Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin
Date: 2002-07-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Portugal, designation of origin, fresh meat, labelling, location of production, offal, product designation, product quality

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4.6. Link: The rearing of Alentejano pigs has always provided alternative nourishment and
compensates to some extent for the shortages caused by bad harvests. Many popular fresh meat
dishes and succulent sausages can be made from the meat of these animals. These sausages served
for a long time to nourish agricultural workers, who stopped work at lunchtime to enjoy them.
The fact that they were easily transported and withstood changes in temperature meant that they
were used extensively. Now, as ever, we can claim that pork enjoys great socio-economic
importance; from the raw substance that is Alentejano pork, the regional sausages of Estremoz
and Borba are made, with their distinct and unbeatable taste.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name:

Certialentejo — Certificação de Produtos Agrícolas, LDA

Address: Av.a General Humberto Delgado, n.o 34-1o Esq, P-7000-900 Évora

4.8. Labelling: Compulsory information: Farinheira de Estremoz e Borba — geographical indication
and the certification mark, numbered appropriately and giving the name of the product and the
name of the certifying body.

4.9. National requirements: All those which stem from the national and Community legislation in

force.

EC No: PT/00157/2000.09.14.

Date of receipt of the full application: 23 July 2001.

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

(2002/C 168/06)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of the abovementioned
Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in the
Member State concerned 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 (

)

PGI (x)

National application No: 105/00

1. Responsible department in the Member State

Name:

Direcção-Geral do Desenvolvimento Rural

Address: Av. Defensores de Chaves, n.o 6, P-1049-063 Lisboa

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Tel.

Fax

(351) 213 18 43 00

(351) 213 52 13 46.

2. Applicant group

2.1. Name:

Federação Agrícola dos Açores CRL

2.2. Address: Av.a Álvaro M. Homem, 31, P-9700-017 Angra do Heroismo, Terceira Açores

Tel.

Fax

(351) 295 62 83 50

(351) 295 62 83 50

2.3. Composition producer/processor (x)

other (

).

3. Type of product: Class 1.1 — Fresh meat and offal.

4. Specification

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

4.1. Name: Carne dos Açores.

4.2. Description: Meat from animals of the bovine species which are born, reared and slaughtered in
accordance with traditional practices in the autonomous region of the Azores. Depending on the
sex and age at slaughter of the animal, meat from the Azores (Carne dos Açores) comprises three
types of product — veal from the Azores (Carne de Vitela dos Açores) (male and female calves
slaughtered up to the age of nine months or at 180 kg), meat from young bulls from the Azores
(Carne de Novilho dos Açores) (young bulls slaughtered up to the age of 24 months whose
carcases weigh more than 180 kg), meat from heifers from the Azores (Carne de Novilha dos
Açores) (heifers slaughtered up to the age of 30 months or on first calving whose carcases weigh
more than 175 kg). Veal from the Azores — Carne de Vitela dos Açores — distinguishes itself by
its tenderness, pinkish colour, small amounts of intramuscular fat, juiciness, smooth texture as well
as a distinctive aroma and flavour that are peculiar to and characteristic of the traditional
production methods, namely the pasturing practices and the type of feeding. The calf carcases
correspond to conformation classes E, U, R and O of the EUROP grading scale for carcases of
bovine animals and have a very thin layer of fat cover corresponding to classes 2 and 3 of the
EUROP scale. Fat deposits on and in the carcase and in the cavities are ivory-white in colour and
are firm in consistency. The meat from young bulls and heifers from the Azores is tender, red to
dark red in colour, has small amounts of intramuscular fat, a high juiciness factor, smooth texture,
a distinctive aroma and flavour that are peculiar to and characteristic of the traditional production
methods, namely the pasturing practices and the type of feeding. The carcases of young bulls
correspond to conformation classes E, U, R and O of the EUROP grading scale for carcases of
bovine animals and have a thin layer of fat cover corresponding to classes 2 and 3 of the EUROP
scale; in exceptional circumstances and in years of recognised feed shortages, however, classifi-
cation is permitted in class 1. Fat deposits on and in the carcase and in the cavities are ivory-white
and are firm in consistency. Cow meat from the Azores (Carne de Vaca dos Açores) is tender and
is dark red in colour, has small amounts of intramuscular fat, a high juiciness factor and a
distinctive aroma and flavour that are peculiar to and characteristic of the traditional production
methods, namely the pasturing practices and the type of feeding. The conformation classes for cow
carcases extend to O of the EUROP grading scale for carcases of bovine animals, and the light
layer of fat cover corresponds to classes 1, 2 and 3 of the EUROP scale.

4.3. Geographical area: The geographical area in which are born, reared and slaughtered the bovine
animals from which comes the Carne dos Açores (meat from the Azores) is confined to the islands
which make up the archipelago of the Azores: Santa Maria, São Miguel, Terceira, São Jorge,
Graciosa, Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo.

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4.4. Proof of origin: Only those carcases are covered by the geographical indication which come from
animals that are born and reared on farms located in the defined geographical area and are subject
to the livestock registration and identification system laid down in the specification and to the
control and certification regime provided for in the document: ‘Regras de Controlo e Certificação
da Carne dos Açores’ (rules governing the inspection and certification of meat from the Azores).

farms. Bleeding and evisceration take place immediately after

4.5. Method of production: The carcases are obtained as a result of the slaughter and dressing of
bovine animals which are born and reared in accordance with ancestral and traditional practices
and are slaughtered in the delimited geographical area. Slaughter takes place in approved slaugh-
terhouses situated within the geographical production area. The animals are slaughtered in whole
batches (uninterrupted series) made up, before entry into the slaughterhouse, of animals from
various
stunning, which is
compulsory. Slaughter is always carried out in the presence of a technician from the Comissão
Técnica de Controlo e Certificação (technical board for control and certification), or a duly auth-
orised representative, who is responsible for identifying the carcases. After the post mortem
inspection, the carcases are cooled under chill conditions, a deep muscle temperature of 7 °C
(± 1 °C) being achieved within 24 hours; until dispatch, the carcases are kept in a chill-room at
a temperature of 2-4 °C, the relative humidity being around 85-90 %; maturation under chill
conditions takes place over seven days, distribution for sale is permitted, however, from the
third day following slaughter; the average pH over the first 24 hours following slaughter must
be below 6; freezing prior to sale to the final consumer is prohibited.

4.6. Link: Producers are anxious, in order to obtain this product, to preserve the ancestral and unique
livestock farming traditions that are characteristic of the Azores. The natural production system
existing in the Azores means that it is possible to maintain a balance between livestock production
and the ecological conditions obtaining on the different islands. The animals are reared, as
tradition demands, on the pastures of the Azores, and the pasturing practices of the region are
the
intimately linked to the combination of
importance of pasture land in agriculture in the archipelago is undeniable, whether from the
point of view of the extensive areas involved, their fertility or the fact they account for the
large livestock population of the Açores. As far back as the sixteenth century, historians and
writers praised the qualities of the meat produced in the Azores, qualities which have nothing
to do with a particular breed but everything to do with a particular beef and veal production
system.

two factors: climate and vegetation.

Indeed,

4.7. Inspection body:

Name:

IAMA — Instituto de Alimentação e Mercados Agrícolas

Address: Rua do Passal, n.o 150, P-9500 Ponta Delgada.

4.8. Labelling: The following words must appear on the label:

‘Carne dos Açores — geographical
indication’, as well as the certification mark, duly numbered, indicating the name of the product
and the name of the certifying body.

4.9. National requirements: All those which stem from the national and Community legislation in

force.

EC No: G/PT/00155/2000.09.14.

Date of receipt of the full application: 23 July 2001.