Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2006-07-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Navarre, designation of origin, fresh meat, labelling, location of production, product designation, product quality, sheepmeat, traceability

7.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 158/5

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on
the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and
foodstuffs

(2006/C 158/03)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 510/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date
of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Application for registration according to Article 5 and Article 17(2)

‘CORDERO DE NAVARRA’ or ‘NAFARROAKO ARKUMEA’

EC No: ES/0212/17.10.2001

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary has been drawn up for information only. For full details, interested parties are invited to
consult the full version of the product specification obtainable from the national authorities indicated in
section 1 or from the European Commission (1).

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Subdirección General de Sistemas de Calidad Diferenciada-Dirección General de Alimenta-
ción/Secretaría General de Agricultura y Alimentación del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca
y Alimentación

Address: Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, 1
E-28071 Madrid

Tel.:

Fax:

(34) 913 47 53 94

(34) 913 47 54 10

e-mail:

sgcaproa@mapya.es

2.

Group:

Name:

Address:

Grupo de trabajo del Cordero de Navarra

Avenida Serapio Huici, 22
Edificio Peritos
E-31610 Villava
Navarra

Tel.:

Fax:

(34) 948 01 30 40

(34) 948 01 30 41

e-mail:

—

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

The working group comprises bodies and entities made up of both producers and processors: Instituto
Técnico y de Gestión Ganadero (Technical and Livestock Management Institute), Sindicato Agrario Unión
de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Navarra (Agricultural Union ‘Union of Navarre Farmers and Livestock
Farmers’), Sindicato Agrario E.H.N.E.
(E.H.N.E. Agricultural Union), Asociación de Criadores de Raza
Navarra (Breeders' Association of the Navarra Breed), Asociación de Criadores de ovino de raza Lacha de
Navarra (Sheep Breeders' Association of the Navarre Lacha breed), Matadero La Protectora (‘La Protec-
tora’ Slaughterhouse), Sección de ovino de la Cooperativa del Vacuno de Navarra (Sheep Section of the
Navarre Cattle Cooperative), Asociación Comercial Ovina de Navarra (Navarre Trade Association for
Sheep).

3.

Type of product:

Class 1.1. Fresh lamb

(1) European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Product Quality

Policy, B-1049 Brussels.

C 158/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.7.2006

4.

Specification (summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. N a me :

‘Cordero de Navarra’ or ‘Nafarroako Arkumea’

4.2. De scr i p ti on: The geographical
breeds, marketed as fresh meat.

indication protects lambs of the pure-bred Navarra and Lacha

There are two distinct categories, the suckling lamb (Lechal) and the light lamb (Ternasco).

Lechal lamb: male or female animal of the Lacha or Navarra breed, suckled by the ewe up to the time
of slaughter, with a carcass weight of between 5 and 8 kg for the Lacha breed and of between 6 and
8 kg for the Navarra breed (including head and offal).

Ternasco lamb: male or female animal of the Navarra breed, suckled by the ewe up to a minimum of
45 days from birth, with a carcass weight of between 9 and 12 kg (not including head or offal).

Only ‘first’ qualities of categories ‘A’ and ‘B’ in the case of the Lechal lambs, and categories ‘B’ and ‘C’
in the case of the Ternasco lambs, of the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of light
lambs (Regulation (EEC) No 2137/92 and Regulation (EEC) No 461/93) will be admitted.

The carcasses must also exhibit the following characteristics:

LECHAL LAMB: fat cover: slight to average (class 2-3 according to Regulations (EEC) No 2137/92 and
No 461/93 establishing the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of light lambs). Meat
colour: pearly white to pale pink. Meat's distinguishing features: tender, very juicy, smooth texture
and distinctive flavour.

TERNASCO LAMB: fat cover: slight to average (class 2-3 according to Regulations (EEC) No 2137/92
and No 461/93 establishing the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of light lambs).
Meat colour: pale pink. Meat's distinguishing features: tender, with traces of intramuscular fat infiltra-
tion, very juicy, smooth texture and distinctive flavour.

4.3. G e og r a p h i ca l a r e a : The lamb production area covers the entire province of Navarre: the Lacha
breed occupies the northern half, and the Navarra breed the whole of Navarre with the exception of
the north-west.

4.4. Pr oof of or i g i n: Three registers will be kept for the purposes of recording checks on the origin of
the product: one by livestock holdings rearing lambs, one by processors of fresh lamb, and lastly, one
by establishments where processing takes place.

All lambs will be identified, prior to weaning (25-30 days for the Latxa breed and 40-45 days for the
Navarra breed), by means of an ear tag to be worn up to slaughter and bearing the number of the
holding of birth. Each breeder's lambs arriving at the slaughterhouse will be accompanied by a docu-
ment (livestock health guide) containing the number of the holding, the number of lambs covered,
plus the breed and age.

Births will be recorded in a register setting out the data relating to the holding and the animals. All
these details will be passed on to the Regulating Board.

Where a lamb is reared on a holding other than that of its birth, this will be checked out by means of
the purchase and sales declaration which the livestock farmer will have to draw up and subsequently
forward to the Regulating Board.

Checks will be conducted in the slaughterhouse to ensure that lambs come from registered holdings.
For the purposes of ensuring the meat's traceability, carcasses complying with the specifications set
out in point 4.2 of the information sheet will be identified with numbered labels issued by the Regu-
lating Board and, in the cutting plant, each piece will likewise be identified with a numbered label.

7.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 158/7

The PGI inspector will conduct an ante-mortem examination of the animals and also inspect the
accompanying documents in order to check the breed, the animals' ear tags, and that the holding of
origin is entered in the PGI. Unidentified animals and those belonging to breeds which are not
covered will be separated from the batch because they are not suitable for the PGI. Those batches of
lamb which are covered will be slaughtered separately in order to ensure traceability.

Traceability

Batches which are covered are labelled with slaughterhouse labels setting out the animals' weight. The
PGI inspectors classify the lambs in accordance with the PGI criteria (weight, colour, fat); the details
are recorded and the suitable animals are labelled.

Traceability during cutting is ensured in the case of Lechal lamb by means of 4 PGI labels bearing a
PGI control number. These are attached to the extremities, one on each carcass quarter. In the case of
Ternasco lamb, traceability is ensured by means of a continuous stamp of food dye running from the
neck to the hindquarters, and a single PGI label is attached per carcass.

4.5. M e th od of p r odu cti on: The lambs covered by the PGI must be the offspring of ewes which
undergo their productive cycle in extensive or semi-extensive rearing systems, making good use of
pasture and other natural plant resources in their diet, in accordance with traditional practice in the
geographical area.

Most holdings (86 %) rearing the Latxa breed of lamb practise transterminance, involving small move-
ments between the valley and nearby mountains. This system is based on making use of common
mountain pasture in summer and autumn, of meadows in October and November, and then on
staying on the holding for the rest of the year, wher the diet is supplemented by dried fodder (alfalfa
hay, grass or vetch-oats) and natural feed (cereals and pulses).

Some holdings rearing the Navarra breed of lamb have used vertical transhumance (between moun-
tains and plains) or horizontal transhumance, involving large movements. Nowadays, however, it is
more common to use transterminance and to stay on the holding. There are three types of farming
adapted to the area: 1) ‘valley port’ system in the Pyrenean area, which makes use of upland pasture
in summer, 2) transterminance in cereal areas, which makes use of stubble fields and scrub, and 3)
grazing in irrigated areas,
in polyphytic cultivated meadows. In the first two systems, the diet is
supplemented by hay, straw and natural feed (corn, barley) when resources are scarce (normally in
winter). In irrigated areas, alfalfa shoots, stubble fields and left-overs from harvests are also used to
supplement the sheep diet.

Lechal lambs are suckled by ewes until they are slaughtered (25-30 days in the case of the Latxa breed
and 40-45 days in the case of the Navarra breed), their carcasses reaching a weight at that time of 5
to 8 kg.

Ternasco lambs are suckled until they are at least 45 days old. During the fattening phase, the lambs'
diet consists of white cereal straw and concentrates based on cereals, legumes, vitamins and minerals.
Lambs not weaned after 45 days are given the fattening diet plus their mother's milk. At the time of
slaughter, the carcasses weigh 9 to 12 kg.

Concentrated feedingstuffs may not include any by-products of plant origin other than those derived
from cereals or legumes, nor urea.

Substances which could in any way affect the normal rate of growth and development of the animal
are expressly prohibited.

The lambs are transported to the slaughterhouse, where they are slaughtered and dressed; the
carcasses are obtained in approved slaughterhouses in the Autonomous Community of Navarre.

C 158/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.7.2006

4.6. L i nk: The people of Navarre clearly have a predilection for lamb, given that it tops the list of
favourite dishes in the region. Many gastronomes and historians have praised the virtues of Navarre
lamb through the ages, as their writings will testify.

Historical references allude to the popularity of lamb in the Middle Ages among the people of
Navarre, in monasteries and at royal banquets.

The tradition is still very much alive today, and throughout the 20th century, highly interesting
comments about Navarre lamb and its benefits have been made by gastronomes. One of these is Cris-
tino Álvarez, known as ‘Caius Apicius’: ‘The lambs of Navarre, specifically those from the Pamplona
valley, enjoy a well-deserved reputation. Lamb is probably the most traditional and commonly served
meat dish in Navarre; the quality of the animal, an essential prerequisite for culinary success,
is
beyond question’.

With regard to the link of the ‘Navarra’ and ‘Lacha’ sheep breeds with the geographical area, it has
been shown that the two breeds have co-existed in Navarre since prehistoric times, sometimes sharing
the same areas and pastures, and sometimes spreading out into different areas adapted to their breed
characteristics.

Throughout Roman, medieval and modern times, the sheep population of Navarre has prevailed,
surmounting the crises and huge changes the rural world has undergone this century.

4.7. Insp e c ti on b ody :

Name:

Instituto de Calidad Agroalimentaria de Navarra (ICAN)

Address: Avenida Serapio Huici, 22
Edificio Peritos
E-31610 Villava
Navarra

Tel.:

Fax:

(34) 948 01 30 45

(34) 948 07 15 49

e-mail: —

4.8. L a b e lli n g : Lamb carcasses covered by the PGI must be provided with a numbered label or back
label issued by the Regulating Board, bearing the words: ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida Cordero de
Navarra’ or ‘Nafarroako Arkumea’.

There are three types of label for the three types of lamb covered: 1) ‘raza Navarra, ternasco’, 2) ‘raza
navarra lechal’ and 3) ‘raza Latxa lechal’. All of these carry a control number and the PGI logo.
Furthermore, the breed and whether it is Lechal or Ternasco is indicated on a blue background (Navarra
breed, Ternasco), a yellow background (Navarra breed, Lechal) or a red background (Latxa breed, Lechal).

4.9. N a ti ona l r e q u i r e me nt s:

— Law No 25/1970 of 2 December 1970 on rules governing viticulture, wine and spirits.

— Decree No 835/1972 of 23 March 1972 on detailed rules for the implementation of Law No

25/1970.

— Order of 25 January 1994 specifying the correlation between Spanish law and Regulation (EEC)
indications for agricultural

No 2081/92 as regards designations of origin and geographical
products and foodstuffs.

— Royal Decree No 1643/99 of 22 October 1999 governing the procedure on applications for entry
into the Community register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indica-
tions.