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

2009/C 248/08

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

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘GYULAI KOLBÁSZ’ OR ‘GYULAI PÁROSKOLBÁSZ’

EC No: HU-PDO-0005-0394-21.10.2004

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:

Association for the use of the GYULAI geographical product designation

3.   Type of product:

4.   Specification:

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

4.1.   Name:

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’

4.2.   Description:

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is produced from the chopped meat and firm lard of cross-breeds of Hungarian Large White meat-type pigs, long-haired ‘Mangalica’ and Hungarian lowland pig varieties, and Hampshire, Duroc and Pietrain varieties and their hybrids, fattened to the weight of at least 135 kg. The adequate quality of pigmeat required for the production of ‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is achieved by manual boning, which enables the thorough removal of sinews in processing almost every meat part of the pig.

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is a meat product of a minimum of 15 % (m/m) protein content without connective tissue, consisting of pork and firm lard minced into 4-6 mm particles, filled into casings of pigs’ small intestines (or, when produced for slicing, into vapour-permeable artificial casings) in pairs, seasoned with salt, sweet and hot ground paprika, garlic, pepper and ground caraway, smoked predominantly over beech wood, and cured and preserved by drying.

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ has a diameter of 26-40 mm, and comes in 18-26 cm pairs or in sliced form. The casing is clean, free of damage and mould, has a slightly bumpy and knobby surface, a reddish-brown colour, with the lard particles showing through. It forms a compact substance, it is flexible, cohesive and easy to slice. The cut surface reveals evenly distributed 4-6 mm meat and lard particles embedded in a meat pulp. It has a pleasantly smoky and spicy fragrance and owes its harmonious flavour and aroma to the blend of spices used.

It is sold in pairs, with a label around the one of the sausages. ‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is also vacuum or modified-atmosphere packed in pairs, in printed packaging. ‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ produced specifically to be sold in slices is longer and does not come in pairs; the casing is removed, and after slicing it is sold in vacuum-packed units of various sizes.

The chemical composition of the product:

4.3.   Geographical area:

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is produced within the administrative boundaries of the towns of Gyula and Békéscsaba.

4.4.   Proof of origin:

An identification number is attached to each item of raw and ancillary material delivered to the plant, and this is indicated on both the production documents and the materials themselves.

The product to be manufactured is given a permanent code number identifying it in every phase of the process. An item number, containing the code number of the product and the date of production, is used to identify the finished product. Information about the raw and ancillary materials is included in the production documents.

The item number — and consequently item identification — applies to daily output quantities.

The label on the packaged product carries the date of packaging or the best-before date. With this information the item number can be identified from the daily packaging documents.

The filed documents guarantee that all information about the production of any finished product can be retrieved retrospectively.

4.5.   Method of production:

‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ is produced from the leg, shoulder joint, knuckle, belly, loins, shoulder and collar steak (obtained by manual boning) of the half carcasses (without head and feet) and the firm lard (free of glands) of specific cross-breeds of pig.

The meat parts (frozen to minus 2 to 4 °C or pre-cooled to 0 to plus 7 °C) and the lard (0 to minus 7 °C) are minced by machine into 4-6 mm particles, then the spices and the nitrite salt are added. The resulting paste (that has a temperature of 0 to minus 4 °C) is filled by machine into casings of pigs’ small intestines or vapour-permeable artificial casings in pairs and the sausages are then clipped at the end.

The filled sausages are subsequently smoked over slow-burning hardwood (primarily beech) logs for two to three days at 20 °C in a space with a relative humidity of 90 to 70 %.

After smoking, the sausages are cured and dried. In an effort to prevent quality defects (the formation of a crust), the dry-curing parameters are set in a way that the difference between the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) of the sausages and the ambient relative humidity (RH) of the room should not exceed 4 to 5 %. The typical ambient temperature is 16 to 18 °C; the initial RH of 90 to 92 % is gradually reduced to 65 to 70 %. The drying is continued until the water activity in the sausages reaches 0,91, a process that takes about 14 to 16 days. This is followed by post-maturing, in the course of which the moisture content of the packaged product evens out, the cut surface becomes consistent and the substance more crumbly, and the colour stabilises as a result of the antioxidant effect of the natural spices. These properties, combined with a full-rounded flavour, completely set ‘Gyulai kolbász’ or ‘Gyulai pároskolbász’ apart from the flavour and substance of instantly marketed products.

4.6.   Linking:

4.7.   Inspection body:

4.8.   Labelling:

—