certificates of specific character;

Whereas the names so registered are entitled to use the
description ‘traditional speciality guaranteed' which is
reserved for them;

Whereas a number of objections concerning the name
‘Mozzarella' have been sent to the Commission in accord-
ance with Article 8 of the abovementioned Regulation
following the publication in the Official Journal of the
the
European Communities (2) of
application for registration;

the main points of

Whereas the Commission has asked the Member States
concerned, in accordance with Article 9(2) of that Regula-
tion, to seek agreement between themselves; whereas no
agreement has been reached and it is therefore up to the
Commission to decide on the registration of the name
concerned;

Whereas consideration of the various observations in the
abovementioned objections has not shown that the speci-
fication forwarded by the applicant Member State does
not comply with the conditions set out in Articles 2, 4, 5
and 6 of that Regulation; whereas, in fact, this specifica-
tion is found to establish a specific and traditional char-
acter;

Whereas, with regard to the inspection of the specific
character of the product referred to in Article 6 of that
Regulation, the applicant Member State has stated that a
physical
inspection must be carried out to check the
presence of and correct preparation of the natural starter;
whereas inspection also involves the taking of samples of

the finished product for the purposes of checking its
organoleptic, chemical and microbiological characteristics
these
using official or
factors are among the main points of the specification;

recognised methods; whereas

Whereas the name ‘Mozzarella' is entitled to be entered in
the ‘Register of certificates of specific character' and
protected at Community level pursuant to Article 13(1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 as a traditional speciality
guaranteed; whereas this does not prevent continued use
of this name in accordance with a specification other than
that which is protected provided that the labelling does
not bear the Community symbol or description;

Whereas the Annex to this Regulation supplements the
Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2301/97 (3), as
amended by Regulation (EC) No 954/98 (4);

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Regulatory
Committee on Certificates of Specific Character,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The name in Annex I to this Regulation is hereby added
to the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2301/97 and entered
in the ‘Register of certificates of specific character' in
accordance with Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC) No
2082/92.

It shall be protected in accordance with Article 13(1) of
that Regulation.

The main points of the specification are shown in Annex
II. They replace the points published in Official Journal
of the European Communities No C 246 of 24 August
1996, page 9.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

(1) OJ L 208, 24. 7. 1992, p. 9.
(2) OJ C 246, 24. 8. 1996, p. 9.

(3) OJ L 319, 21. 11. 1997, p. 8.
(4) OJ L 133, 7. 5. 1998, p. 10.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 25 November 1998.

For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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Cheeses

— Mozzarella

ANNEX I

ANNEX II

‘APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A SPECIFIC PRODUCT

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92

National dossier number: 1

1. Competent authority (author of message):

Name: Ministero Delle Risorse Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali

Tel.:

(39 6) 4665; Fax: 06/4743971

2. Applicant group:

(a) Name: Associazione Italiana Lattiero-Casearia

(b) Address: Corso di Porta Romana 2, Milan, Italy

(c) Composition: Cooperative and private producers in the dairy industry, approximately 50 members of

which are producers of mozzarella (by-laws enclosed)

(a) Name: Confederazione Cooperative Italiane Settore Lattiero-Caseario

(b) Address: Via Dei Gigli D’Oro 21, Rome, Italy

(c) Composition: Cooperative producers in the dairy industry, approximately 20 members of which are

producers of mozzarella (by-laws enclosed)

3. Name of product:

Mozzarella (traditional name not translatable into other languages) with EC symbol and indication as per
Regulation (EC) No 2515/94

4. Type of product: 1.3

5. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 6(2))

(a) Name of product:

Mozzarella (traditional name not translatable into other languages) with EC symbol and indication as
per Regulation (EC) No 2515/94

(b) Specific production or manufacturing method:

includes exclusively the following stages, to be carried out in a continuous cycle in the same plant:

— pre-ripening, if necessary, of the milk with a lactic starter (1),

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— pasteurisation of the milk at a minimum temperature of 71,7 (cid:190)C for 15 seconds or equivalent

process,

— inoculation of the milk with natural starter,

— addition of liquid bovine rennet, with between 20 and 30 % pepsin activity,

— rennet coagulation at 35 to 39 (cid:190)C,

— cutting, breaking and separation of whey from the curd,

— lactic ripening of the curd up to a pH of 5,0 to 5,4,

— cutting of the ripened curd into pieces,

— curd stretching (operation of heating the curd with hot water, sometimes with salt added, with a final

temperature of the curd between 58 and 65 (cid:190)C),

— hot moulding of the curd,

— hardening in cold water, sometimes with salt added,

— packaging.

(1) Preparation of natural starter

Initial starter

— Heating of raw milk which has not been refrigerated, at a temperature of at least +63 (cid:190)C for a minimum period of

15 minutes (or time/temprature combinations of equivalent minimum effect)

— Cooling to incubation temperature (t=42 to 50 (cid:190)C)

— Incubation up to an acidity of 14 to 24 (cid:190)SH for 100 ml

— Cooling to a temperature lower than +8 (cid:190)C

— Refrigerated storage at a temperature no greater than +4 (cid:190)C.

Subsequent starters

— Inoculation of raw milk, which may also be refrigerated, with a minimum of 4 % of the first starter

— Heat treatment as for the first starter

— Cooling to incubation temperature (t=42 to 50 (cid:190)C)

— Incubation up to an acidity of 14 to 24 (cid:190)SH for 100 ml

— Cooling to a temperature lower than +8 (cid:190)C

— Refrigerated storage at a temperature no greater than +4 (cid:190)C.

Starter ready for use

Starter ready for use must:

— have an acidity between 16 and 30 (cid:190)SH for 100 ml,

— have a minimum thermophilic streptococci content of 108 cfu (*)/ml,

— have negative phosphatasic activity,

— be used in production within three days after being prepared.

(*) cfu = colony-forming units.

(c) Traditional characteristics:

Mozzarella is the product of a well-established technology in the making of fresh pasta filata cheese, and
is part of the Italian dairy tradition.

In its most traditional form — the form in question in this product specification — mozzarella must be
made with whole milk which is raw when it arrives at the plant and adjusted, if necessary, only for the
fat content; the decisive factor is the natural starter, which must be prepared with milk coming from the
same area as that used at the cheese production plant and must be used on the spot.

This is a culture of lactic bacteria characterised by resistance to heat, rapid growth and acidification. It is
obtained through the selective enrichment of the lactic microflora naturally present in raw milk, and
retains the initial microbiological quality of the milk. A properly prepared natural starter is usually
made up of an undefined mixture of strains of Streptococcus thermophilus, which may be accompanied
by enterococci and heat-resistant lactic bacteria. This group of lactic flora helps in determining the final
characteristics of the product.

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(d) Product description:

Traditional-type mozzarella is a soft pasta filata cheese (as defined by the Codex Alimentarius), with
lactic fermentation. It can have a spheroid shape (weighing from 20 to 250 g), sometimes with a “head”,
or it can be plaited (weighing from 125 to 250 g).

Traditional-type mozzarella is packaged and sold in a protective covering and in contact with a packing
medium, made up of water and sometimes salt, which is in direct contact with the product if the
covering is hermetically sealed and in contact by diffusion if it is perforated or permeable.

O r g a n o l e p t i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

Appearance:
— No rind, but with a soft skin
— Smooth, shiny, even surface, milk-white colour
— Typically fibrous consistency, more pronounced initially, layered and releasing a milky liquid when

cut or squeezed lightly. It may then have pockets in which this liquid collects

— Absence of eyes
— Even, milk-white colour, with no spots or veins.

Consistency: soft and slightly elastic.
Taste: distinctive, savoury, fresh, delicately acidulous.
Aroma: distinctive, fragrant, delicate, of lightly acidulous milk.

C h e m i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

— Dry matter fat content: minimum 44 % (m/m)
— Moisture: for the spheroidal shape, 58 to 66 % (m/m); for the plaited shape, 56 to 62 % (m/m)
— Moisture of the non-fat portion: 69 to 80 % (m/m)
— Phosphatasic activity not greater than 12 lg of phenol per gram of cheese
— pH: 5,1 to 5,6
— L(+) lactic acid: greater than 0,2 % (m/m) in samples analysed within three days after the produc-

tion date

— Sodium chloride (NaCl) not greater than 1 % (m/m)
— Furosine: maximum 10 mg to 100 g of protein.

M i c r o b i o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

Typical microflora resistant to curd stretching, in an amount of not less than 107 cfu/g in samples
analysed within three days after the date of production.

P r e s e r v a t i o n

The product should be stored at a temperature between 0 and +4 (cid:190)C. The maximum storage tempera-
ture must be given on the label along with the expiration date, which is indicated by the words “Use
by. . .” followed by the day and month.

(e) Minimum requirements and inspection procedures:

Inspection will cover the following:

— On the premises of firms (at the manufacturing stage): checking that the preparation of the natural
starter (initial starter, subsequent starters and starter ready for use) is correct, this aspect being
defined as a factor determining the traditional character of the product.

— Later, inspection will involve the taking of samples of the finished product on the premises of firms
and distributors, for the purposes of checking the organoleptic characteristics, all the chemical
characteristics (using standard recognised official methods, e.g. those of the IDF and ISO) and the
microbiological characteristics as regards the count of characteristic microflora (using microbiolo-
gical methods that are either standard or are recognised in the scientific literature on the subject).

6. Request for protection pursuant to Article 13(2): no'