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: 2009-03-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Burgundy, France, condiment, designation of origin, foodstuff, location of production, product designation, white wine

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Official Journal of the European Union

26.3.2009

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

(2009/C 72/10)

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

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘MOUTARDE DE BOURGOGNE’

EC No: FR-PGI-005-0503-25.10.2005

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

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

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (I.N.A.O.)

Address: 51, rue d'Anjou

75 008 Paris
FRANCE

Tel.

Fax

+33 153898000

+33 142255797

E-mail:

info@inao.gouv.fr

2.

Group:

Name:

Address:

Association Moutarde de Bourgogne (AMB)

AMB ARIA Bourgogne
4, Bd du Docteur Jean Veillet
21 000 Dijon
FRANCE

Tel.

Fax

+33 380288140

+33 380288169

E-mail:

laure.ohleyer@cote-dor.chambagri.fr

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( X )

3.

Type of product:

Class 2.6: Mustard paste

4.

Specification:

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

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

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4.1. Name:

‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’

4.2. Description:

‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’ is a strong or extra-strong mustard containing white wine. It is pale yellow
with a uniform, thick, creamy texture. It has the strong, characteristic smell of white Burgundy. The
taste is intensely sharp, with a strong flavour of white Burgundy.

4.2.1. Ingredients and author ised additives:

— mustard seeds produced and stored in Burgundy,

— liquid used in dilution: a mixture of water and white wine with a protected designation of origin,
produced in the Burgundy wine-growing region; the minimum proportion of wine is 25 %
during dilution. The wines used are dry white wines produced from the traditional Burgundy
grapes Aligoté and Chardonnay. They are noted for their powerful aroma and long finish,

— salt, sugar, spices and additives (those authorised by the 1995 European Directive on additives,
with the exception of artificial colouring agents, cereal flours and all other stabilisers and thick-
ening agents, natural and artificial mustard essences, and extract of or essential mustard oil).

4.2.2. Physico-chemical proper ties of ‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’:

— dry extract from seeds > or = 24 % in weight of the finished product,

— fats from the mustard seed > or = 9 % in weight of the finished product,

— the quantity of seed coat remaining in the paste is under 2 % of the total weight.

4.3.

Geographical area:

The production and storage of seeds and the production (processing) of mustard paste must be
carried out in the geographical production area. This area consists of the départements making up the
Burgundy region: Côte d'Or, Nièvre, Saône and Loire, and Yonne.

The geographical area was established on the basis of special local know-how in Burgundy in the
production of mustard seeds and wine, which are processed to produce a mustard paste that results
in a product with original characteristics (cf. paragraph 4.6).

The mustard seeds produced in Burgundy have special properties which have been recognised for
centuries. Charles Estienne, Francis I's physician, considered that the mustard produced in Burgundy
was of a superior quality because of the charlock used (common name for the mustard seed plant).
Charlock was grown in woods and in charcoal-burning clearings up until the Second World War.
Following the combustion of the charcoal in these clearings, the soil became rich in potassium and
very suitable for growing mustard (and producing seeds rich in mustard essence), which the charcoal-
burners sowed in March and harvested in August. In addition, the quite uniform, semi-continental
Burgundian climate is suited to mustard-growing. Mustard-growing does not require a lot of water.
Mustard plants flourish in places where there is a shortage of water and high temperatures. They do
not grow well in places where the weather is excessively damp at the end of spring. Following a
decline in mustard-growing lasting several decades, it was resumed in Burgundy on the initiative of
the industries producing mustard paste, the aim being to ensure a supply of good quality raw
materials and improve the quality of the finished product. This programme to resume mustard-
growing involves research bodies, the Côte d'Or Chamber of Agriculture, regional storage agencies,
farmers and processing companies. Varieties with specific characteristics were selected to satisfy the
special Burgundian soil and climate needs, and the quality requirements of the processing companies.

Within this area, a zone was chosen that was suitable for growing mustard seed. The zone was
defined in line with geological and soil criteria to ensure suitability for mustard-growing, therefore
acid brown soils and high-altitude brown soils with podzols were excluded. Mustard-growing tests
had shown that these soils had limited potential because of poor grain-filling and insufficient volatile
isothiocyanate content, making it impossible to obtain a typical mustard paste.

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4.4.

Proof of origin:

Traceability based on codified documents is assured throughout the process of producing Burgundy
mustard, from the plot where the plants are grown to the packaged mustard paste. The mustard
seeds are harvested only on the plots included in the growing area approved for the PGI. These plots
must comply with the selection criteria laid down in the production plan. The farmers supply their
products to storage agencies located in Burgundy. All operators involved in mustard seed production,
storage and processing are obliged to keep codified documents. Analytical tests are conducted on the
mustard seeds and paste during manufacture.

4.5. Method of production:

Only the seed varieties chosen by the Association Moutarde de Bourgogne (Burgundy mustard associa-
tion — AMB), which come from the species Brassica juncea (brown and white mustard) and Brassica
nigra, are authorised for mustard-seed growing. A production plan has been drawn up which covers
the areas under mustard plants, the selection of plots and the planting of mustard in the PGI zone.
When the seeds are harvested, they are delivered to a storage agency located in Burgundy which
looks after traceability and seed cleaning and storage.

The batches of seeds are then subject to approval, during which the following criteria are checked:

— Burgundian origin of the seeds and varieties chosen by the AMB,

— presence of green or immature seeds, which should not be more than 1,5 % (grades I and II),

— presence of foreign seeds: 0,3 % at most in the case of grade I, 0,5 % at most in the case of

grade II,

— absence of insects, mould and overheating

— size of the seeds: thousand-seed weight > 2,35 g (> 2 g in the case of exceptional climate

conditions),

— water and volatile materials: 4,2 % to 9 % mass,

— fats: 28 % to 42 % mass on a dry weight basis,

— volatile isothiocyanate: 0,7 % to 0,94 % mass on a dry weight basis,

— protein: 24,2 % to 30,8 % mass on a dry weight basis.

Following approval, the seeds are prepared and delivered to industries located in the geographical
area. The seeds are crushed and brought into contact with the dilution liquid (water + wine). The
wine used is a white wine with a protected designated origin produced in the Burgundy wine-
growing area. During this stage, the kernel is removed from the seed and an initial mustard paste is
produced. This paste is then sieved to remove the seed coats. The result is a pale yellow paste with a
uniform, thick, creamy texture, which is ‘de-aerated’. Then follows a rest period to allow the mustard
to develop a sharp taste. The paste is then stored and packaged.

4.6.

Link:

The link with geographic origin is based on ancient regional know-how, the traditional growing of
mustard seeds in Burgundy, a strong historic link between mustard and Burgundy wine-growing, and
an age-old reputation.

4.6.1. Specific quality

‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’, characterised by its intensely sharp taste, is obtained from mixing mustard
seeds grown and stored in Burgundy with a dilution liquid consisting of water, salt, sugar, spices and
at least 25 % of dry white wine made from traditional Burgundy grapes. These white wines have a
characteristic powerful aroma and long finish, giving ‘moutarde de Bourgogne’
its strong, typical
smell and pronounced white Burgundy wine flavour, which distinguish it from other mustards. The
dry extract from the seeds must be higher than 24 %, while the fats must be higher than 9 %.

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4.6.2 Reputation

There are close historic ties between Burgundy and mustard. It is said that a large cask (206,75 l) of
mustard was consumed in 1336 at a feast organised at Rouvres by Duke Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy,
in honour of Philippe VI. Back in the 16th century, statutes were laid down to define the mustard-
makers' guild (the statutes of Dijon date from 1634 and those of Beaune from 1647). Up until the
19th century, mustard was manufactured in small workshops. Then the industrial revolution began
to affect the mustard industry. Burgundy manufacturers rivalled one another in ingenuity, for instance
Mr Grey, a Dijon mustard manufacturer, who had a machine which significantly increased produc-
tivity patented in 1850 by the Académie des Arts, Sciences et Belles Lettres. Between 1750 and 1984,
there were 263 mustard manufacturers. Such density was unknown in any other French region.

Mustard-seed growing in Burgundy also has a long history as can be seen from the fact that Francis
I's physician, Charles Estienne, considered that the mustard produced in Burgundy was of a high
quality because of the mustard plant ‘which grew better there than in any other region’.

Wine and mustard are closely linked. In 1911, A. Berthiot thought that the reputation of mustard
was due to the quality of the manufacturing process which, he said, involved crushing the finest
seeds and mixing in a special Burgundy liquid, verjuice, which was a kind of very sour wine obtained
from pressing white grapes that were not completely ripe. When the plants producing these grapes
were destroyed by phylloxera, the manufacturers turned to little acidic white wines, which later disap-
peared and were replaced by wine produced from quality vines that had been grafted. Replacing
vinegar with white wine made it possible to typify the mustard organoleptically.

Mustard-makers began to use the designation ‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’ very early on. For instance,
(Burgundy mustard, superior extra-
the trademark ‘Moutarde de Bourgogne, extra-blanche supérieure’
white) was registered with Sens court (89)
in 1891, while in 1903, the trade name ‘Moutarde
Jacquemart au pur verjus de Bourgogne’ (Jacquemart mustard with pure Burgundy verjuice) was registered
with Dijon court. In addition to the use of the designation, the fact that the brand names chosen
referred to Burgundy and its history indicates the well-established reputation of Burgundy mustard,
for instance in names such as ‘Jean-sans-Peur’, ‘Téméraire’, ‘Moutarde à la cuillère de la Belle Bourguignonne’
and ‘La Bourguignonne’.

4.6.3. Human factors and specif ic know-how

There was extensive mustard-seed growing in Burgundy up until the Second World War. After 1945,
the mustard industries tried to keep production in the region. To this end, the mustard manufacturers'
association published a brochure on mustard-plant growing. However, these initiatives were under-
mined by competition from other oil and fibre plants and on the world market.

It was not until the start of the 1990s that mustard-seed growing was resumed to a significant
extent. At that point in time, the entire sector shared the same concerns:

— the manufacturers were attempting to diversify their sources of supply and to gain some control
over the quality of the production and raw materials. In order to do this, they wanted to influence
the development of seeds so as to improve the quality of the finished product,

— the farmers were endeavouring to diversify their products and to develop them on a regional

basis.

A steering committee was established, therefore, to oversee the resumption of this activity:

— the Dijon Etablissement National d'Enseignement Supérieur Agronomique (national agricultural training
institute) and the Institut national de recherche agronomique pour la recherche génétique (national insti-
tute of agricultural genetic research), which focused on improving productivity and ensuring the
specific quality of seeds to meet the criteria laid down by the AMB,

— the Côte d'Or Chamber of Agriculture, which was engaged in applied research and

experimentation,

— regional storage agencies, concentrating on logistics, and seed harvesting and packaging,

— the farmers, who tested in the field the references established in the experimental stations and

grew sufficient quantities of seeds to enable manufacturers to conduct manufacturing trials,

— the French federation of prepared-meat industries, prepared-food suppliers and meat processers,
and industries involved in various manufacturing trials: pilot, semi-industrial and industrial tests.

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As a result of this cooperation, it was possible to reference two varieties for the PGI approach.

Production expanded as this research got under way, rising from approximately 350 ha in 1993
to 1 230 ha in 2003.

4.7.

Inspection body:

Name:

CERTIPAQ

Address: 44, rue La Quintinie
75015 Paris
FRANCE

Tel.

Fax

+33 145309292

+33 145309300

E-mail:

certipaq@certipaq.com

4.8.

Labelling:

The label must include the following indications:

— name under which product is sold: ‘Moutarde de Bourgogne’,

— PGI logo.