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 206/10)

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 this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘BUDAPESTI TÉLISZALÁMI’

EC No: HU-PGI-005-0396-21.10.2004

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:

In accordance with Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, this is an exceptional case as there is only one producer in this field. The conditions set out in Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1898/2006 have been met.

3.   Type of product:

Class 1.2 — Group: Meat products

4.   Specification:

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

4.1.   Name: ‘Budapesti téliszalámi’

4.2.   Description: Budapesti téliszalámi (Budapest winter salami) is made using meat carved from heavy (more than 150 kg) castrated male pigs or non-breeding females more than one year old from the Mangalitsa, Cornwall, Berkshire, Large White, Landrace, Duroc, Hampshire and Pietrain breeds or their crosses, and the firm pork fat of the above breeds or their crosses. Boars castrated as adults which have fathered litters may not be used.

Budapesti téliszalámi is a smoked, fermented, dried meat product made from ingredients evenly cut into small pieces and mixed together, and comprises pork meat chopped into approximately 4 mm sized pieces and pork fat chopped into approximately 2 mm sized pieces mixed evenly with seasoning and stuffed in horse intestines or artificial casings. Cylindrical in shape, its surface is evenly covered with greyish-white noble mould. Table salt, a curing agent (a mixture of table salt and sodium nitrate) and spices (white pepper, sweet paprika and allspice) are added to taste, with the flavour of the allspice dominant.

The salami is long and cylindrical in shape, with an even thickness and a diameter of at least 40 mm and no more than 85 mm. The casing is free from indentations, evenly covered with a greyish-white noble mould and adheres well to the filling. It is compact yet elastic and easy to slice, firm but not too hard. The cut surface is light, mosaiced with uniformly mixed light brown/red meat granules and pale fat granules.

It is sold whole or sliced. Whole salamis are wrapped in cellophane in approximately 54 cm long ‘normal’, approximately 33 cm long ‘midi’, approximately 19 cm long ‘tourist’ and approximately 16 cm long ‘mini’ sizes. Sliced salami is sold in trays wrapped in vacuum foil or protective gas atmosphere packaging.

4.3.   Geographical area: Budapesti téliszalámi is produced in Budapest, within 1 km of the Danube.

4.4.   Proof of origin: Proof of origin in the geographical area is provided by the following:

The half carcases delivered to the butchery bear ENAR (Egységes Nyilvántartási és Azonosítási Rendszer — Integrated Identification and Registration System) ear tag numbers. The origin of the half carcases arriving at the factory can be traced using the butchery records. Products made from the parts of each half carcass are given item numbers, enabling them to be traced and identified at any time during the production process starting from their delivery to the factory. The item numbers are present in each step of the production process in the form of ear tag numbers, marking plates and paste numbers. Documents produced during processing and finished product inspection also refer back to individual item numbers.

As regards the place of manufacture, the producer must at all times be able to prove that production — or at least, all the operations from the chopping up of the raw materials through the smoking, as far as the drying — has taken place in Budapest, in an area within 1 km of the Danube.

4.5.   Method of production: The products are made using leg, loin, shoulder, rib, flank and tenderloin, and the firm belly fat and chaps with the glands removed, taken from half carcases of crosses of the breeds listed above, cut (only by hand), boned and with tendons, heads and trotters removed.

The meat, cooled to 0 … – 4 °C and the fat, cooled to – 3 … – 7 °C, are weighed and chopped by machine into 2-4 mm pieces. Seasoning takes place during the chopping and mixing, using salt, white pepper, sweet paprika, allspice, and curing salt is also added. The resulting salami paste is vacuum-filled by machine into an intestine casing, the ends of the individual salamis are closed and tied, and they are placed in a frame. Horse intestines or water vapour permeable synthetic casings are used.

After filling, the salami is smoked. This takes from 12 to 20 days at a maximum of 16 °C over a smothered hardwood billet fire using mainly beech billets.

The next stage is fermentation and drying of the smoked product to allow the formation of mould. During this process the salamis are placed in the fermenting/drying facility, where the natural microflora in the room attaches itself to the surface. No starter cultures are used for mould formation during salami production. Temperature and humidity conditions (10-14 °C, relative humidity above 86 %) for the formation of the mould layer enable and promote the growth of the mould and the formation of an even covering on the salami. The fermentation/drying requires great care; the high pH value of Budapesti téliszalámi — more than 5 — means it must be dried slowly. The relative humidity of the air for fermentation/drying is between 45 % and 95 % and the air flow is set so that the diffusion impetus (the difference between the relative and balanced humidity) does not exceed 4-5 %. This requires a combination of air flow from the external environment (the open air) and that which can be produced with air conditioning.

The fermentation/drying process takes 2-3 months, so that the total time needed for the salami from filling to being ready for cutting is at least 90 days.

4.6.   Link: Salami has been made in Budapest since the end of the 19th century. Whilst in the past this activity was carried out by a number of companies (Dozzi, Antal Kreische, Meduna, Ármin Herz and sons), the only salami manufacturer still operating there today is the HERZ Szalámigyár Zrt. founded by Ármin Herz and sons.

In the 19th century, Budapesti téliszalámi (Budapest winter salami) — as the name suggests — was made only in the winter. It was not yet possible to cool drying rooms or regulate the humidity of rooms artificially. The damp air in the vicinity of the Danube was used for mould formation and drying; this was ideal for the development of the mould coating which characterises Budapesti téliszalámi. Optimal air conditions for the fermentation stage were ensured by opening or closing the windows of the fermenting rooms. The product continues to be manufactured at a site beside the Danube and fermentation takes place within 1 km of the line of the river, which determines the atmospheric conditions in this zone. The air here is always damper and (apart from in winter) somewhat cooler; it is also cleaner, as the area close to the Danube enjoys continuous air movement. The relative humidity is approximately 10 % higher and the temperature fluctuation approximately 2 °C less than in areas further away.

The damper air which results from evaporation across the wide expanse of water has led in this geographical location to the formation of a particular combination of moulds — a mixture of various types of Penicillinum and Aspergillus in a fixed proportion — which gives the greyish-characteristic white colour to the layer of mould which forms on the product. The mould is characteristic and unique and bears the scent of the Danube, and there is none of the intense, unpleasant ammonia smell of salamis made with mould starters. The mould spores in the microflora of the fermenting rooms are everywhere present in the air and find their way by means of air currents onto the surface of the salami, where they multiply. This characteristic ‘home-grown mould flora’ determines the product's organoleptic properties (smell, taste, appearance); it also prevents the salami from drying out rapidly, whilst the opaque surface prevents it from quickly growing rancid.

It should be noted that the mould flora which forms the mould layer on Budapesti téliszalámi, which has been made using the same technique and ingredients for more than 110 years, consists of mould which is not inhibited by the smoked surface and thus clings easily to the surface of the salami and multiplies. This is not possible using mould starter cultures, due to their sensitivity to smoke.

Smoking is still done using cold smoke from a smothered hardwood billet fire (using mainly dry beech billets), just as in the 19th century. The thoroughly dried billets are still moved into place on hand-manoeuvred metal smoking carts which follow a fixed path, as in the past.

Fermenting takes place in multi-level fermenting rooms and is directed by the master salami maker. To this day the ‘home-grown mould flora’ remains able to develop and multiply in any of the fermenting rooms, regardless of what kind of building they are in, as the right conditions are created by the microclimate formed by the surface of the Danube and the parameters provided for fermenting. That said, the buildings currently in use were constructed from small bricks, with the masonry on the inside plastered and whitewashed. The humidity permeability of the brick walls is extremely good, which contributes to even, continuous dehydration. The internal construction of the smoking and fermenting rooms is of the ‘Prussian mitre’ design, with brick arches between I-beams located at 1,2 m intervals. This arrangement means there is a large dead space above the salami drying apparatus; this ensures the even circulation of air and also promotes even dehydration.

4.7.   Inspection body:

4.8.   Labelling: Name of product: ‘Budapesti téliszalámi’.

The word ‘Salami’ may be used together with the registered name ‘Budapesti téliszalámi’ on products intended for export.

After Community registration the words ‘protected geographical indication’ or the corresponding abbreviation must appear on the packaging together with the relevant Community symbol.

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.