4.2.2010

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 28/26

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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

2010/C 28/12

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 from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘KIEŁBASA LISIECKA’

EC No: PL-PGI-0005-0527-08.03.2006

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

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

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:	Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi
Address:	ul. Wspólna 30 00-930 Warszawa POLSKA/POLAND
Tel.	+48 226232707
Fax	+48 226232325
E-mail:	oznaczenia@minrol.gov.pl

2.   Group:

Name:	Konsorcjum Producentów Kiełbasy Lisieckiej
Address:	Nowa Wieś Szlachecka 77 32-060 Liszki POLSKA/POLAND
Tel.	+48 122702542
Fax	+48 122702542
E-mail:	andrzej_madry@wp.pl
Composition:	Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3.   Type of product:

Class 1.2.

Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

4.   Specification:

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

4.1.    Name:

‘Kiełbasa lisiecka’

4.2.    Description:

‘Kiełbasa lisiecka’ is a product made of high-quality pork, suitably chopped and seasoned, which is stuffed into casings of a specific diameter and subjected to natural smoking.

‘Kiełbasa lisiecka’ is made exclusively from pork, 85 % of which is obtained from suitable ham muscles. The shape of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is reminiscent of a ring, formed according to the natural curve of the casings. The average length of a single ring of sausage is 35-40 cm. Externally, ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is of a dark brown colour that is typical of naturally smoked products. The surface of the casing is clean, shiny, slightly wrinkled and dry to the touch. The sausage has a round or oval cross-section. The cross-section measures 52 mm across on average. Pieces of meat surrounded by stuffing are clearly visible in cross-section. The colour of the cross-section consists of naturally pale pink pieces of meat and slightly darker, brownish-pink stuffing. The consistency of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is typically compact and firm. The dominant taste is that of spiced pork, with a mild taste of pepper, an aroma of garlic and a pronounced saltiness. The smell is characteristic of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’.

4.3.    Geographical area:

Czernichów and Liszki municipalities in Kraków District, Małopolskie Voivodship.

4.4.    Proof of origin:

During the preparatory stage and during production itself, each producer keeps records relating to this specification. They contain, in particular, information on the quality of the raw materials used and on the individual stages in the production of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’.

In order to ensure that the ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ production process conforms to the specification and to safeguard the sausage against possible unlawful use of its name, the producers’ consortium applies the following system of marking products covered by the specification:

—	use of a common label by all producers who make the sausage in accordance with the specification;

—	provision of sufficient quantities of the common label to all producers who make the sausage in accordance with the specification;

—	recording of the quantities of labels issued to producers.

The system adopted for keeping records of the labels makes it possible to obtain information on the quantities of sausage present on the market. Each producer must put details of his or her firm in the designated place on the label in accordance with the legislation in force in this area.

The above mentioned records can be accessed by the inspection body at all times and are subject to inspections.

4.5.    Method of production:

Raw materials

Pork — obtained from class ‘E’ pork half-carcasses, the lean meat content of which is 55-60 % by weight. Carcasses are classified according to the Community scale for grading pork carcasses.

The meat must not be subjected to any preservation process apart from chilling. Chilling means the keeping of fresh meat, during storage and transport, at an ambient temperature of between – 1 °C and + 4 °C. The meat must not be frozen.

The following parts of pork carcasses are used in the production of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’:

—

Class I pork — 85 % of the total production weight. This is lean meat from hams, with no fat, tendons or connective tissue. Slight marbling with intramuscular fat is permitted. The use of the semitendinosus muscle adjacent to the semimembranosus muscle and the quadriceps is not permitted in this class of meat owing to their characteristic very dark colour, which in the case of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ would adversely affect its traditional appearance.

—

Class II pork — 10 % of the total production weight. This meat is obtained during the process of cutting and trimming hams and shoulders and should contain less than 50 % fat. A small amount of connective tissue is permitted, but this must not account for more than 5 % of the total quantity of Class II meat.

—	Class III pork — 5 % of the total production weight. This meat is obtained from the trimming of the front and rear shin. Connective tissue may account for up to 25 % of the total amount of Class III meat, excluding external fat.

The following spices are used in the production of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’:

—	nitrited curing salt (peklosól) — 1,5 kg per 100 kg of total production weight;

—	fresh garlic — 400 g per 100 kg of total production weight;

—	ground white pepper — 300 g per 100 kg of total production weight; 50 g per 100 kg of coarse-ground black pepper is permitted within this amount.

The following auxiliary materials are used in the production of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’:

—	natural small intestines of bovine origin or protein casings with a diameter of 52 mm;

—	wooden picks (floki) or white sausage-making twine.

Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area:

Preparation of raw materials for production — meat for ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is trimmed from hams 48-120 hours after slaughter.

Preparation of meat for curing — Class I meat is cut into pieces to produce 3-5 cm cubes. Class II and III meat remains in the pieces obtained from the cutting and trimming of hams and shoulders.

Dry curing — the cubes of Class I meat and pieces of Class II and III meat obtained from cutting are mixed with nitrited curing salt. Each class of meat is cured separately. The curing process takes place at a temperature of 4-6 °C in premises where the humidity level is 85 %. The meat is cured for 2-4 days.

Chopping of meat after curing — the Class I meat is not chopped after curing, whereas the Class II meat is chopped up into pieces 10 mm across and the Class III meat is chopped with garlic and pepper into pieces 3 mm across. The process is repeated twice.

Mixing and preparation of the stuffing — the blending of all the ingredients begins with the mixing of the prepared Class I meat. The length of this stage depends on the time it takes for the pieces of meat to display the right degree of glutinosity. Technological water (maximum (5 % of total production weight) may be added at this stage. The other ingredients — Class II and III meat — are then added. After adequate mixing of the meat, the stuffing becomes firmly bound and all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Filling and tying-up of casings — the casings are tightly filled with the mixed stuffing and individual rings are formed, the ends of which are closed off using wooden picks or tied up with twine.

Settling — this process takes place in a well-ventilated, warm place. The optimum settling time is about two hours. Settling is the ageing (resting) of rings of sausage, hung on smoking rods, immediately after stuffing until they are moved to the smokehouse.

Smoking and cooking — the smoking and cooking process takes place in traditional smoking chambers, in which the smoke and heat is provided by the burning of wood from deciduous trees: alder, beech or fruit trees. The wood is burnt in a smoking chamber directly under the rods on which the sausages are hung.

The smoking of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is a continuous, three-stage process based on the craftsmanship and knowledge of local producers and consists of drying, smoking proper and cooking. The process of smoking and cooking one batch of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ takes about 3,5-4,5 hours.

Cooling — this process takes place in a well-ventilated place where the temperature does not exceed 8-12 °C and the air humidity is 85-90 %. The rings of sausage are cooled to a temperature not exceeding 18 °C.

Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

Producers of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ are obliged to vacuum-pack cut or sliced ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’. Producers are not obliged to vacuum-pack entire rings. The vacuum-packing obligation applies only to producers who make ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ in accordance with this specification.

4.6.    Link:

Specificity of the geographical area

Free markets (wolnice), where craftsmen who did not belong to guilds could sell their produce, developed in Polish towns and cities from the early 17th century. According to sources describing the butchers of Kraków in 1930, meat products from villages near Kraków were being sold at such a free market in Kraków. It is from the areas around Liszki and Czernichów that many of them came. Electoral rolls for 1865, 1867 and 1870 for Czernichów, Liszki, Kaszów and neighbouring villages belonging to the same deanery as Czernichów and Liszki contain the names of butchers living and working in those localities.

A manuscript dating from 1894 kept in the Ethnographical Museum in Kraków reveals that in the entire area that is now Kraków District there were 87 butchers, 35 (40,2 %) of whom carried on their activity in localities within the current administrative boundaries of the city of Kraków. However, the list reveals that a further 34 butchers (39,1 %) were active in localities within Liszki and Czernichów municipalities. This means that as many butchers were operating in these two comparatively small municipalities as in Kraków, which had about 70 000 inhabitants at that time. This is clear evidence of the strong and long-standing tradition of meat processing in the municipalities of Liszki and Czernichów. From the middle of the 19th century, they have constituted the second biggest centre of cured meat production in the district, after Kraków.

The tradition of butchery and cured-meat production in the municipalities of Liszki and Czernichów continued uninterrupted until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. During the Second World War, these trades were in crisis as a result of the excessive demands of the occupying forces. The butchers of Czernichów and Liszki were forced to sell their products illegally, running the risk of confiscation and penalties, but it is because of this that the continuity of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ production was preserved.

In 1949, 45 private enterprises were still active in the butchery and smoked and cured meat sectors in Kraków District. Among those listed, as many as 18 (40 %) were trading in the municipalities of Czernichów and Liszki. After the Second World War, governments which pursued the policy of a ‘planned socialist centralised economy’ did not encourage the development of private enterprise, but butchers from the areas around Liszki and Czernichów continued to produce their smoked meats in the smokery they set up as part of the ‘Samopomoc Chłopska’ municipal cooperative in Liszki. Problems with supplies of meat products, including the widely known ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’, helped increasingly to develop its renown and reputation. The cooperative produced ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ for 50 years, thus contributing to the continuity of the tradition of its production. After the changes in the political system in Poland, i.e. after 1989, more private butchery establishments were set up and they are continuing the fine traditions of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ production. Some of them formed the Konsorcjum Producentów Kiełbasy Lisieckiej, which is engaged in the production, promotion and protection of this product.

Specificity of the product

The distinctive characteristic of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is that 85 % of the meat used in its production is obtained from ham. Producers themselves carry out additional post-slaughter meat classification, allowing them to determine the suitability of parts of the carcass for the production of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’. Another specific feature of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is that most of the meat used in its production is coarsely cut (3-5 cm cubes). Therefore, when ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is cut, pieces of meat surrounded by more finely chopped stuffing are clearly visible.

The dominant taste in ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is that of spiced pork, with a mild taste of pepper, an aroma of garlic and a pronounced saltiness. During the smoking process, which takes place in traditional smoking chambers, the smoke and heat is provided by the burning of wood from deciduous trees: alder, beech or fruit trees. This gives ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ its particular smell and taste.

Another distinctive characteristic of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is its diameter. According to local tradition, only natural intestines of bovine origin were used as casings in its production. Protein casings may now be used, but only of a diameter of 52 mm.

Specific quality, the reputation or other characteristics of the product

The link between ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ and the region is based on the local production technology (unique know-how) and the producers’ craftsmanship resulting from long-standing butchery traditions, all of which gives ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ the specific qualities detailed above, and on the reputation described below.

Kiełbasa krajana is a famous Kraków smoked meat product. It was in the 1930 s that ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ developed from the Kraków coarse-cut sausage (krakowska grubo krajana). It was identified by consumers as a specific type of this sausage, distinguished by its ingredients and production method. ‘Kiełbasa lisiecka’ established itself as a distinct product owing to the unique recipe used for its production by butchers from the areas around Liszki and Czernichów. It is this recipe, kept secret in the past, that determined the particular taste and quality of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’. Historical documents show that, among others, Prince Adam Sapieha, the Metropolitan of Kraków from 1925 to 1951, who visited the Liszki parish many times, greatly appreciated the taste of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’.

Cookery writers, in their guide to Kraków cuisine published in 1966, value the reputation of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’, describing it as typical on account of its ingredients and recipe, filled as it is with tender, yet large, pieces of meat, and the recipe used in its production, which gives it its particular flavour.

The very high quality of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ and its exceptional reputation have been borne out by several awards, e.g. in the national competition ‘Nasze Kulinarne Dziedzictwo’.

4.7.    Inspection body:

1.	Name : COBICO Sp. z o. o. Address : ul. Grzegórzecka 77 31-559 Kraków POLSKA/POLAND

2.	Name : Biocert Małopolska Sp. z o. o. Address : ul. Lubicz 25a 31-503 Kraków POLSKA/POLAND

4.8.    Labelling:

Producers of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ use two types of labels:

1.	A basic label in the form of a sleeve (a band around a ring of sausage). The ring is the basic unit in which ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ is sold. Each ring has its own label.

2.	A label applied to vacuum-packaging, in the form of a sticker.

The printing of labels is overseen by the Konsorcjum Producentów Kiełbasy Lisieckiej, which distributes and keeps records of the labels referred to above. The rules governing distribution must not discriminate against any producer making ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ in accordance with this specification.

Each vacuum-pack of ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ must bear a label including the inscription ‘kiełbasa lisiecka’ and the PGI symbol.

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