Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2008/C 177/09)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘CABALLA DE ANDALUCÍA’

EC No: ES-PDO-005-0281-19.03.2003

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Group:

3.   Type of product:

Class 1.7 — Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans and products derived therefrom

4.   Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1.   Name: ‘Caballa de Andalucía’

4.2.   Description: Preserved mackerel filets in oil, produced using non-industrial methods.

The raw material used is fish of the species Scomber japonicus, which has a spindle-shaped and elongate body, a pointed snout and a thin caudal peduncle. It has two clearly separated dorsal fins and its head and body are covered with small scales. It is a greenish blue colour, with narrow wavy black lines and speckles, while its belly and flanks are of a silvery yellow with bluish grey speckles. It normally measures between 20 and 30 cm.

Non-industrial production methods traditional in Andalusia are used. The mackerel is skinned by hand without the use of chemicals, thus ensuring a high-quality product with a greyish white colour, a smooth, compact and juicy texture, a pleasant smell and a very characteristic taste.

The fish are placed exclusively in olive or sunflower oil.

4.3.   Geographical area: Production takes place in the municipalities of Almería, Adra, Carboneras, Garrucha and Roquetas de Mar in the Province of Almería, Algeciras, Barbate, Cádiz, Chipiona, Conil, La Línea, Puerto de Santa María, Rota, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Tarifa in the Province of Cádiz, Almuñécar and Motril in the Province of Granada, Ayamonte, Cartaya, Huelva, Isla Cristina, Lepe, Palos de la Frontera and Punta Umbría in the Province of Huelva, and Estepona, Fuengirola, Málaga, Marbella and Vélez-Málaga in the Province of Málaga.

4.4.   Proof of origin: Only the species Scomber japonicus is used for these mackerel preserves.

The mackerel preserves will be produced and packaged in preserving plants which are located within the geographical production area and have been entered in a register kept by the Regulatory Board; production and packaging will comply with the requirements of the specification, particularly as regards non-industrial processing involving methods and procedures used in former times which allow the fish's natural characteristics to be maintained. No industrial processing will be permitted in the registered plants where this production process is employed.

The Regulatory Board, as the inspection body, will carry out regular inspections to ensure that products covered by the PGI are sourced and produced in accordance with the specification, with particular regard to the origin of the products and the non-industrial nature of their production. The owners of the registered preserving plants will keep a book in which, for inspection purposes, data on the raw material employed and on the finished products will be entered for each day on which their facilities are used to produce protected product preserves.

Mackerel preserves inspected and found to comply with the specification will be certified by the Regulatory Board, which will supply undertakings with the relevant numbered labels, and will then be marketed with the guarantee of origin and of non-industrial production, retaining all the natural characteristics of the fish.

4.5.   Method of production: For production of the preserved filets, fish of the species Scomber japonicus are processed as follows: the heads are removed, and the fish are gutted and then washed to remove blood and mucous. The fish are boiled in fresh, salted water, during which the pH value and chlorine content of the water are closely controlled. The fish are then skinned by hand. This is a particularly important stage in the production process, since the non-utilisation of chemicals allows the natural characteristics of the fish to be maintained and ensures a high-quality product. The skinned and boned filets are placed in metal or glass containers, sterilised by heat treatment to eliminate any microorganisms. As described, these processes preserve the non-industrial approach which has traditionally been taken in this production area and which, as indicated above, serves to maintain all the fish's natural characteristics, which are otherwise lost during the chemical skinning employed in other industrial processes.

4.6.   Link: Migratory species have been fished in the south of Spain for three thousand years since the Phoenicians and the Tartessians began catching tuna, frigate tuna and mackerel using small nets, rudimentary purse seines and the familiar hook and line. The Arabs introduced tunny nets to the seas off the coast of southern Andalusia. Today, these tunny nets are still one of the main sources supplying raw material — fish — to our industry.

As well as fishing, mention should also be made of the importance of the processing industry for these migratory species, whose origins go back to the 1st century AD at the height of the Roman Empire. All types of tuna and mackerel were processed at factories all along the coast of Andalusia. The well-known ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia (Tarifa), where tanks are still visible today, are just one example. Large towns grew up around the Roman salting industry and the 40 factories in the Gulf of Cádiz and along the south-east coast were famous for their salted fish and for their range of fish sauces (garum, mauria and alex).

Preserving fishery products is a time-honoured tradition in Andalusia that continues to this day. The Andalusian preserving industry still maintains the high levels of quality that distinguish it from industries elsewhere, the result of the link between the species processed and the physical environment of the Andalusian coast, the family traditions of the preserving enterprises, and the traditional, non-industrial production methods it is endeavouring to maintain in the face of industrial processes which are inevitably cheaper as they largely dispense with manual labour, using instead chemical means to do what our enterprises perform manually, preserving tradition and giving the product a specific natural quality that distinguishes it from similar, albeit industrial, products by virtue of its smooth, compact and juicy texture, its pleasant smell and its very characteristic taste, and which is the link between the product and its geographical area.

Mackerel of the species Scomber japonicus have traditionally been fished off Andalusia and have always been used by the region's processing industry. The non-industrial preserving sector has been dominated by small and medium-sized family undertakings, managed by either the founders or their descendants, which has made it possible to maintain traditional production methods. The long traditions of the industry in Andalusia and the experience of non-industrial production handed down from father to son guarantee a skilled labour force, which the industrial processes referred to above are threatening to do away with.

In addition, the preserving undertakings are located in the regions of Andalusia most dependent on fishing, where they make an important contribution to maintaining employment, particularly as the non-industrial methods used are more labour-intensive. This is a sector threatened by industrialisation, whose survival not only determines the quality of these products but also affects this extraordinarily important social issue.

4.7.   Inspection body:

The Regulatory Board (Consejo Regulador de las Denominaciones Específicas ‘Caballa de Andalucía’ y ‘Melva de Andalucía’) complies with standard EN 45011.

4.8.   Labelling: The words ‘Caballa de Andalucía’ must appear on the labels, which will be authorised by the Regulatory Board. Labels will be numbered and will be issued by the Board.

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.