Publication of an approved standard amendment to a 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: 2024-08-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, consumer information, designation of origin, fresh meat, frozen product, labelling, offal, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, sheepmeat








C_202405252EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5252


23.8.2024






Publication of an approved standard amendment to a 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/2024/5252)

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)



                     ‘Agneau du Périgord’
                  


EU No: PGI-FR-0711-AM02 - 24.5.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Product name


               ‘Agneau du Périgord’
            
2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

France
3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)

Explanation as to why the amendment(s) falls/fall under the definition of a standard amendment as provided for in Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012:
The application for amendment to the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ PGI does not involve any of the three situations constituting a Union amendment, specifically:






a)


it does not include a change in the name of the protected designation of origin;










b)


it would not potentially void the link with the geographical environment;










c)


it does not entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.




The French authorities therefore consider that the application is for a standard amendment.
1.   RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT IN THE MEMBER STATE
The contact details of the National Institute of Origin and Quality (Institut national de la qualité et de l'origine, INAO) have been updated.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
2.   APPLICANT GROUP / COMPOSITION
The composition has been reworded to specify ‘any natural or legal person effectively involved in the production or preparation processes set out in the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ PGI specification.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
3.   DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT
The maximum weight of the lambs has been increased from 21 kg to 22 kg.
The amendment affects the single document.
4.   DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD OF PRODUCTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT / SLAUGHTER
The maximum weight of the lambs has been increased from 21 kg to 22 kg.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
5.   ELEMENTS JUSTIFYING THE LINK WITH THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT / SPECIFICITY OF THE PRODUCT
The maximum weight of the lambs has been increased from 21 kg to 22 kg.
The amendment affects the single document.
6.   NATIONAL REQUIREMENTS / TABLE WITH THE MAIN POINTS TO BE CHECKED
The maximum weight of the lambs has been increased from 21 kg to 22 kg.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Agneau du Périgord’
                  


EU No: PGI-FR-0711-AM02 - 24.5.2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of the PDO or PGI]


               ‘Agneau du Périgord’
            
2.   Member State or Third Country

France
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Code for Combined Nomenclature







—


02 - MEAT AND EDIBLE MEAT OFFAL




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


                  ‘Agneau du Périgord’ is lamb that has been suckled for at least 60 days and finished with feed mainly based on whole or rolled grains.

                  ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lambs are slaughtered between 80 and 180 days old, and have a carcass weight of between 15 and 22 kg and a conformation which results in a good meat yield thanks to the selection of meat breeds for the rams and hardy or semi-hardy breeds for the ewes.
The rams are chosen from among the following meat breeds: Berrichon, Charollais, Ile de France, Rouge de l’Ouest, Suffolk, and Texel.
The ewes are either purebred hardy breeds: Lacaune viande, Blanche du Massif central, Causse du Lot, and Romane, or from the Charmoise semi-hardy breed, or ewes crossbred between hardy breeds and the above meat breeds.

                  ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lambs have an E-U-R conformation with muscles developed over a fine skeleton and fat cover of 2 and 3 in the EUROP grading scale.
The lamb meat has a light colour (linked to its milk feeding for at least 60 days). Its fat is white or very lightly coloured, with a firm consistency, and is uniformly coagulated and not greasy.
The following offal may also be marketed under the PGI: kidneys, sweetbread, heart, liver, tongue and feet.
The ‘Agneau du Périgord’ meat and offal are presented fresh or frozen.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

3.3.1.   Feeding of the lambs







—


From birth to at least 60 days, the lambs are suckled by their mothers on demand. They live with their mothers until they are weaned.










—


After 60 days and during the finishing stage, the proportion of milk feeding decreases until weaning is complete, and milk is replaced by fodder and complementary feed. This supplemental feed consists of whole or rolled grains and a nitrogen supplement.




3.3.2.   Feeding of the ewes

Grass is the staple diet of the ewes. They graze on natural or temporary meadows and ranges for at least seven months a year.
All of the fodder harvested is grown in the geographical area and mostly on the holding.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area


                  ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lambs are born and reared in the defined geographical area.
To ensure that the quality of the lamb meat is preserved, excessively long transport times and any stress to the animals before slaughter should be avoided. Accordingly, the journey time between the holding and the slaughter-house should be less than eight hours.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Where the meat or offal is quick-frozen, the minimum durability date (MDD) is a maximum of 18 months.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

All PGI meat must be accompanied by a guarantee of origin certificate (Certificat de Garantie d’Origine, C.G.O.) (carcass) and each PGI cut must be labelled as an individually packaged unit (unité de vente conditionnée, U.V.C.).
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area of the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ PGI consists of the following departments, cantons and municipalities, in accordance with the 2020 Official Geographic Code drawn up by the Insee (the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies):






—


Department of Dordogne included in full;










—


Department of Corrèze: the municipalities of the cantons of Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche (except the municipalities of Estivals, Jugeals-Nazareth, Nespouls, Noailles and Turenne) and L’Yssandonnais, and the municipality of Brive-la-Gaillarde;










—


Department of Lot: the municipalities of the cantons of Gourdon, Puy-l’Evêque (except the municipalities of Le Boulvé, Les Junies, Lherm, Saint-Matré and Saux) and Souillac, and the municipality of Thédirac;










—


Department of Lot-et-Garonne: the municipalities of the cantons of Les Coteaux de Guyenne (except the municipality of Jusix), Le Fumélois, Le Haut Agenais Périgord, Le Livradais, Le Pays de Serres, Le Val du Dropt and Villeneuve-sur-Lot-2, and the municipalities of Brugnac, Coulx, Labretonie, Lédat, Sauvagnas, Sembas, Verteuil-d’Agenais and Villeneuve-sur-Lot.




5.   Link with the geographical area

Geographically, Périgord is located in the southwest of France and is centred on the department of Dordogne, bordering Gironde and Charente country to the west, Limousin and Quercy country to the east, and Agenais country to the south. Like all rather poor regions, Dordogne has long been a department where sheep are farmed. Sheep farmers in Périgord have developed a specific expertise in sheep-breeding linked to the constraints of their territory and have established a system for rearing sheep that makes use of all the available resources. Choosing ewes from hardy or semi-hardy breeds was a natural choice in the context of mixed farming (involving the growing of crops and raising of livestock) on smallholdings, where sheep were farmed to make use of not very fertile land. This enables the farmer to feed the ewes on the resources of the geographical area (fodder, pastures and rangeland) and have them reproduce throughout the year, while keeping enough cereals and the best hay to finish the lambs. The specificity of ‘Agneau du Périgord’ is mainly attributable to this traditional way in which the lambs are reared: a suckling period with their mothers followed by a finishing period with feed based on fodder and whole or rolled grains, which are the source of the quality and renown of the ‘Agneau du Périgord’.
The Périgord is a large expanse of foothills, generally sloping in a north-east and south-west direction, carved out by four rivers and their numerous tributaries, transitioning gradually from the Plateau des Millevaches in Limousin (altitude 480 m) to the lower valley of the Dordogne (altitude 8 m). This topography, shaped by the emergence of the Alps in the Tertiary era, has shifted, fractured, raised and eroded the area of contact between the old Hercynian massif and the limestone and sedimentary deposits of the plain. In the crystalline rocks of the northern Périgord, the waters have carved out deep valleys with steep slopes and narrow gorges. In the central Périgord, erosion has carved out wide valleys sometimes featuring rocky escarpments, sometimes slopes carpeted with limestone debris.
This relief of plateaus, hills, slopes and small valleys make it a continually changing landscape of small fields and hedges, where the often-close horizon is always obscured by woods, copses, or just hedges and bushes.
The valleys - the only areas rich in alluvial soil and suitable for farming - contrast with the dry and poor hills and plateaus.
The climate of the Périgord is generally temperate and maritime, characterised by average rainfall (850 mm) spread over an average of 130 days, with a mild average temperature (12 °C). With marked differences between winter and summer and very variable mid seasons, it is also subject to continental influences in winter and almost Mediterranean influences in summer. Its situation in a transitional area means it is characterised by considerable variability.
There is evidence of the presence of sheep in the Périgord for the last 6 000 years, this presence remaining constant and significant until the 19th century. The sheep population is estimated to have been four or five times that of the cattle population in 1809. It numbered over 667 400 and was spread throughout the entire department.
As everywhere else at the time, the sheep were primarily kept for the wool - so essential for garment production - and manure they produced. Their meat was a by-product, destined mainly to be eaten by the breeder’s own family, although there was already evidence of its being particularly valued at local gastronomic level. In the second half of the 19th century, a number of concurring texts show a trend towards rearing sheep for their meat.
In 1938 the Dordogne still ranked in the top five French departments for sheep numbers. Having declined significantly after the last war, the herd numbers have since recovered significantly.
The sheep farming methods make effective use of land areas that are not very productive in agricultural terms.
Those constraints informed the selection of ewes of breeds known and selected for their hardiness, their endurance, their abstemiousness, their ability to graze on poor rangeland, and their capacity for out-of-season breeding and for feeding their lambs without difficulty. Today’s herds are shaped by a number of pure breeds and cross-breeds of the Lacaune viande, Blanche du Massif Central, Romane, Causse du Lot and Charmoise breeds. These hardy or semi-hardy breeds are reared by crossing them with improvement rams. The sheep farmers are masters of cross-breeding, choosing ram breeds in order to have the mating improve either the carcass of the lambs or conserve the maternal qualities of the future mother sheep: hardiness, capacity for out-of-season breeding and natural mating.
The feed system put in place by the farmers is shaped by the same constraints: the challenge is to make the best use of their resources to ensure reliable high-quality lamb production throughout the year.
The farmers are committed to organising the feeding of the herd, taking care to adjust the food supplies to the dietary needs of the ewes and the lambs based on their respective physiological stages.
Accordingly, the farmers draw up a complex feeding schedule, to optimally combine rangeland, grassland pastures and forage areas, taking into account the area and potential yield of each, and possibly also their distance from the farm.
The herd, divided into homogeneous herds based on their physiological needs (pregnant or suckler ewes, young ewes for breeding) is put out to pasture on a schedule that makes it possible to exploit and optimise all the plant resources, while respecting the dietary needs of all the categories of animals.
The life of an ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lamb has two stages: the suckling period where the lambs stay with their mothers and the finishing period where it receives all the attention it needs (its own space and top-quality feed).
In this reserved area, the farmer gives the lambs a special feed consisting of a balanced mixture based mainly on whole or rolled grains, supplemented by a good hay of grasses and legumes.
This suckling supplement becomes the young lambs’ staple feed as they are weaned.
This feed is the basis for a more harmonious and rapid growth of the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lambs.

               ‘Agneau du Périgord’ lambs are young and light lambs (aged between 80 and 180 days and weighing between 15 and 22 kg). The lambs have a good conformation with muscles developed over a fine skeleton. Their carcass is free from tears or haematomas. The meat is light pink in colour. The fat is white or very lightly coloured, with a firm consistency, and is uniformly coagulated and not greasy.
The causal link is based on the quality and reputation of ‘Agneau du Périgord’.
The very irregular climatic conditions of the area, combined with its low agronomic potential, have contributed to an adaptation of the breeding systems which today produce the ‘Agneau du Périgord’.
The wetlands of the Périgord Vert and the dry limestone plateaus of the Sarladais and the Jurassic lands offer rangelands well suited to sheep, which are often the only option for exploiting these tiny, difficult-to-access parcels of poor land on steep slopes, commonly known as ‘picadies’.
Faced with the great variability in rainfall and temperatures, Périgord farmers, never assured of adequate rainfall or temperatures for their crops, have become accustomed to diversifying their production by spreading the risks over several main crops.
This type of countryside and environmental conditions have favoured the existence of small and fragmented farms, which have long retained a self-sufficient type of economy, seeking to make the most of all their own resources, both agronomic and human. Mixed farming (growing crops and raising livestock) is predominant there.
Sheep farming is thus often combined with grain production, partly for feeding the sheep herd, alongside one or more other crops.
From the beginning of the 20th century, wool production gave way to meat production and the Périgord farmers followed the general trend in starting to take an interest in genetic advances.
At the time, three breeds were reared in the Périgord: the Charmoise, Berrichonne de l’Indre and Causse du Lot breeds. Those breeds have since seen their numbers decline while those of three other breeds increased, namely the Lacaune viande, Blanche du Massif Central and Romane breeds. There has, however, been a certain revival of the ancestral breeds in the last decade, notably of the Charmoise and Causse du Lot breeds.
Using these hardy breeds has led to practices consistent with exploiting the distinct characteristics of this area.
The specificity of ‘Agneau du Périgord’ is mainly attributable to this traditional way in which the lambs are reared: a suckling period at their mother’s teat followed by a finishing period with feed based on fodder and whole or rolled grains.
The light colour of the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ meat is the result of two complementary features of the method of obtaining the product: the age of the lambs when slaughtered (at most 180 days) and the suckling period of at least 60 days.
The firm white (or very lightly coloured) fat is attributable to a specific diet during the finishing period. This diet is based on fodder and supplemental feeding with whole or rolled grains exclusively.
This specific dietary supplement during the finishing period gives the ‘Agneau du Périgord’ meat an intrinsic balanced fat content.

               ‘Agneau du Périgord’ is produced in a traditional way in the Périgord area. It is a festive delicacy that takes many forms, but always has a prime place in the meals.
It is showcased in many recipes and sometimes referred to as ‘the other choice morsel of the Périgord’.

Reference to publication of the specification


https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-cdf6faf7-26d4-42dd-9789-a75c4c4d5eca



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


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5252/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)