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: 2025-01-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Catalonia, Spain, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, meat product, product designation, quality control of agricultural products




C_202500349EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/349


17.1.2025






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/2025/349)

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


                     ‘Salchichón de Vic / Llonganissa de Vic’
                  


EU No: PGI-ES-0119-AM03 - 18 October 2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of product


               ‘Salchichón de Vic / Llonganissa de Vic’
            
2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Spain
3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food – Government of Catalonia
—
4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)

Explanation that the amendment(s) fall under the definition of a standard amendment as provided for in Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012
This should be regarded as a standard amendment as the approved changes do not affect the protected name or the link with the environment, nor do they lead to increased restrictions on trade in the product.
Extension of the PGI product’s pH range
The amendment consists in extending the pH range of the sausage covered by the PGI: in Section B ‘Description of the product’ of the specification, the range 5,3 ≤ pH ≤ 6,2 has been replaced by 5,0 ≤ pH ≤ 6,7.
This amendment to the accepted pH values has been shown not to affect the quality or other characteristics described in the PGI product specification.
The pH limits laid down in point 3.2 ‘Description of the product’ of the single document have been amended accordingly.
This amendment affects the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Salchichón de Vic / Llonganissa de Vic’
                  


EU No: PGI-ES-0119-AM03 - 18 October 2024
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]


               ‘Salchichón de Vic / Llonganissa de Vic’
            
2.   Member State or Third Country

Spain
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code







—


16 – PREPARATIONS OF MEAT, OF FISH, OF CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS OR OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, OR OF INSECTS




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


                  ‘Salchichón de Vic’ / ‘Llonganissa de Vic’ PGI is a traditional sausage from Catalonia, made with lean pork, fat, sugar, salt and pepper as the only seasonings. It is minced, macerated, stuffed into casing, and then cured.
Stuffed into natural casings, it is characterised by a wrinkled external appearance with the casing sticking closely to the meat mixture, a more-or-less regular cylindrical shape, and a whitish outer colour, due to the fungal flora, which takes on purplish-brown tones over time. On the inside, the diced fat and peppercorns are visible.
Characteristic and pleasant aroma and flavour, which it gets from the spices and the curing process.
The casing that is used determines the diameter and size of the ‘Salchichón de Vic’ / ‘Llonganissa de Vic’ PGI. The dimensions at the time of dispatch and the curing times are set out below:








Weight (g)


Diameter of the cured sausage
(dried) (mm)


Minimum curing period (in days)




200-300


≥ 35


≤ 75


30 days




≥ 300


> 40


≤ 90


45 days




Physico-chemical parameters:






—


Maximum fat: 48 % (*)










—


Minimum protein: 38 % (*)










—


Maximum collagen/protein ratio × 100: 12










—


Total soluble sugars expressed in maximum glucose: 3 % (*)










—


Added protein: Absent










—


Water activity at 20 oC: Aw < 0,92










—


5,0 ≤ pH ≤ 6,7










(*)


value expressed on the basis of dry matter




3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

There are no requirements with regard to feed in the product specification.
Selected lean pork (ham, shoulder ham and top-quality lean meat), fat, salt, pepper and natural casings (wide, crimped, sewn or reconstituted) are used.
Other ingredients: The only ingredients that may be used are sugar (monosaccharides and disaccharides), the producer’s own sourdough, potassium nitrite, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, ascorbic acid and its sodium salt.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The production of the product (preparation of the fresh meat, refining and mincing, mixing, kneading, maceration, stuffing in casing, and curing-maturation) must take place in the geographical area described in the relevant point.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Salchichón de Vic is permitted to be sold in slices and packaged, which can be done both within and outside the defined geographical area.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

The ‘Salchichón de Vic’ (in Spanish) or ‘Llonganissa de Vic’ (in Catalan) protected geographical indication name and logo, as well as the EU’s symbol for PGIs and the Regulatory Council’s authorised, numbered label must be clearly indicated on the packaging, along with the other information generally required under the legislation in force.
Reproduction of the logo itself:





4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The area defined by this indication comprises the municipalities of the Plain of Vic, located in the district of Osona in the Province of Barcelona, as follows:
Aiguafreda, Sant Martí de Centelles, El Brull, Seva, Tona, Muntanyola, Malla, Taradell, Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Santa Eugènia de Berga, Calldetenes, Folgueroles. Vic. Santa Eulàlia de Riuprimer, Gurb, Tavèrnolas, Roda de Ter, Manlleu, Santa Cecila de Voltregà, Sant Hipòlit de Voltregà, Les Masies de Voltregà, Oris, Torelló, Centelles, Balenyà, Les Masies de Roda, San Vicenç de Torelló and Sant Pere de Torelló.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The uniqueness of Salchichón de Vic is based on the reputation and renown that this product has acquired both in Catalonia and in the rest of Spain over the centuries, especially from the 19th century on. It is also due to the environmental and climate conditions in the geographical area that enable its production.
The PGI’s geographical area, the Plain of Vic, is a plain with outstanding agricultural conditions and a large number of farms and small rural centres. The area is located at an altitude of between 400 and 600 metres, and is surrounded by the Guilleries, Montseny, Collsacabra and Lluçanés mountain ranges, which give it a certain degree of isolation. It has a continental Mediterranean climate, but due to its location, during anticyclonic weather conditions, it is common for the air in this area to become stagnant. Thermal inversion then occurs, with temperatures reaching as much as 20 oC less in the plain than in the surrounding areas. In addition, mists hover persistently over the area (225 days of mist per year on average). For all of these reasons, the Plain of Vic produces very specific environmental conditions that are difficult to replicate. This promotes the development of a typical microbial flora, which is responsible for the fermentation and enzymatic processes that give Salchichón de Vic its characteristic aroma and flavour.
There are written references to Salchichón de Vic as far back as 1456, even though it might be possible to trace its origin back to the 4th century. In the past, this product was made in the homes of the area’s peasant farmers, as a way of preserving the prime cuts of meat. From the mid 19th century onwards, many writings praised the quality of Salchichón de Vic and attested to its good reputation. By way of example, an account from the ‘El Porvenir’ newspaper of 29 May 1867 stated the following: ‘[…] the already famous salchichones de Vic’. It is even known that one of the fans of Salchichón de Vic was King Alfonso XIII himself. Thus, Vic and the sausage have for years gone together like the surname and first name of great families, and over time it has become a small treasure.
Despite the tradition of the word ‘salchichón’, referring to a thick, cured sausage, we must point out that in Catalan it is called ‘llonganissa’, this being its original and native name, which became ‘salchichón’ when it passed into Spanish. This is why the designations ‘Salchichón de Vic’ and ‘Llonganissa de Vic’ are used interchangeably.
In summary, Salchichón de Vic is a product with an excellent reputation that is the result of experience passed down from generation to generation of producers and of the specific environmental conditions of the geographical area in which it is produced.

Reference to publication of the specification


https://agricultura.gencat.cat/web/.content/al_alimentacio/al02_qualitat_alimentaria/normativa-dop-igp/plecs-vigor/pliego-condiciones-igp-salchichon-vic-modificacion3-2024-cast.pdf



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


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/349/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)