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: 2015-10-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Northern Portugal, Portugal, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, meat product, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, smoked product




C_2015333EN.01000801.xml










9.10.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 333/8





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 333/07)
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)


‘ALHEIRA DE MIRANDELA’


EU No: PT-PGI-0005-0864 – 10.3.2011


PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name


‘Alheira de Mirandela’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Portugal
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.2. Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in 1 applies

‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is a traditional smoked sausage that is cylindrical and shaped like a horseshoe. The inside of the sausage consists of a fine-grained and lumpy paste in which small pieces of shredded meat are visible. The casing is made from a natural, salted cow’s intestine, the ends of which are tied with cotton thread.
It has the following characteristics:

Physical and chemical characteristics:

The sausage is around 20 cm to 25 cm long and is varying shades of yellowish-brown in colour.

Diameter: 2 cm to 3 cm

Weight: between 150 g and 200 g

Protein content: greater than 14 %

Moisture content: less than 50 %

Fat content: less than 18 %

Sensory and organoleptic characteristics:


Aroma: slightly smoky.

Flavour: slightly smoky, tastes of very fruity and spicy olive oil, with garlic being the most prominent seasoning.

Texture: uneven, with pieces of shredded meat visible.
3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only)

The following raw materials are used to make ‘Alheira de Mirandela’:
Pork
‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is made using the whole carcass of pure-bred Bísaro pigs or crosses with pigs of the Landrace, Large White, Duroc or Pietrain breeds (provided that they have 50 % Bísaro blood). Only the entrails are not used.
Poultry
Chicken is used to enrich the stock and is then mixed into the sausage mass. The meat may be obtained from all parts of the carcass except the entrails.
Game (optional)
Duck, partridge, rabbit, hare or pheasant may be used.
Meat stock
The seasoned meat is simmered in water to produce a stock which is known locally as ‘calda’. It is extremely aromatic and protein-rich and is used to soak the bread, thus producing a moist, highly flavoured and aromatic mass.
Regional wheat bread
The bread is soaked in the stock after being cut into slices. It must be stored for a minimum amount of time, usually 48 hours, before use.
This bread is the traditional wheat bread of the region. The loaf is made from wheat flour (‘type-55’ milled bread-making wheat flour), is round, weighs approximately 1,5 kg and is the result of a long baking process with little or no yeast.
Olive oil
The olive oil used is PDO ‘Trás-os-Montes’, or olive oil with similar organoleptic characteristics. It is an olive oil with the aroma and flavour of fresh fruit, the occasional hint of almonds and a noticeably sweet, tart, bitter and spicy element, which gives ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ its characteristic spicy taste.
Natural casing
The casing is made from an intact, natural, salted cow’s intestine, which clings to the sausage mass, its two ends being tied with cotton thread.
Lard
Seasonings
Edible salt (NaCl)
Dried, unsprouted cloves of garlic (Allium sativum L.)
Sweet/hot paprika or chilli
The minimum percentage of meat is 60 %, with pork accounting for between 10 % and 15 % and poultrymeat accounting for between 45 % and 50 %. The percentage of bread in the sausage varies between 15 % and 25 %, and the percentage of PDO ‘Trás-os-Montes’ olive oil, or olive oil with similar organoleptic characteristics, can vary between 4 % and 8 %.
3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)

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

The specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area are: cutting the bread, cutting and washing the meat, cooking and shredding the meat, preparing the sausage mass, stuffing the sausage and smoking.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

—
3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling

The following must appear on the labelling of PGI ‘Alheira de Mirandela’:
‘Alheira de Mirandela – IGP’ or ‘Alheira de Mirandela — Indicação Geográfica Protegida’,
the ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ logo.



4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The area in which ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is produced is limited to the municipality of Mirandela.
5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

The natural conditions in the geographical area are conducive to the production of ‘Alheira de Mirandela’.
The climate is characterised by hot, dry summers, with an annual average maximum temperature of 20 °C, and very severe winters, with an annual average minimum temperature of 7 °C. These conditions are closely linked to the presence of the tree species typical of the municipality of Mirandela, such as the oak and the olive, which are used to smoke ‘Alheira de Mirandela’, and to the production of olive oil.
The techniques used to make ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ are linked, on the one hand, to the use of the region’s wheat bread, the secrets of the production of which have been handed down, unchanged, through generations of bakers in Trás-os-Montes, and on the other hand, to the know-how of the area’s inhabitants, which is based on authentic, unchanging local methods that are still used to this day.
5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is distinguished from other sausages in the same category by its slightly smoky aroma and taste, by the flavour of garlic and of the very spicy and fruity olive oil used (PDO ‘Trás-os-Montes’ or olive oil with similar organoleptic characteristics), and by the uneven texture of the sausage mass, in which pieces of meat are clearly visible. The sausage mass is fine-grained and lumpy, because of the addition of the regional wheat bread, which is made from ‘type-55’ wheat flour and is kneaded and baked specifically to make ‘Alheira de Mirandela’. The characteristic colour, flavour and aroma which distinguish ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ also stem from the seasonings used and the length of time for which it is smoked and matured, i.e. approximately eight days.
‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is also distinguished by the fact that the sausage mass is prepared using a highly aromatic stock made from whole chicken and pig carcasses (minus the entrails) and not just specific parts, and by the fact that only natural, salted cow’s intestines are used as casings. The regional wheat bread is soaked in the stock to produce a moist, highly flavoured and aromatic mass.
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)

‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is renowned for its texture and flavour, which are the result of the way in which the sausage mass is made and the proportions in which its ingredients are combined, and it has long been one of the region’s best-loved sausages in autumn and winter.
The product’s renown and consumer preference for ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ have always been inextricably linked to the manufacturing practices, namely how and in what proportions the various raw materials are combined, and to the smoking techniques used, with the sausage being smoked for around eight days in the smoke produced by burning wood from species typical of the region, such as oak and olive, slowly and at low heat. As a result of the hot, dry summers, the wood is very dry and compact, which is a determining factor in obtaining the flavour and aroma profile that gives the product its authentic, slightly smoky taste.
The local production techniques, which are still used to this day, namely the manual shredding of the meat, the mixing of the sausage mass, the proportions in which the meats are combined and the use of traditional bread, olive oil (PDO ‘Trás-os-Montes’ or olive oil with similar organoleptic characteristics), garlic and other seasonings, produce an uneven sausage mass with a pronounced flavour of garlic and olive oil (PDO ‘Trás-os-Montes’ or olive oil with similar organoleptic characteristics), which distinguishes ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ from other products of the same category.
The process of thinly slicing the traditionally baked regional wheat bread and soaking it in the meat stock is a key factor in the final characteristics of the product, as it allows the bread to absorb the aromas of the various meats from the stock, so that, when it is mixed with the other ingredients, the resulting sausage mass has the desired consistency, flavour and aroma.
The product owes its texture to the use of natural, salted cow’s intestines and the compacting of the sausage mass during filling.
Clear testimony to the causal link between the geographical area and the characteristics of ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is provided by evidence drawn from the local press, stretching back to at least 1957, with references to the product as a local speciality made in a cottage industry.
The reputation of ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ has always been linked to the area in which it is produced, as is shown by an article that appeared in the weekly newspaper Notícias de Mirandela on 29 May 1960. The article cited issue No 4 of the fortnightly agricultural publication O Campo and deplored the imitation, at that time, of genuine ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ in other geographical areas, expressing the need to put a stop to the abuse and calling for a register to be set up ‘of local or regional designations to be complied with’. The newspaper had the following to say on the subject: ‘It is a real pity that other areas are misusing the name of Mirandela by associating it with sausages that are similar to “alheira”, but which undoubtedly damage its reputation, because when they are sold, they lack the flavour and quality that have for many years set our local speciality apart’.
There are also countless references to ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ today and numerous quotations in which it is associated with the cuisine of the municipality of Mirandela and referred to as one of the region’s best-loved sausages.
Owing to its renown, reputation, tradition and flavour, ‘Alheira de Mirandela’ is the municipality’s most important food product and is always on the menu in local and national restaurants and at various gastronomic events, be they competitions, trade fairs or exhibitions of food products.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)
http://www.dgadr.mamaot.pt/IMAGES/DOCS/VAL/DOP_IGP_ETG/VALOR/ALHEIRA_MIRANDELA.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.