Publication of an application pursuant to Article 50(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2014/C 89/09

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).

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED (TSG)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 509/2006

on agricultural products and foodstuffs as traditional specialities guaranteed  (2)

‘ЛУКАНКА ПАНАГЮРСКА’ (‘LUKANKA PANAGYURSKA’)

EC No: BG-TSG-0007-01099-28.02.2013

1.   Name and address of the applicant group

Name and group or organisation: Sdruzhenie Traditsionni surovo-susheni mesni produkti (Traditional Raw-Cured Meat Products Association) (STSSMP)

Address:

Tel. +359 29712671

Fax +359 29733069

E-mail: office@amb-bg.com

2.   Member State or Third Country

Bulgaria

3.   Product specification

3.1.   Name(s) to be registered (Article 2 of Regulation (ЕC) No 1216/2007)

‘ЛУКАНКА ПАНАГЮРСКА’ (LUKANKA PANAGYURSKA)

3.2.   Whether the name

The name ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ is specific in itself. It is derived from the city of Panagyurishte, where the product was first made. ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ is a very popular sausage widely known under this name. For this reason it is produced all year round throughout Bulgaria under strict adherence to the traditional recipe and production methods, without its quality and characteristics being influenced by seasonal or geographical variations. Right up to the present day, this has remained the practice in the production of ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’.

The name ‘lukanka’ originated in the 19th century. In his article ‘Kak be sazdadena bulgarskata lukanka’ (‘How the Bulgarian lukanka sausage was created’, Hranitelna promishlenost, issue 1, 1975, Sofia, p. 40) Marin Marinov describes how the name ‘lukanka’ was originally linked to meat products that had onion as an ingredient (the root of the name ‘lukanka’ is ‘luk’, the Bulgarian word for onion). Onions have since disappeared from the recipe, but the name ‘lukanka’ has been consecrated by use. In 1958, the recipe and quality standards for ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage were laid down in Bulgarian State Standard 2589-58 and have not been changed since.

3.3.   Whether reservation of the name is sought under Article 13(2) of Regulation (ЕC) No 509/2006

3.4.   Type of product

3.5.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff to which the name under point 3.1 applies (Article 3(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007)

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage is a pressed, raw-cured meat product prepared from fresh-cut beef (which may be replaced by fresh buffalo meat) and fresh pork, additives and natural seasoning, stuffed into a natural or artificial casing with a diameter (φ) of 50 mm, adhering tightly to the filling. If stuffed into an artificial casing, the ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ is a straight sausage tied with twine or closed with clips at both ends. If stuffed into a natural casing it is slightly curved and tied with twine at both ends. Natural casing can be made of bovine large intestine or ovine caecum. The cut surface is evenly structured and homogeneous, shows no gaps, is red to brownish red in colour, and dotted with regularly spaced bits of fat 2 mm to 4 mm in diameter and white to faintly pink in colour. The product has a dense elastic consistency. Typical is the moderately salty taste and the distinct aroma of its seasoning.

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage is suitable for direct consumption after removal of the casing.

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage has the following physico-chemical properties:

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage may be marketed whole, in pieces or sliced, vacuum-packed or in modified-atmosphere packaging.

3.6.   Description of the production method of the agricultural product or foodstuff to which the name under point 3.1 applies (Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007)

The recipe for 100 kg of ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage filling is as follows:

Meat

Fresh beef (may be replaced with fresh buffalo meat), up to 10 % fat: 60 kg

Fresh pork, up to 5 % fat (lean pork): 20 kg

Fresh pork, up to 50 % fat (pork belly): 20 kg

Seasoning

Black or white pepper, without additives: 300 g

Cumin, without additives: 300 g

Other ingredients

Sugar: 300 g

Cooking salt: 2,3 kg

Preservative: potassium nitrate: 100 g, or sodium nitrate: 85 g

(Note: 100 g potassium nitrate may be replaced with 85 g sodium nitrate.)

Antioxidant: ascorbic acid (E 300): 50 g

The use of starter cultures is allowed.

Casing: natural (made from salted bovine large intestine or ovine caecum) or artificial, diameter (φ): 50 mm

Twine or clips and suspension hooks

Production method

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage is made from fresh beef (which may be replaced by fresh buffalo meat) and fresh pork with a pH of 5,6 to 6,2. After the bones and sinews have been removed and the pork and beef (or buffalo meat) have been sorted by type and quality, the meat is chopped by hand or machine. The chopped beef (or buffalo meat) and pork are then weighed in the quantities called for by the recipe and ground in one of the following three ways:

During the grinding process, all seasoning and salting ingredients are added in the amounts called for by the recipe (salt, potassium or sodium nitrate, sugar, ascorbic acid, and seasoning, consisting of black or white pepper without additives, cumin without additives, and starter cultures).

The resulting sausage mixture is then stuffed by machine into a casing made of bovine large intestine or ovine caecum or into an artificial casing. The casing is tied with twine or closed with clips at both ends. Once stuffed, the ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausages are suspended from wooden or metal frames (rods) arranged on sausage trolleys. For two to three days the ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausages are dried and drained at an air temperature of 8 °C to 24 °C and 65 % to 90 % relative humidity, then moved to the drying room. The sausages are dried at an air temperature of 12 °C to 17 °C and 70 % to 85 % relative humidity in natural or air-conditioned drying rooms. During drying and maturing, the sausages are pressed two to three times using flat wooden presses. The sausages are kept in the presses for 12-24 hours. The production supervisor determines by sight when the sausages are ready for pressing. The sausages are first placed in the press when the lower end and the surface are fully dry to the touch and bits of grease are bulging slightly under the casing. Subsequent pressing takes place as the production supervisor sees fit. The mechanical pressure slightly raises the temperature of the product. Combined with the condensed moisture this enables a layer of white noble mould to form on the surface. The presses must be manufactured according to certain traditional standards. Apart from being resistant to physical stress, they must be able to absorb the moisture that is released. For this reason, they are made of wood, a natural material that can be sanitised and dried.

The production process for ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage takes 20 to 30 days in total and is complete when the water content is reduced to 35 % or less and the end product weighs less than 60 % of the initial meat ingredients.

3.7.   Specific character of the agricultural product or foodstuff (Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) 1216/2007)

‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage has the following specific properties:

3.8.   Traditional character of the agricultural product or foodstuff (Article 3(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007)

The traditional character of the product consists of its composition, which has never changed, the methods used for its production and the aroma and flavour, which have been kept over the years.

The traditional character of the recipe is determined by the basic meat ingredients and the seasoning mixture.

The composition and the quality requirements for ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage have remained unchanged for over 30 years. The composition per 100 kg of ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage filling (60 kg beef or buffalo meat, 20 kg lean pork, 20 kg pork belly, 300 g black or white pepper without additives, 300 g cumin without additives) was laid down in 1983 by Technical Standard 37-83, approved by the National Agro-Industrial Union (NAPS) under BDS 2589-83 (basic standard).

To ensure the quality of the end product, it is essential that the quality standards for the ingredients be observed. In the journal Hranitelna Promishlenost, issue 8/9 of 1964, the authors G. Gerginov, production manager, and Kr. Dimov, division manager, explain: ‘Beef fat (with the exception of kidney fat) improves the quality of sudzhuk and lukanka sausages, requiring unsorted meat as is the case for “Lukanka Panagyurska” sausage, and gives the sausages their specific pleasant taste. Meat from sows or boars is not allowed …’ (Marin Marinov, Proizvodstvo i plasment na mesni produkti (Production and distribution of meat products), Sofia, 1963, p. 110).

The traditional drying and pressing methods have also been kept. These are essential aspects of the ‘Lukanka Panagyurska’ sausage production process. According to Stefan Danchev in his 1972 dissertation Tehnologichno prouchvane na mehaniziran sposob za presovane i sushene na trayni mesni produkti (Study of mechanised pressing and drying techniques for meat products with a long shelf life), ‘pressing also affects maturing and drying, which are crucial to the quality of the finished product’.

According to Traditsionni Bulgarski Retsepturi i Tehnologii (Traditional Bulgarian Recipes and Preparation Methods) published by the Asotsiatsia na mesoprerabotvatelite v Bulgaria (Bulgarian Meat Processors Association), Sofia, 2002, ‘on day five, when the lukanka sausages have started to dry and bits of fat are beginning to bulge slightly under the casing, it is time to put them under the press. They are pressed twice or three times, depending on the size of the sausage.’ (p. 17).

3.9.   Minimum requirements and procedures to check the specific character (Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1216/2007)

The following are checked during and after processing:

4.   Authorities or bodies verifying compliance with the product verification

4.1.   Name and address

4.2.   Specific tasks of the authorities or bodies

The inspection body specified in point 4.1 carries out checks to verify compliance with all the criteria set out in the specification.

The parameters indicated under point 3.9 must be checked at least once every year. If infringements are detected, the frequency of inspections is increased to once every six months.

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p.1. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.