Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2006/C 32/03)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in a Member State, in a WTO member country or in a third country recognized in accordance with Article 12(3) within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

‘ALHEIRA DE BARROSO — MONTALEGRE’

EC NO: PT/00237/16.5.2002

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

This summary has been drawn up for information purposes only. For full details, in particular the producers of the PDO or PGI concerned, please consult the complete version of the product specification obtainable at national level or from the European Commission (1).

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Applicant group:

2.1   Name: Cooperativa Agrícola dos Produtores de Batata para Semente de Montalegre, CRL

2.2   Address:

2.3   Composition: producers/processors (X) other ( )

3.   Type of product:

Type 1.2 — Meat-based products

4.   Specification

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2)):

4.1   Name: ‘Alheira de Barroso — Montalegre’

4.2   Description: A smoked sausage, made from the pig meat and pig fat of the Bisaro breed or of cross-breeds that must be 50 % Bisaro, poultry meat (chicken, turkey and/or duck), rabbit, and bread, stuffed into a hog casing (small intestine). The meats are seasoned with salt, garlic, chilli pepper powder (regionally known as ‘pimento’) and red bell pepper powder (or ‘pimentão’), parsley, onion and olive oil from the Trás-os-Montes region. The sausage is shaped like a horseshoe with a cylindrical section approximately 3 cm in diameter. It is non-uniform in colour, varying from yellow to brown. When the sausage is cut, the filling is of a uniform yellow/brown colour, and the stuffing appears homogenous although it is possible to distinguish the shreds of meat.

4.3   Geographical area: Due to the special production requirements of these sausages, their flavours, the expertise available and the climatic conditions of the region, the geographical area for processing and packing is limited to the municipality of Montalegre, in the Vila Real district. Taking into consideration the traditional animal feed and existing agricultural production, the geographical area for processing and packing is naturally limited to the municipalities of Boticas, Chaves and Montalegre, in the Vila Real district. The territory consisting of these three municipalities is known and identified as ‘Barroso’.

4.4   Proof of origin: The farms, slaughterhouses and meat-cutting and preparation plants must be licensed, authorised by the group of producers after the private control body has given its approval, and located in the specified production or processing areas respectively. The entire production process, from the farm that produces the raw materials to the place where the product is sold, is subject to a rigorous control system ensuring the product is fully traceable. The pigs are reared in livestock farms possessing an area compatible with traditional, semi-extensive farming systems, where it is possible to produce traditional animal feed. The certification mark on each sausage is numbered, ensuring full traceability to the farm where the product originated. It is possible to prove the origin of the product at any point in the production chain by means of the serial number, which must be indicated on the certification mark.

4.5   Method of production: Alheira de Barroso-Montalegre is made from the meat attached to the bones, flank and trimmings from the butchering of the pigs described above, together with meat from poultry and/or rabbit, cut into pieces. After the meats are chosen, cleaned and cooked, the filling is prepared and the remaining ingredients are added. Once the seasoning is correct, the mixture is stuffed into a hog casing (small intestine). This is then smoked over a low fire using regional firewood, and cured or stabilised. It is placed on the market as a whole sausage and is always pre-packed at the place of origin. Due to the product's characteristics and composition, it cannot be cut or sliced. Special material, which is innocuous and inert when it comes into contact with the product, is used for its packaging. The product may be packed in a normal or controlled atmosphere or in a vacuum. Packing can only be carried out in the geographical processing area so as to ensure traceability and control and to prevent any change to the product's taste and microbiological characteristics.

4.6   Link: Due to climatic, geographic and socio–economic conditions, and the diffícult links with the rest of the country, the diet of the Barroso region was limited to local products, mainly bread, potatoes and pork. References made to taxes on pigs and pork products in various municipal registers, including that of Montalegre, prove that pig-breeding has been important in this area for a very long time. For pork to remain edible throughout the year, ways were discovered to preserve it, and these quickly became ancestral skills passed down from one generation to the next. The preparation of these products is the result of, and is very dependent on, the region's cold and dry climate, which forces every household to keep a fire burning at all times, thus providing unique conditions for smoking, characterised by a light and gradual smoke supply. It was thus that the need to take advantage of and preserve the pig meat provided by the traditional slaughter gave rise to sausages of various shapes, different ingredients and different colours and flavours, but which were always an expression of the local characteristics: the land and its people. In short, the relationship between this product and the geographical area stems from the breed of (indigenous) animal, the local produce fed to these animals, the knowledge to choose the correct pieces of pig meat, the smoking process using regional firewood and the curing process conducted in a very cold and dry environment suitable for preserving the product.

4.7   Inspection body:

Tradição e Qualidade has been recognised as complying with the requirements of Standard 45011:2001.

4.8   Labelling: It is compulsory for the labelling to include the following: the wording ‘Alheira de Barroso — Montalegre — Indicação Geográfica Protegida’ (Protected Geographical Indication), the Community's own logo, the logo for Barroso-Montalegre, reproduced below, together with the words ‘Montalegre’ and ‘Alheira’. It must also include the certification mark, which must state the name of the product, the control body and the serial number (numeric or alphanumeric code ensuring the product's traceability).

4.9   National requirements: —

(1)  European Commission — Directorate-General for Agriculture — Agricultural product quality policy — B-1049 Brussels.