Publication of an approved standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014
Date: 2024-05-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Spain, beef, consumer information, designation of origin, fresh meat, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, regions of Spain




C_202403123EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/3123


14.5.2024






Publication of an approved standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014
(C/2024/3123)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 6b(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).
COMMUNICATING THE APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT TO THE PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN OR PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION ORIGINATING IN A MEMBER STATE

(Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012)



                     ‘Carne de Ávila’
                  


EU No: PGI-ES-0093-AM03 - 28.2.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of product


               ‘Carne de Ávila’
            
2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Spain
3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
—
4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)

Explanation as to why the amendment(s) falls/fall under the definition of a standard amendment laid down in Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012:
The proposed amendment should be considered standard within the meaning of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 since it does not include a change in the name of the protected geographical indication or in the use of that name, does not risk voiding the link referred to in Article 5(2)(b) of that Regulation, and does not entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.
1.   Change to the wording to delete a reference to national legislation
Section C of the product specification (Geographical area) has been amended.
Specifically, the reference to national legislation appearing both at the end of the wording on the rearing area and at the end of the wording on the production area has been deleted. The reference read: ‘(Article 1 of the Order of 10 November 1993 amending the Order of 4 December 1990)’.
Justification for the amendment:
The reason for the amendment is that the aforementioned legislative reference is meaningless in the context of that section, in accordance with Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
2.   Deletion of the paragraph on the production area
Section C of the product specification (Geographical area) and Section 4 of the single document (Concise definition of the geographical area) have been amended.
Specifically, the paragraph on the production area and the districts included in it has been deleted, and the wording ‘and beef covered by the PGI is produced’ has been added to the paragraph on the rearing area. That paragraph now reads as follows:

                     ‘The area in which Avileña-Black Iberian cattle are reared and beef covered by the PGI is produced spans the following farming districts (grouped by province and Autonomous Community):






 


Autonomous Community of Andalusia:






 


Córdoba: Los Pedroches, La Sierra and Campiña Baja.










 


Huelva: Sierra.










 


Jaén: Sierra Morena.










 


Seville: Sierra Norte.










 


Autonomous Community of Aragon:










 


Teruel: Serranía de Albarracín, Maestrazgo.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha:






 


Ciudad Real: Montes Norte, Campo de Calatrava, Montes Sur, Pastos.










 


Guadalajara: all districts.










 


Toledo: Talavera, Torrijos, Sagra-Toledo, La Jara, Montes de Navahermosa, Montes de los Yébenes.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon:






 


Ávila: all districts.










 


Burgos: Demanda.










 


León: La Montaña de Riaño, Sahagún.










 


Palencia: Guardo, Cervera.










 


Salamanca: all districts.










 


Segovia: all districts.










 


Soria: Pinares.










 


Valladolid: Centro, Sur, Sureste.










 


Zamora: Sayago, Duero Bajo.














 


Autonomous Community of Extremadura:






 


Cáceres: all districts.










 


Badajoz: all districts.










 


Autonomous Community of Rioja: all districts.














 


Autonomous Community of Madrid:






 


Lozoya-Somosierra, Guadarrama, Área Metropolitana de Madrid, Sur Occidental.’
                                 








Justification for the amendment:
The amendment aligns the rearing and production areas, and, as a result, expands the geographical production area to include the following farming districts (grouped by province and Autonomous Community):






 


Autonomous Community of Andalusia:






 


Córdoba: the districts of Los Pedroches, La Sierra and Campiña Baja.










 


Huelva Sierra.










 


Jaén: Sierra Morena.










 


Seville: Sierra Norte.














 


Autonomous Community of Aragon:






 


Teruel: Serranía de Albarracín, Maestrazgo.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha:






 


Ciudad Real: Montes Norte, Campo de Calatrava, Montes Sur, Pastos.










 


Guadalajara: all districts.










 


Toledo: Talavera, Torrijos, Sagra-Toledo, La Jara, Montes de Navahermosa, Montes de los Yébenes.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile and León:






 


Burgos: Demanda.










 


León: La Montaña de Riaño, Sahagún.










 


Palencia: Guardo, Cervera.










 


Soria: Pinares.










 


Zamora: Sayago, Duero Bajo.














 


Autonomous Community of Extremadura:






 


Cáceres: all districts (previously only Cáceres, Trujillo, Brozas, Valencia de Alcántara, Plasencia and Hervás).










 


Badajoz: all districts (previously only Mérida, Badajoz and Olivenza).








Autonomous Community of Rioja: all districts.
The new districts have the same characteristics as those that were already part of the production area laid down in the product specification.
The amendment is justified by the need to align the rearing and production areas to ensure a more sustainable and environmentally friendly rearing and production system.
Production includes the slaughter, dressing and cutting operations that take place before ‘Carne de Ávila’ is dispatched. The proposed amendment aligns the production area with the rearing area, thereby expanding the former. It will allow operators to slaughter the animals without needing to transport them to another area, thereby reducing animal transportation and thus the CO2 emissions generated in the production of the protected beef. It will also reduce the operators’ costs.
The proposed amendment will contribute to enhanced rural development, better remuneration of operators, and the achievement of the EU’s sustainable development goals under the future common agricultural policy (CAP), which were established for beyond 2020 in the Commission Communication of 29 November 2017 entitled ‘The Future of Food and Farming’. Those goals include modernisation and sustainability, including the economic, social, environmental and climate-related sustainability of agricultural, forestry and rural areas, and helping to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries in relation to EU legislation.
Ultimately, that Communication and the aforementioned goals led to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of 2 December 2021 amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 251/2014 and (EU) No 228/2013, which introduced provisions in Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 to ensure greater sustainability of the production systems under the quality schemes in question.
The amendment affects the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Carne de Ávila’
                  


EU No: PGI-ES-0093-AM03 - 28.2.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]


               ‘Carne de Ávila’
            
2.   Member State or Third Country

Spain
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product [listed in Annex XI]

Class 1.1 – Fresh meat (and offal)
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

Cattle suitable for supplying the meat covered by this PGI must be either Avileña-Black Iberian stock or first-cross stock bred between Avileña-Black Iberian cows and Charolais or Limousin sires (Charolais and Limousin have ‘settled breed’ status in Spain).
The cattle are categorised by age:






 



Ternera: to be slaughtered at a maximum age of 12 months, having spent at least 5 months with the dam;










 



Añojo: weaned at a minimum age of 5 months, to be slaughtered at between 12 and 24 months;










 



Novillo: to be slaughtered at between 24 and 48 months.




The PGI may only be used for a carcase if, based on the European carcase classification system, its conformation is between U+ and O and its fat cover is between 2 and 4.
The beef from these animals is firm to the touch and slightly moist, with a tender consistency. It has a vivid colour, ranging from light red to purplish-red, with white to cream-coloured fat.

                  ‘Carne de Ávila’ must be aged for at least 4 days.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The cattle are reared extensively and/or using the practice of transhumance, availing of the local grazing and forestry resources (browse plants and acorns). Transhumance is an ancestral rearing system in which herd-keepers take advantage of the resources offered by nature by moving their livestock between different, complementary locations at different times of the year: mountain pastures in the summer and autumn, and dehesas (a traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral system in which livestock is reared extensively on poor or non-agricultural land) populated by oak (holm and cork) in the winter and spring. An extensive rearing system is used, with a low stocking rate – between 0,2 and 0,4 livestock units per hectare on average – in this breed’s traditional grazing areas: areas of land that would probably otherwise go to waste. At times of scarcity, the cattle are fed supplements comprising cereals, protein sources and other raw materials, always of plant origin, together with the necessary minerals and vitamins.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The geographical area described in Section 4 is where the animals intended for slaughter are born, reared and fattened, on the same extensive holdings on which their dams are reared.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

Each carcase covered by this name has a set of labels so that the carcase, cuts and portions can be identified and traced. The labelling system is as follows:






1)


carcase labels bearing the information below, except for the type of cut;










2)


cut labels bearing the specified information and the type of cut (shin, topside/silverside, etc.);










3)


when cuts are dispatched in portions, they are labelled with numbered secondary labels issued by the Regulatory Board, allowing traceability to be checked;










4)


as well as the compulsory information, ‘Carne de Ávila’ labels must contain at least the following: reference number, Regulatory Board identifier, official identifier, description of the cut, slaughter date, origin, authorisation number, dressing location, carcase number, ‘Carne de Ávila’ Regulatory Board logo, EU PGI logo, barcode and the name under which the beef is marketed (‘ternera’ [veal], ‘añojo’ [yearling beef] or ‘novillo’ [young beef]).









4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The area in which Avileña-Black Iberian cattle are reared and beef covered by the PGI is produced spans the following farming districts (grouped by province and Autonomous Community):






 


Autonomous Community of Andalusia:






 


Córdoba: the districts of Los Pedroches, La Sierra and Campiña Baja.










 


Huelva: Sierra.










 


Jaén: Sierra Morena.










 


Seville: Sierra Norte.














 


Autonomous Community of Aragon:






 


Teruel: Serranía de Albarracín, Maestrazgo.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha:






 


Ciudad Real: Montes Norte, Campo de Calatrava, Montes Sur, Pastos.










 


Guadalajara: all districts.










 


Toledo: Talavera, Torrijos, Sagra Toledo, La Jara, Montes de Navahermosa, Montes de los Yébenes.














 


Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon:






 


Ávila: all districts.










 


Burgos: Demanda.










 


León: La Montaña de Riaño, Sahagún.










 


Palencia: Guardo, Cervera.










 


Salamanca: all districts.










 


Segovia: all districts.










 


Soria: Pinares.










 


Valladolid: Centro, Sur, Sureste.










 


Zamora: Sayago, Duero Bajo.














 


Autonomous Community of Extremadura:






 


Cáceres: all districts.










 


Badajoz: all districts.














 


Autonomous Community of Rioja: all districts.










 


Autonomous Community of Madrid:






 


Lozoya-Somosierra, Guadarrama, Área Metropolitana de Madrid, Sur Occidental.








5.   Link with the geographical area

Specific features of the geographical area
Landscape
The mountain areas have a rugged terrain and complex topography, with high valleys, narrow ravines, steep slopes and wide plateaus that can sometimes be exposed to gales and blizzards. The areas of dehesa are expansive, gently rolling plains at altitudes of between 300 and 1 200 metres above sea level.
Climate
There are sizeable variations in climate, given the wide distribution of the breed, the areas in which it has settled, and how the cattle are moved around in the practice of transhumance. The cattle graze in dehesas, valleys and mountains. In the highlands the summers are cool and the winters very cold, with severe frosts. The dehesas, in contrast, generally have very hot, dry summers and mild winters.
Flora
Avileña-Black Iberian breeding practices are linked to the dehesa system, with a preponderance of pastureland, crop areas, thicket and woodland.
There are pasture-only dehesas, mixed dehesas (i.e. crop and pasture), and areas of scrub. Oak, savin, holm oak and juniper groves are a notable presence on pasture-only dehesas, featuring few trees but extensive pastureland. Mixed crop and pasture dehesas are populated by oak, holm oak and pasture, and the cattle can feed on the nourishment provided by the trees (acorns and browse) and stubble fields.
The highland grasslands are dominated by pine groves, which are covered in snow for part of the year, necessitating the practice of transhumance.
Specific features of the product

                  ‘Carne de Ávila’ PGI beef has the following characteristics:
The beef from these animals is firm to the touch and slightly moist, with a tender consistency. It has a vivid colour, ranging from light red to purplish-red, with white to cream-coloured fat, and is held in general high esteem for its tenderness and the intensity and quality of its flavour.
Correlation 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 breeding cows belong to the native Avileña-Black Iberian breed, which has been present since ancient times and has become perfectly adapted to rearing in the geographical area in question. The presence of this breed within the overall livestock population is increasing.
Initially used as draught animals, cattle from this breed began to be reared for beef when crop farming became mechanised. As a result, other beef breeds were introduced as sires, Charolais and Limousin being the most widely used.
Rearing this native breed of cattle, which has adapted so well to the local environment, is the main way in which natural resources – such as flora, pasture, forage, browse plants and acorns – can be exploited. The dams’ varied diets and the particular characteristics of Avileña-Black Iberians and first-cross stock bred with better-conformed breeds produce a highly unique beef. It is amongst the most highly regarded meats because of its tenderness, the intensity and quality of its flavour and its vivid colour, ranging from light red to purplish-red. The characteristics of this beef are essentially the result of the geographical environment, the nourishment available to the cattle – made possible because the breed has adapted perfectly to the rearing system used in the geographical area – and the breed factor.

Reference to publication of the product specification


https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/alimentacion/temas/calidad-diferenciada/dop-igp/htm/IGP-carne-de-avila-modific-mayor.aspx



(1)  
            OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3123/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)