Publication of an amendment 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: 2007-04-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, designation of origin, labelling, location of production, meat product, product designation, product quality

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Publication of an amendment 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

(2007/C 86/03)

This publication confers the right to object to the amendment application pursuant to Article 7 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1) . Statements of objections must reach the Commission within six months
from the date of this publication.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Amendment application according to Article 9 and Article 17(2)

‘PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA’

EC No: IT/PDO/117/0067/09.06.1998

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

Amendment(s) requested

Heading(s) in the specification:

Name of product

Description of product

Geographical area

Proof of origin

X Method of production

Link

Labelling

X National requirements

Amendment(s):

Method of production

The minimum ageing period to which ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ is subject before being released for consumption
is 12 months for all sizes.

National requirements

All references to rules and procedures in force before Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (2) entered into
force that are incoherent with the new Community regulation have been removed.

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 193, 31.7.1993, p. 5.

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SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA’

EC No: IT/PDO/117/0067/09.06.1998

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Ministero Politiche Agricole e Forestali

Address: Via XX Settembre, 20

I–00187 Roma

Tel.:

Fax:

(39) 06 481 99 68

(39) 06 42 01 31 26

E-mail:

QTC3@politicheagricole.it

2.

Group:

Name:

Address:

Tel.:

Fax:

Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma

Via Marco dell'Arpa, 8/b
I–43100 Parma

(39) 0521 24 39 87

(39) 0521 24 39 83

E-mail:

—

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3.

Type of product:

Group 1.2: Meat products

4.

Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No. 510/2006)

4.1. Name:

‘Prosciutto di Parma’

4.2. Descr iption:

— Aged raw ham.

— Identified by a heat-affixed logo on the hide.

— External shape is rounded: the distal part (the foot) and any external

imperfections that may
compromise the product image are removed, trimming to leave a maximum of 6 centimetres of
meat standing proud of the head of the femur.

— Weight: usually between eight and ten kilograms but no less than seven.

— Colour when cut: uniform pink to red, interspersed with pure white where fat is present.

— Aroma and taste: delicate and sweet tasting, not very salty and with a fragrant and characteristic

aroma.

— Specific response to set analytical parameters measuring water content, salt and protein breakdown.

— After the logo is affixed, ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ may be marketed whole, boned and packaged into

pieces of variable weights and shapes or sliced and packaged.

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4.3. Geographical area:

‘Prosciutto di Parma’ is produced in the defined area in the Province of Parma
which includes land in the Province of Parma (in the Region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy) lying within 5
kilometres south of Via Emilia at an altitude of no more than 900 metres, defined to the east by the
Enza river and to the west by the Stirone river.

The raw material originates in a geographically wider area than the production area, including all muni-
cipalities in the following Regions: Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, Molise, Umbria,
Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzi and Lazio (Italy).

4.4. Proof of or igin: For the production of the raw material, specific conditions on the breed, feeding
methods and breeding criteria must be met. These conditions are guaranteed by a specific monitoring
system with which recognised and authorised breeders, slaughterers and producers must comply,
including monitoring procedures and methods of identification, recognition and certification.

Recognised breeders affix an indelible mark to the hind leg of every pig within thirty days of its birth,
bearing its individual identification code. Breeders must issue a certificate of conformity with the rules
on breeding for all pigs sent to slaughter.

Slaughterers must heat affix an indelible and visible stamp on the hide of the fresh hind legs intended
for the production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’, in accordance with the rules issued by the monitoring
body. Slaughterers affix the indelible stamp on fresh hind legs of pigs delivered with the certificates
referred to above after having checked compliance with the legal requirements. The stamp bears the
identification code of the slaughterhouse in which the pig was slaughtered. Slaughterers must provide a
copy of the certificate issued by the breeder in the form referred to above to accompany every indivi-
dual lot of fresh hind leg bearing the stamp referred to above.

Only fresh hind legs from recognised slaughterhouses bearing the indelible stamp and accompanied by
the required documentation may be sent for the protected production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’. For each
operation to deliver fresh hind legs for the production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ to recognised premises,
an officer from the monitoring body checks the presence of certification marks and the documentation
referred to above.

When the fresh hind legs are salted, they must be affixed with a metallic seal bearing the start date of
production. The producer affixes the seal before salting so that it remains permanently visible. The seal
bears the date (month and year) of the start of production.

When salting is finished, an officer from the monitoring body is present when the logo is heat affixed
(depicting a five-point crown with the wording PARMA inside the ellipse), having previously checked
that the hams meet the requirements of suitability. This logo also contains an alphanumerical identifica-
tion code of the producer.

Therefore the final product bears: the mark identifying the farm from which the pig originates, the
indelible stamp identifying the slaughterhouse where the fresh hind leg was produced, the metallic seal
indicating the start date of production in the production site and the heat-affixed logo affixed by the
same site at the end of the ageing process, identifying the processing site.

4.5. Method of production: Regarding the raw material, the production specification stipulates, inter
alia, that ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ may be obtained only from pure-bred or hybrid pigs of the traditional
breeds Large White and Landrace, as improved by the Italian Herd Book; from pigs of the Duroc breed,
as improved by the Italian Herd Book; or from pigs of other breeds, mixed or hybrid, provided they
originate in selection processes or crosses made for purposes that are not incompatible with the Italian
Herd Book for the production of heavy pigs at least 9 months old, weighing approximately 160 kg
(with a possible variation of 10 %) and fed in accordance with the specific regime set out with
analyses.

The raw material (fresh hind legs) used for the production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ is characterised by
the following aspects:

— consistency of fat: estimated by determining the iodine level and/or the linoleic acid content taken
in the internal and external fat layers of subcutaneous panniculus adiposus in the hind leg. The
iodine content in each individual sample must not exceed 70 and the linoleic acid content must
not exceed 15 %;

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— fat cover: the depth of the fat covering of the external part of the fresh, trimmed hind leg, measured
vertically from the top of the femur (‘sottonoce’), must be approximately 20 millimetres for fresh
hind legs used for the production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ weighing between 7 and 9 kilograms and
30 millimetres for fresh hind legs used for the production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ weighing more
than 9 kilograms.

The depth of this fat layer must not be less than 15 millimetres and 20 millimetres for the two cate-
gories of fresh hind legs, including the hide. At the crown, the layer of fat must be such that the hide
cannot separate from the underlying layer of muscle fibre.

Fresh, trimmed hind legs, weighing preferably between 12 and 14 kilograms, may not weigh less than
10 kilograms.

Apart from refrigeration, the fresh hind legs must not be subject to any preservation treatment,
including freezing. Refrigeration means that the hind legs must be kept at an inside temperature of
between — 1 °C and + 4 °C during storage and transportation. Hind legs from pigs slaughtered less
than 24 hours or more than 120 hours previously may not be used.

Fresh hind legs from slaughterhouses are subject to specific treatments, with the sole addition of sea
salt, for a period of no less than 12 months, comprising the following stages: isolation; cooling; trim-
ming; salting; rest; washing and drying; pre-ageing; finishing; sugnatura [treatment with pig fat]; ageing;
slicing and packaging.

The production sites (prosciuttifici) must be located in the geographic area defined in point 4.3, as
must the slicing and packaging processes and all stages of processing the raw material. All pig breeders
producing meat for production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’, the authorised slaughterhouses and the cutting
plants used for protected production are all located in the area of origin of the raw material described
in point 4.3.

After the logo is affixed, ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ may be marketed whole, boned and packaged into pieces
of variable weights and shapes or sliced and properly packaged. In the case of the latter, slicing and
packaging processes must be carried out in the production area and the PDO logo must be indelibly
affixed to the package in accordance with the methods set out below in point 4.8. This is essential to
ensure the qualitative characteristics of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ and complete product traceability.

4.6. Link: The specific characteristics of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ and the guarantee that these high qualitative,
health and food safety standards are maintained are all strictly dependent upon environmental condi-
tions and on natural and human factors. The raw material and the PDO ham produced are closely
connected and, together with the production, economic and social development of the geographic area,
have produced unique connotations since the characteristics of the raw material are specific to the
defined geographic macro-area. In central-northern Italy, the breeding of heavy pigs for late slaughter
has developed over time from the Etruscan period to today, distinguishing the stages of pig breeding,
beginning with local and indigenous breeds, developing alongside environmental, social and economic
conditions — in particular cereal and dairy farming which are a core aspect of feeding practice — to
gradually culminate in the natural and univocal PDO product ‘Prosciutto di Parma’.

Within macro geographical defined area are small, restricted areas which, due to unique conditions and
the special skills of the local population, have developed as production areas of the PDO ham.

One of these areas is the area of production of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’, a small area in the Province of
Parma described in section C of the product specification. The location of this micro-area gives it its
characteristic and unique ecological, climate and environmental conditions due to the air from the sea
of Versilia which calms as it passes through the olive groves and pine belts in Val di Magra, dries as its
crosses the Apennine passes, acquiring the scent of chestnut groves and reaches the production area to
dry the ‘Prosciutti di Parma’, lending the hams their exclusive sweet aroma.

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It is thanks to the unique environmental conditions and the local people's specific skills that this area
has given rise to such a high quality product as ‘Prosciutto di Parma’.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name:

Istituto Parma Qualità

Address: via Roma, 82/b-c

Langhirano (Parma) (Italia)

Tel.:

Fax:

(39) 0521 86 40 77

(39) 0521 86 46 45

E-mail:

ipqsegretaria@libero.it

4.8. Labelling: The first identification aspect of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ that distinguishes it on the market,
although not part of the labelling, is the ‘duke's crown’ (heat-affixed mark reproducing the image of a
five-point crown accompanied by the wording ‘Parma’), the value of which is to qualify and identify
‘Prosciutto di Parma’, in the sense that it both identifies the product among other types of raw ham
and guarantees authenticity and that the product has undergone all the proper production stages, with
all stages identified by the bodies concerned.

Only the presence of the logo authorises the lawful use of the PDO. Products that do not bear the
‘duke's crown’ may not bear the designation on the labelling, packaging or sales documents or during
commercial transactions (whole, sliced and pre-packaged or at controlled retail marketing).

Regarding the labelling of ‘Prosciutto di Parma’, the following indications are obligatory:

— For whole ‘Prosciutto di Parma’, bone-on:

— ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ followed by ‘denominazione di origine protetta’; (protected designation of

origin);

— the site of production.

— For boned, packaged, whole or cut ‘Prosciutto di Parma’:

— ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ followed by ‘denominazione di origine protetta’; (protected designation of

origin);

— the site of packaging.

— the date of production, if the seal is no longer visible.

— For sliced, pre-packaged ‘Prosciutto di Parma’:

— packages display a section equal to 25 % of the surface of the upper section of the packages
made up of a triangle positioned at the top left-hand corner, with a black background, bearing
the ‘duke's crown’ logo and the wording:

— ‘prosciutto di Parma denominazione di origine protetta ai sensi della legge 13 Febbraio
1990, no 26 e del Reg. (CE) n. 1107/96’ (‘Prosciutto di Parma’ protection of designated
origin in accordance with Law No 26 of 13 February 1990, and Regulation (EC) No
1107/96);

— ‘confezionato sotto il controllo dell'Organismo autorizzato’ (packaged under the supervision

of the authorised body);

— the packaging site;

— the data of production (start date of ageing as shown on the seal).

The use of adjectives such as ‘classico’ (classic), ‘autentico’ (authentic), ‘extra’ (extra), ‘super’ (super) and
other such qualifications, mentions and attributions assigned to the marketed product and other indica-
tions that that are not specifically provided for in the product specification is prohibited, except for
‘disossato’ (boned) and ‘affettato’ (sliced).