Publication of an 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: 2015-01-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Germany, consumer information, designation of origin, foodstuff, product designation, sea fish








C_2015002EN.01000701.xml










7.1.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 2/7





Publication of an 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
(2015/C 2/04)
This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).
SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006


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


‘GLÜCKSTÄDTER MATJES’


EC No: DE-PGI-0005-01112 – 17.5.2013


PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name


‘Glückstädter Matjes’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Germany
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1   Type of product

Class 1.7 — Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans and products derived therefrom.
3.2.   Description of product to which the name in 1 applies:

‘Glückstädter Matjes’ (soused herrings) are mostly produced from filleted, but also unfilleted, mildly salted herrings (Clupea harengus) which have ripened on the bone due to enzymes in the body of the herring itself; the preparation is traditionally carried out by hand. The fillets are shiny and silvery-brown in colour — the topside silvery due to the skin and the underside with reddish markings due to having been ripened on the bone. Depending on the size and weight of the herrings used, the fillets weigh between 30 g and 50 g and are between 14 cm and 17 cm long. ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ fillets are mainly eaten cold and are soft and tender; they have an atypical, characteristic and aromatic taste of cold, fresh but not raw fish with a mild saltiness. ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are marketed to consumers, restaurants and retailers as fresh, refrigerated fillets. However, fishmongers and restaurant owners also buy them whole and fillet them on site.
3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only)

‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are produced exclusively from herrings (Clupea harengus). The herrings used as raw materials for ‘matjes’ are traditionally caught in the central and northern North Sea. They are deep-frozen immediately after being caught.
The herrings are caught between the end of May and the beginning of July when, due to their natural life-cycle, they have sufficient fat to be processed as ‘matjes’ but have no visible signs of milt or roe.
3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)

—
3.5.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

Gutting, ripening and subsequent processing into ‘matjes’ fillets must take place in the geographical area.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

—
3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling

—
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The town of Glückstadt in Schleswig-Holstein.
5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

Glückstadt is a port on the lower Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein.
‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are a product with a long tradition. The specific production method, carried out by hand (ripening on the bone using only salt and the fish's own enzymes, removal of the skin and bones and finishing the fillet), is part of the local tradition of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ and is essential for its product characteristics.
This tradition began in 1893 with the establishment of herring fishing in Glückstadt. On 15 July 1894 the town's first herring boat, the ‘Tümmler’, returned to port after eight weeks with 150 barrels (‘kantjes’) of salt herring (Detjens, Willy: Unserem lieben Professor Detlefsen zum Gedächtnis, in: 64. Jahresbericht der Vereinigung ehemaliger Primaner des Gymnasiums zu Glückstadt von 1887, Glückstadt 1957, p. 4, lines 52 ff.). Further proof of this tradition is the presentation on 21 June 1957 of a small barrel of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ to the then Federal President, Theodor Heuss, during the ‘Matjes Day’ festival held there to celebrate Germany's herring fishing fleet (Kaufholz, Heinz: ‘Ein Fässchen “Glückstädter Matjes” für Heuss’, in: Glückstädter Monatsspiegel, edition of June 2008, p. 15).
The maintenance of this traditional handicraft in Glückstadt and the local producers' refusal to use machinery or ripening, colouring, flavouring or conservation aids is what gives ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ their special quality.
5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are produced by hand using only herrings and salt, after removal of the innards not required for enzymatic ripening, and without any other ingredients to aid ripening. The ‘round’ (ungutted) herrings are caught during the few weeks of the annual fishing season and immediately deep-frozen, thus enabling the local producers to process them into fresh ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ all year round. The herrings are thawed out. During gutting or severing of the head, the innards are removed in such a way that the pancreas and its enzymes are left in the gut area and the pyloric appendages. The gutted herrings are then placed into barrels with only the addition of salt; the fish's own enzymes and bones are what ripen them into ‘matjes’. The bones are removed and the fish are filleted by hand. The flavour and consistency of these ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ fillets are different to industrially-made ‘matjes’ and similar products. They have a strongly aromatic flavour and a clearly mild saltiness. ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ fillets have a soft and tender consistency, without being too soft, and characteristic reddish marking — due to ripening on the bone — on the underside of the fillets. ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ fillets are mainly eaten in a bread roll, on rye bread or as a meal with various accompaniments and sauces.
‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are well known at least in north Germany and have a special reputation based on their origin and the fact that they are still produced in the same way. Their special reputation is thus based on the decades-long tradition of ‘matjes’ production in the geographical area. They achieved their present high degree of popularity as a result of the ‘Glückstädter Matjeswochen’ — a four-day festival — which takes place each June and which was initiated in 1968 by the then mayor Dr Manfred Bruhn (Kaufholz, Heinz, op. cit. and ‘Heringsfang, harte Knochenarbeit’, in: Glückstädter Monatsspiegel, edition of June 2005, p. 7). This festival's opening ceremony is attended not only by visitors from Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower Saxony, but also by ‘matjes’ enthusiasts from other parts of Germany. Competitions held during the ‘Matjeswochen’ have led to a great number of dishes and recipes for the preparation of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’.
‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are sold as a speciality, mainly in food stores in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower Saxony. More and more are also sent the year round to restaurants and private households. The great popularity and repute of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ were proven in a representative consumer poll held in 2008 (Dr Adriano Profeta: ‘Gutachten zur Schutzwürdigkeit der Bezeichnung “Glückstädter Matjes” gemäß der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 510/06 als g.g.A.’, Freising 2008). There is a strong correlation between the popularity of Glückstadt and that of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’.
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)

The flavour, consistency and appearance of ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ fillets are linked to the fact that producers in the town still traditionally process them by hand. The reputation is due to the fact that the ‘matjes’ are not produced using industrial, simplified processing and ripening methods, meaning that more time and effort goes into producing them. In addition, the town and its producers have for decades carried out measures aimed at popularising this traditional speciality. ‘Glückstädter Matjes’ are an integral part of the town's cultural life and are very highly regarded as a foodstuff. This product is therefore a traditional mainstay of the region's culinary culture and is seen as a regional and indeed supra-regional speciality.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))
https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/geo/detail/pdfdownload/40833


(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)  See footnote 2.