Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2013-08-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Aragon, Spain, consumer information, designation of origin, foodstuff, meat product, product designation








C_2013242EN.01001701.xml










23.8.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 242/17





Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
2013/C 242/04
This publication confers the right to object to the amendment application in accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).
AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006


on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
 (2)


AMENDMENT APPLICATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 9


‘JAMÓN DE TERUEL’/‘PALETA DE TERUEL’


EC No: ES-PDO-0217-0987-10.04.2012


PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Heading in the specification affected by the amendment








—


☒


Name of product




—


☒


Description




—


☒


Geographical area




—


☒


Proof of origin




—


☒


Method of production




—





Link




—


☒


Labelling




—





National requirements




—





Other




2.   Type of amendment








—


☒


Amendment to Single Document or Summary Sheet




—





Amendment to Specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the Single Document nor the Summary has been published




—





Amendment to Specification that requires no amendment to the published Single Document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)




—





Temporary amendment to Specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)




3.   Amendments

3.1.   Name

‘Jamón de Teruel’/‘Paleta de Teruel’
The name of the product is amended to include a reference to ‘Paleta’, as a product covered by the protection, to clearly show the nature of the specific products covered.
The name ‘Paleta de Teruel’ is a name traditionally used by consumers when requesting the product and its inclusion in the protected designation of origin merely recognises this. The fact that its use is widespread obliges producers to market this product under names referring to its origin, because its inclusion guarantees the authenticity of the products covered that are entitled to bear this designation.
There are numerous documents that support the widespread use of the name ‘Paleta de Teruel’ as a distinct product. Abundant references to this exist, some of which are attached to this document as supporting material, in various contexts:






—


historical,










—


commercial,










—


informative,










—


research projects.




3.2.   Description of the product

The ‘paleta’ or cured shoulder (from the forelegs of the pig) is included alongside the ‘jamón’ or cured ham (from the hind legs). As mentioned already, the cured shoulder is traditionally produced from the foreleg of the pig. The quality characteristics of the shoulder are similar to those of the ham in every respect, the sole difference being the size and weight of the cut, which is considerably less. Accordingly, the specification sets out the differences between the two products in the total processing time and in the time needed for some of the obligatory steps, which is less for the shoulder. This is for the simple reason that its smaller size mean that the salting, post-salting, curing (drying and maturation) and ageing processes take less time. The inclusion of cured shoulder in the specification does no more than follow the pattern already established for other protected designations of origin for cured ham in Spain (Guijuelo, Dehesa de Extremadura, Huelva/Jabugo and Los Pedroches), which received their PDOs after ‘Jamón de Teruel’.
The reference to the livestock used to obtain the product is removed from this section of the specifications, because it is already described in the relevant section on production.
With the aim of clarification and simplification, the paragraph referring to medicinal feedstuffs or treatment is deleted, because it does not provide any element of justification for the product description.
The cured hams and shoulders covered by the Protected Designation of Origin ‘Jamón de Teruel’/‘Paleta de Teruel’ are meat products obtained by subjecting pig forelegs and hind legs to a process of salting, cleaning, post-salting, curing (drying and maturation) and ageing. This better complies with the specification for which amendments are now requested, with a clear description of the steps that lead to products of the required quality.
Some somewhat imprecise wording such as ‘Weight: between 8 and 9 kg, and in no case less than 7 kg’ is replaced by more definitive wording ‘Weight: greater than or equal to 7 kg for hams and 4,5 kg for cured shoulders, at the end of the established minimum production time’.
The reference to the ‘V-shaped cut’ with its vertex in the middle of the thickest part of the cured shoulder or leg of ham is amended to more accurately specify the fact that the cut is in the shape of a ‘V’, which is always made in the vertex in the thickest part of the ham but that, depending on the shape of the ham, may not always be in the midpoint of the femur.
3.3.   Geographical area

The specification for which amendments are now requested refers to the geographical area for processing, in three of its sections:






 


Section C: ‘The production area consists of the municipalities in the province of Teruel which are located 800 m or more above sea level.’










 


Section E: ‘… where they are hung in humidity and temperature conditions … 800 m or more above sea level.’










 


Section F.3.b): ‘The hams mature in excellent climatic conditions, 800 m or more above sea level.’




This amendment now moves the criteria for the final stage and for the curing facility into one section, bringing together the references to the area where processing takes place.
Furthermore, given that the specification for which amendments are now requested does not establish the method for determining either the altitude of the municipality or the altitude of the curing facility, the current wording establishes a method accurate enough to calculate the absolute altitude which should apply to facilities which are entered in the PDO registers. However, given that some facilities registered under the not very accurate methods of calculating altitude which were used to date, a margin of tolerance should be applied here, though this margin should not be more than 6 %, which would be equivalent to a margin of 48 m. It should be noted that in the troposphere, that is in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the temperature falls by an average of 0,65 °C with every 100 m of altitude gain, which — applying the tolerance margin — would equate to allowing facilities with an average temperature of 0,31 °C higher than the temperature at the 800 metre limit. The admission of this variation, imperceptible in the production process, would avoid excluding from the PDO facilities that are already registered which have produced products covered by it whose characteristics meet all the quality requirements established by the specification.
Likewise, it is specified that the animals are raised, slaughtered and butchered in the province of Teruel, thereby ensuring they meet the applicable animal welfare requirements.
3.4.   Proof of origin

Following the new regulation on the control structure and the form in which the product is certified, the paragraphs worded in such a way as to make checking compliance confusing and ambiguous are deleted from Section D. At the same time, the references to the Regulatory Board are removed from all those paragraphs where they could be ambiguous and replaced by the words ‘the inspection body’.
Specifically, with respect to the following aspects:






 


the second paragraph, (a) Product characteristics (only consumers from the area or those most used to buying it could identify the product, so its origin has to be guaranteed), is deleted, since the characteristics of the product endorsed by the DOP make it a characteristic product and not one which is just differentiated by a label;










 


point 8 under (c) on the checks and certification referring to the analysis of the final product is deleted, because the product characteristics are checked throughout the production process;










 


the content of the tag used to identify the animals has been amended; it now features the code of the farm that the animal came from (compulsory official identification) — this change should improve animal welfare by avoiding double tagging for official identification and for the protected designation of origin (PDO).




3.5.   Method of production







(a)


To further clarify and simplify the specification, the paragraphs that do not provide any element of justification for the method of producing the product or which are already included in their corresponding section are deleted.










(b)


The specification establishes that, for obtaining the product, the type of animal from which the hind legs can be obtained must be the product of a cross between:






 


Dam: Landrace, Large White or cross of the two breeds;










 


Sire: Duroc.




The paternal line is restricted to the Duroc breed for reasons of product homogeneity, thereby reducing the variations in cross-breeds and considerably improving the product quality.
The gradual improvements introduced by the Spanish herd book for these breeds has led to an evolution in the herd’s feed efficiency and growth rate, meaning that animals reach the slaughter weight at a lower age.










(c)


Likewise, the feeding on the livestock farms is deemed to add value to the product quality, and so the pig feed is essentially composed of cereals with a minimum of 50 % cereal content in the percentages of raw material in the feed.
Furthermore, in October 2007, the European Commission requested additional information (on the origin and quality of the feed) as a result of the request to amend the specification of the PDO sent in 2005.
On 12 September 2008, the summary sheet for the PDO was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, Section 4.6 (Link) of which included the following text: ‘95 % of the feed is produced in mills located in the same geographical area, thereby guaranteeing the origin of most of the raw materials used’, wording which had been sent to the Commission in reply to its request for further information; and on 20 April 2009, this text was approved with the publication of Commission Regulation (EC) No 324/2009 of 20 April 2009 approving a non-minor amendment to the specification for a name entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Jamón de Teruel (PDO)).
With regard to this statement that 95 % of the feed must be produced in factories in the province of Teruel, note should be taken of the following:






—


the traditional system for the production of the feed destined for the PDO is not strictly limited to the province of Teruel, but extends to other neighbouring areas,










—


this should not adversely affect feed producers who, being situated in areas close to or bordering the province of Teruel, acquire a large part of their cereal in Teruel and have for some time been supplying feed to a large group of farmers intended for the pigs that produce the meat covered by the PDO,










—


limiting the production of feed entirely to the province of Teruel could cause logistical problems,










—


the provision of feed from factories located in areas that are close to the province of Teruel but not part of it, such as those in neighbouring provinces, could lead to savings in production costs for certain PDO producers, while at the same time ensuring that as far as possible the feed producers should source their cereals from the production area for logistical reasons to optimise supply and logistics.




Taking all these considerations into account, an extension of the feed production area to the provinces bordering the province of Teruel, specifically Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Valencia, Castellón and Tarragona, is requested.
However, as far as possible, this cereal component should still come from the production area. There should be no need to establish a specific value, since its availability is governed by the variability of production due to the climatic conditions and the temporary nature of its production. The inspection body will be responsible for evaluating the compositions and origins of the raw material to verify this availability, on the basis of the production data.










(d)


New requirements are incorporated, which better define the process in line with the technological developments that have been made, such that:
only cuts from pig carcasses with a warm carcass weight of at least 86 kg and a back fat thickness — measured in the lumbar region at the tip of the hind leg — of between 16 mm and 45 mm, can be used for the production of cured hams and shoulders protected by the PDO;
this more accurately specifies the type of pig used to produce this product and, while it corresponds to a pig with a live weight of around 115–130 kg, this requirement as such is removed along with the age requirement for the pig, reference to which does not accurately guarantee the homogeneity of the pigs for slaughter, and these requirements are replaced by the requirement on minimum weight and back fat thickness measured in the lumbar region and not the fourth rib, as this is a less specific characteristic.










(e)


Before being slaughtered the animals are stunned using all the officially accepted methods, including electric shocks.










(f)


Other changes to the wording of the sections corresponding to the production method are made solely in the intention of improving their wording and understanding which, in any case, if they affect the product quality at all do so in such a way as to improve it or better ensure its homogeneity. These changes only affect the specification and not the summary sheet which is not changed in these respects.










(g)


The production process is described more clearly and precisely, distinguishing between the steps and conditions for processing hams and shoulders.
Firstly, it is established that the process would have to consist of five operations: salting, cleaning, post-salting, curing (drying and maturation) and ageing. This is an improvement by separately defining the phases that lead to obtaining products of the required quality.






—


Salting: The distinction between hams and shoulders is established on the basis of the weights of these cuts. Since the penetration of salt in the tissues depends on the muscle mass of each piece of meat, for improved process control the operators work on the basis of weight, because calculating the time needed for salting on the basis of the weight of the cuts is more accurate than establishing a maximum number of days as an absolute value.










—


Standing or post-salting: The difference between hams and shoulders is not just established on the basis of the weight of these cuts, but also the minimum requirements for ensuring the correct stability of these products throughout the process, allowing the maximum times to be set by the processor so they can be adapted for the subsequent drying and maturation phase.










—


Curing (drying and maturation): The requested amendment would make it possible to make corrections, when necessary, for changes in the natural environmental conditions necessary for ideal curing conditions through the possible use of suitable equipment to maintain the appropriate degree of humidity. This equipment should not change the environmental conditions but rather facilitate the reproduction of those conditions throughout the facility to homogenise these conditions and ensure that the conditions are the same for the entire product.
The purpose of the mechanical equipment, mentioned since the 1996 inclusion of the designation in the list of registered PDO-PGI designations, is to standardise humidity conditions throughout the facility where the product is processed. The dimensions of the drying facility require internal recirculation of air which is done using the aforementioned equipment with functions for the drive, extraction, recirculation or containment of the air, used at any time of the curing and ageing process, as long as this homogenisation of the environmental conditions is required, while preserving the characteristics of the product at all times.
This is only intended to recover that permitted by the legislation governing the designation of origin before the entry into force of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs. Thus, Article 17 of the Order of the Department of Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Forestry approving the Regulation on the ‘Jamón de Teruel’ designation of origin and its Regulatory Body states that the drying facilities may be fitted with equipment suitable for maintaining the appropriate degree of humidity.
The entry into force on 24 July 1993 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 required a specification and summary sheet to be drawn up for each PDO/PGI registered and protected by each Member State. In January 1994, the National Institute for Denominations of Origin (autonomous body reporting to the Spanish government) sent the European Commission a specification and summary sheet for the ‘Jamón de Teruel’ designation of origin. These documents do not quote the aforementioned Article 17 of the Regulation approved by the Order of 29 July 1993 verbatim, but rather state: ‘Drying: This operation is done in natural drying facilities, controlling the ventilation to create optimum relative humidity and temperature conditions.’
The specification and the summary sheet sent to the European Commission coexisted lawfully with the Regulation approved by the Order of 29 July 1993 until that Regulation was repealed by the Order of 6 February 2009 of the Regional Minister for Agriculture and Food approving the specific rules on the protected designation of origin ‘Jamón de Teruel’. The conditions for obtaining ‘Jamón de Teruel’ included in the specifications published as Annex I to the latter Order were worded the same way as those in the specification sent to the European Commission in 1994 in order to eliminate any discrepancies in standards, although this entailed omitting the reference to the ‘equipment suitable for maintaining the appropriate degree of humidity.’
In view of the above, the reference to the possible use, where necessary, of mechanical means of ventilation should be reinstated, to maintain the natural environmental conditions required for the proper and homogeneous curing of the entire product in the drying facility.










—


Ageing: This is laid down as a separate phase to ensure the development of the aroma and flavour, as well as the change in texture, as a result of the biochemical maturation. It should be emphasised that this phase is necessary to obtain a quality product, because ageing is a slower process than curing.
The minimum processing time is an aggregate of every stage of the processing, both for the hams and the shoulders. The minimum times (60 weeks for ham and 36 weeks for shoulders) ensure that quality products are obtained in every case. For ham, the proposed change would increase the total time required from the 12 months currently required to the 60 weeks proposed. This is a substantial increase which would undoubtedly improve the quality of the PDO product ‘Jamón de Teruel’.
These time requirements would leave the producers free to decide how to distribute this time between the curing and ageing phases, to adapt to the different climate conditions of the various curing facilities.
For all the specific requirements in the production process, criteria are established for compliance with respect to their minimum values, because these have a decisive impact on the product quality.














(h)


The option is included of selling the cured hams and shoulders, deboned, packaged into portions or slices, for those drying or packaging facilities that meet the requirements established in the specification and pass the established checks and certification process. This is no more than an adaptation to the needs of the market, which was not previously regulated and which has developed because of the diversification of our consumer society.




3.6.   Labelling

In the same way as for the ham, the cured shoulder will be identified, once the production process is complete and it has fulfilled the requirements established, and heat-branded with the name ‘TERUEL’ and the eight-point star, as well as the numbered label (seal) bearing the PDO logo.
More detail is provided on the ‘heat-branded logo’ which identifies the cuts of hams and shoulders, specifying that this includes the word ‘TERUEL’ and the eight-point star.
Likewise, the identification of the products is qualified, using the term ‘numbered label’ or (etiqueta (vitola) numerada) for the packaging of the whole cured shoulder or ham (de-boned or not) and numbered secondary label (contraetiqueta numerada) for the packaging of portions of the cured hams or shoulders.
The word ‘bands’ is removed because it is only the means of affixing the label. These days the label is affixed to a ‘brida’ (‘flange’ or ‘bridle’) and in future a more technologically advanced system which is more effective for affixing the label may be used.
The introduction of a new way of affixing the numbered secondary label on to the boned, portioned or sliced packages indicating their ‘integration of the content of this numbered secondary label in the commercial label’ meets the technological criteria for packaging seals, the speed of processing of which cannot later be drastically reduced in the process of applying the secondary labels.
SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006


on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
 (3)


‘JAMÓN DE TERUEL’/‘PALETA DE TERUEL’


EC No: ES-PDO-0217-0987-10.04.2012


PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Name

‘Jamón de Teruel’/‘Paleta de Teruel’
2.   Member State or Third Country

Spain
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Product type







Class 1.2.


Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)




3.2.   Description of product to which the name in point 1 applies

‘Jamón de Teruel’ and ‘Paleta de Teruel’ are meat products obtained by submitting pig forelegs and hind legs to a process of salting, cleaning, post-salting, curing (drying and maturation) and ageing.

Morphological characteristics

The cured hams and shoulders have:






(a)


Form: long, trimmed and rounded at the edges up to the muscle, with the trotter attached. May be completely covered with rind or trimmed by means of a V-shaped cut with its vertex in the middle of the thickest part of the cured shoulder or leg of ham.










(b)


Weight: greater than or equal to 7 kg for hams and 4,5 kg for cured shoulders, at the end of the established minimum production time.





Organoleptic characteristics

The outer surface of the cuts may be covered in typical mould, or clean and coated in oil or fat. The cut surface has the following characteristics:






(a)


Colour: Red and shiny when cut, with partial fat infiltration in the muscle tissue;










(b)


Meat: subtle taste, not very salty;










(c)


Fat: greasy consistency, shiny, yellowish-white colour, aromatic and pleasant-tasting.




3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only)

The pigs suitable for producing the cured hams and shoulders covered by this designation are obtained from crosses between:






 


Dam: Landrace, Large White or a cross of the two breeds;










 


Sire: Duroc.




Only pigs born and fattened in farms in the province of Teruel and slaughtered and butchered in facilities that are also in the province of Teruel can provide hind legs and forelegs intended for producing the protected cured hams and shoulders.
The animals used for breeding are not used to provide hind legs and forelegs for the production of cured hams and shoulders covered by the designation of origin.
The males are castrated before entering the fattening farm and the females are not in oestrus at the time of slaughter.
Only cuts from pig carcasses with a warm carcass weight of at least 86 kg and a back fat thickness — measured in the lumbar region at the tip of the hind leg — of between 16 mm and 45 mm can be used for the production of cured hams and shoulders covered by the designation of origin.
3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The producers of compound feedstuffs for feeding the pigs covered by the PDO must be based within the geographical area of the province of Teruel or its neighbouring provinces, namely Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Valencia, Castellón and Tarragona.
The animal feed is composed essentially of cereals, with a set minimum of 50 % cereal content in the percentages of raw material in the feed, which should as far as possible come from the production area.
The inspection body will be responsible for evaluating the compositions and origins of the raw material to verify this availability, on the basis of the production data.
3.5.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

Steps in the production area:






—


Animal production










—


Slaughter and butchering of animals.




Steps in the processing area:






—


Salting










—


Cleaning










—


Post-salting










—


Curing










—


Ageing.




3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

The inspection body, on a non-discriminatory basis, authorises the sales of cured shoulder and ham, deboned, in portions and in slices — all packaged — by those registered drying and packaging facilities in the processing area provided they meet the requirements established in the specification and pass the established checks and certification process.
The limitation of the processing and subsequent packaging of these products to the processing area follows strict technical criteria to guarantee the product quality is retained, as this could change if the conditions for storage and handling are changed.
3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling

The commercial labels of each registered company must bear the words: Protected designation of origin ‘Jamón de Teruel’ or ‘Paleta de Teruel’, as appropriate for each product.
The whole cuts of hams and shoulders for sale must be identified with the word ‘TERUEL’ and the eight-point star heat-branded into them, as well as the numbered label (seal) bearing the PDO logo. These labels must be applied within the industry, always in such a way that they cannot be reused.
The packaged deboned cuts, portions or slices of the hams and cured shoulders must bear a numbered secondary label with the words ‘Jamón’ or ‘Paleta’, as appropriate, and the PDO logo.
The content of this numbered secondary label may be integrated into the commercial label of those companies who request authorisation for this.
These activities related to the correct use of the words ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ and the word ‘TERUEL’ must not be applied on a discriminatory basis. Labels and secondary labels must be issued automatically to any product shown to comply with the specification, on the basis of the reports prepared by the regulatory body which undertakes the certification activities, thereby ensuring that no operators are discriminated against in these activities.
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area consists of the province of Teruel.
The production area for cured hams and shoulders is composed of those municipalities of the province of Teruel situated at an average altitude of 800 m or higher, although the drying facilities must be situated at an altitude of at least 800 m above sea level. The average altitude is measured using ‘digital terrain model’ (DTM) or other such technology and the absolute altitude of the drying facility is measured using the Aragón Territorial Information System (Sistema de Información Territorial de Aragón — SITAR) or other such system, with a 6 % margin of tolerance in both cases.
5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

The excellent quality of the product ‘Jamón de Teruel’/‘Paleta de Teruel’ is mainly due to the conditions in which the animals are kept before, during and after slaughter, but we must distinguish between the geographical area where the animals are reared, slaughtered and butchered, hereinafter the ‘production area’, and the geographical area for processing the hams and cured shoulders, hereinafter the ‘processing area’.

Natural factors

The processing area for the hams and cured shoulders is characterised by its continental climate with Mediterranean influences, and with long, cold winters and heavy frosts in the highlands. The climate is dry, with lots of cloudless days. Annual precipitation is around 400 mm, with about 70 rainy days a year.
The annual average temperature is 12 °C, with an average absolute maximum temperature of 37 °C and average absolute minimum of – 10 °C. The difference between the average summer and winter temperatures is 19 °C. The frost-free period between May and October creates conditions favourable to the meat industry.
The hams and shoulders mature in the excellent climatic conditions of the geographical processing area, with a dry, cold climate — ideal parameters for obtaining high-calibre hams and shoulders.

Human factors

The Spanish naturalist, lawyer and historian, Jordan de Asso, made specific references in his work on the history of Aragón's economic policy, ‘Historia de la Economía Política de Aragón’ (1798), to ‘the pigs raised in Abarracín, highly prized for their delicacy. These animals greatly love the leaves of the asphodel (Aspholedus ramosus), and they are dried for fodder in the winter.’ Despite the small number of animals and the high slaughter weight achieved through fattening, the ‘domestic’ pig was a veritable treasure in rural households, forming the basis of peasant families’ diets in Teruel throughout the entire year. These pigs were the raw animal material which, with their special diet and the fact that they happened to be fed on acorns, together with the cold and dry climate of the Jiloca, Albarracín, Gúdar and Maestrazgo highlands, allowed a solid tradition of high-quality meats, hams and pork shoulders to develop. Obviously, those animals have disappeared, but the expertise and know-how of numerous artisan farmers has survived through their experience handed down in breeding these animals to retain the characteristics of those races (the Molina Celtic origin breed and Morella Iberian breed which has the best tendency to gain fat), allowing this high-calibre meat tradition from the past to be preserved.
An essential characteristic of this designation that must undoubtedly be highlighted is the know-how to emulate past experience in breeding suitable animals from the Landrace, Large White and Duroc breeds. This suitable pig is the product of a cross between the aforementioned breeds to benefit from the hybrid strength. Its morphological characteristics are largely due to the selection criteria applied to its progenitors.
Obviously, all this shared knowledge is enhanced by the expertise of those operators who slaughter the pigs, which must not only have a carcass weight of at least 86 kg but also the right level of back fat thickness, measured at the point of the half-carcass, to be accepted for processing into a PDO product. With regard to the butchering, emphasis will again be placed on the expertise on how to separate or cut without breaking the hind leg or the foreleg, to bleed the animal, remove the excess skin, transfer to the drying facility and classify the cuts, based on their weight and internal temperature, so as to obtain homogeneous products which can be accepted by the processors, it being known that those pieces with fat cover and without lesions are those that will be used to produce the product.
The expertise in the practice of salting, leaving the salt to remain in contact with the cuts for between 0,65 and 1 day per kilogram of fresh weight of the hind leg or foreleg, has been handed down to the present day, allowing the ham to develop a palatable, delicate and slightly salty flavour. Likewise, the understanding of the processing area's local climate has made this salting practice possible.
The varied geography of Teruel has produced numerous old and traditional recipes. In their gastronomic treatises, two ethnologists and gastronomes, professor Antonio Beltrán and José Manuel Porquet, mention recipes representative of the province of Teruel that include ‘Jamón de Teruel’ as an ingredient: ‘Teruel garlic soup’, with diced ham and ‘Teruel-style ham with tomato’. Lastly, let us not forget the ‘regañaos’ commonly eaten at the ‘Vaquilla del Ángel’ festival in Teruel — a dough base rubbed with oil and covered in slices of ham and red pepper, oven-roasted or pan-fried.
5.2.   Specificity of the product







—


The Duroc breed is characterised by its optimum growth rate, great hardiness, good prolificacy and high yields. The meat of this breed has a high fat content, which makes it possible to obtain high-quality meat.










—


The Landrace is an above-average animal in terms of size and length, making it a good source of meat for the designation of origin. This breed stands out for its excellent shape, high daily growth rate, high feed efficiency and back fat thickness.










—


The Large White breed is a very adaptable, hardy, fecund and fertile breed with decent growth and technical gain rates and excellent quality meat, defined primarily by its succulence, texture, shape and colour.




The positive influence of the Duroc breed, as well as the special type of cereal-based feed, complemented by a high carcass weight, have defined and refined the expertise of numerous artisan farmers from the past. It is the experience that they have handed down, together with modern technology, that make it possible to obtain the quality of products such as ‘Jamón de Teruel’ and ‘Paleta de Teruel’.
The fundamental qualitative characteristics that distinguish these from other similar products are already apparent in the fresh cuts that are to be cured, which have:






—


slightly higher pH and slower rate of decomposition










—


darker colouring










—


greater ‘water-retention capacity’










—


greater ‘succulence’










—


higher level of intramuscular fat (greater % of intramuscular fat)










—


less saturated fat










—


smoother texture and more ‘tender’ meat (fattier and more succulent)










—


better adapted for conservation and maturation.




As for the processed product, it is characterised by being less salty and with a more pronounced ‘cured’ flavour, as described in point 3.2.
5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

For the processing of meat products, it is necessary that the raw material be submitted to a series of conservation techniques, which essentially means salting and dehydrating, with the aim of stabilising the microbiological properties of the end product. The geographical conditions of altitude above sea level, precipitation, ambient temperatures in the processing area, together with the traditions handed down from generation to generation, give these products their special organoleptic properties, notably:






—


their delicate flavour, with a minimum salt content due to the type of salting used, namely piling the cuts with dry salt in very low temperatures for the minimum time required for the right amount of salt to penetrate,










—


standing the pieces after salting, also in very low temperatures,










—


the red colour and brilliant appearance of the cut, due to the mild ambient temperatures during the drying process. a drying process which emulates the typical climate in the province of Teurel, generally fresh and average-to-low humidity, which allows for slow, well-balanced drying; this, in turn, makes the maturation intense, allowing a great aroma and flavour to develop, along with a smooth and easily chewable texture (the intramuscular fat favours this process of slow drying and intense maturation),










—


the handling in the final phases of maturation and ageing which increase the proteolytic and lipolytic enzyme activity, thereby refining and complementing the aromas, flavours and textures of both the lean and the fat,










—


greasy consistency, brilliant white-yellowish colour, aromatic and palatable taste, due to: the ideal genotype of the pigs by including sires from the Duroc breed in the paternal line, the high cereal content in the feed given to the animals and the high slaughter weights of the animals which allow the meat to be ‘neither young nor old’ at this point, with the right level of intramuscular fat.




All of these characteristics of this product make it special and distinguish it from similar products, as a result of the natural factors and human input described in point 5.1.

Reference to the publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (4))
http://www.aragon.es/estaticos/GobiernoAragon/Departamentos/AgriculturaGanaderiaMedioAmbiente/AgriculturaGanaderia/Areas/08_Calidad_Agroalimentaria/jamon_de_teruel_11_2012.pdf


(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3)  Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(4)  See footnote 3.