Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2023/C 199/08)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

’Meso turopoljske svinje'

EU No: PDO-HR-02858 — 2.8.2022

PDO (X ) PGI ( )

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

’ Meso turopoljske svinje '

2.   Member State or Third Country

Republic of Croatia

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.1. Fresh meat (and offal)

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ is the fresh meat and other edible parts of the carcass of castrated males and of females of the autochthonous Turopolje pig breed, which are born, reared and slaughtered in the geographical area defined in point 4.

‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ is marketed fresh or frozen as dressed half-carcasses, parts of half-carcasses with the bone (primal cuts) and as deboned meat (by the piece or sliced, in bulk or packaged).

The age of the pigs at slaughter is at least 12 months. Only dressed carcasses of category T1 (fattened pigs) and T2 (fattened pigs with a higher final weight) may be used. The minimum thickness of the back fat measured over the M. gluteus medius according to the ZP (two-points) method must be 30 mm.

The pH value of the meat (measured on the M. longissimus dorsi) is within the limits of the normal quality for pork (pH1 > 6,0 and pH2 between 5,5 and 6,1), with a meat colour of CIE L* < 50 and CIE a* > 15.

‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ has a darker, redder colour, a more compact muscle texture and less surface secretion than pork of standard production. It has an innately higher degree of fat accumulation, especially in the subcutaneous part and between the muscles. The cooled adipose tissue is firm, and glossy-white in colour.

When consumed, the cooked meat has an elastic, juicy consistency, full of flavour and a specific aroma from the rendered fat of the meat.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

During the suckling period, from 3 weeks of age to around 10 days after weaning, the piglets may be fed a ready-made feed mix for suckling pigs with a minimum of 18 % crude protein, and with a minimum of 16 % crude protein until the beginning of fattening. After weaning, until fattening begins, compound feed produced on the farm may also be used to feed the piglets, the basis of which (minimum 70 %) is made up of cereals (maize, barley, wheat, triticale) with a protein and vitamin-mineral supplement necessary for a balanced diet. The piglets are fed meals, and a sufficient supply of fresh drinking water must be available to them at all times. During rearing, the piglets must have access to coarse fodder.

Fattening starts from 4 to 6 months of age. The pigs in fattening are fed a mix of grass and other natural sources of food available locally (herbs, tree fruits, wild fruits, roots, tubers, mushrooms, insects, worms, snails, shells, etc.), which they find by grazing and burrowing, with a daily supplement of feed to supplement fattening. At least 75 % of the concentrate supplement must be made up of cereals, with a protein and vitamin-mineral supplement necessary for a balanced diet (minimum 12 % crude protein). The maximum daily intake of such feed is limited to 2 % of the animal’s live weight, or exceptionally up to 3 % in the event of natural disasters (droughts, floods, hailstorms, etc.) when grazing is not possible. A supplement of coarse fodder must be available to the fattening pigs: fresh alfalfa and alfalfa hay, clover/grass mixtures, haylage, pumpkin, turnip, brassica vegetables, potatoes, nettles, fruit and vegetables, wheat bran, and beet pulp.

All feed – except feed for which a sufficient quantity (protein, mineral and vitamin supplements) cannot be produced due to local constraints, or which cannot be sourced locally due to natural disasters – must come from the geographical production area. Exceptionally, in the event of natural disasters (droughts, floods, hailstorms) preventing the production of the necessary feed in the defined area, the same type of feed may be sourced from other areas, for which the owner must provide documentary evidence. The maximum amount of feed which may come from outside the geographical area referred to in point 4 must not exceed 50 % of dry matter on an annual basis.

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

All stages of the production of ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’, including farrowing and the rearing, fattening and slaughtering of the pigs, must take place within the geographical area referred to in point 4.

Exceptionally, breeding animals may come from outside the defined area if there are justified zootechnical requirements (e.g. blood refreshment).

All registered or approved establishments involved in the production chain of ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ (farms and abattoirs) must be located within the defined geographical area.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ may be sold as chilled (fresh) or frozen meat, by the piece or sliced, in bulk or packaged.

3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

When placed on the market in the form of half-carcasses and primal cuts, and for all types of retail packaging, the product label must include, in addition to the particulars laid down in the legislation, the name of the designation of origin and the common symbol for ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’.

Illustration of common symbol:

All users of the designation of origin ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ who place a product on the market that is in accordance with its product specification have the right to use the common symbol, under the same conditions.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area of ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ is confined to the area of continental Croatia, which consists of 13 counties and the city of Zagreb. It is located exclusively within the administrative boundaries of the towns and municipalities of the following counties: Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina, Varaždin, Vukovar-Syrmia, Osijek-Baranja, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Požega-Slavonia, Virovitica-Podravina, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Koprivnica-Križevci, Međimurje, Krapina-Zagorje, Karlovac, and the city of Zagreb.

5.   Link with the geographical area

Specificity of the geographical area

The Turopolje pig breed originates in the Turopolje area, which in terms of relief and geography is a plain located on an alluvial plate between Posavina (swampy lowlands along the Sava river) to the north and the Vukomerić Hills (a low, flat mountain range) to the south. The Turopolje plain is criss-crossed by the Odra river and its tributaries, which regularly flood the depressions due to the impermeability of the surrounding terrain (heavy minerogenic/swampy clay soils) to the high spring and autumn water levels.

The most significant plant communities in this area include common oak (Quercus robur) and swampy meadows of hair-grass (Deschampsietum caespitosae).

Like most of continental Croatia, this area has a moderately warm, wet climate. The mean annual air temperature is 10,2 °C, annual precipitation is 893 mm, and average relative humidity is 78,6 %. The average air temperature during the vegetation period (April-September) is 16,7 °C. For forest vegetation, it is important that precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year and that over 50 % of precipitation falls during the vegetation period. Precipitation is at its lowest in winter. Similar climatic and relief features that shape the large forested areas and pastures in the floodplains along the rivers are also characteristic of the other areas of continental Croatia to which Turopolje pig-farming has spread.

The abundance of forests, in particular oak, the numerous watercourses and the temperate climate of Turopolje have long favoured the development of pig-farming. For centuries, the farming of Turopolje pigs has been important for the livelihood of local inhabitants, who have been excellent pig breeders since time immemorial. The long tradition of pig rearing in this area is evidenced by a wealth of written material – in particular various decrees, decisions and records that mention prominent pig farmers and the conditions for keeping pigs in the forest, regulate fattening fees or impose penalties for pig theft – which has been found in municipal registers, historical records and other local literary sources dating as far back as 1352.

In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the area where the Turopolje pig was bred expanded from Turopolje towards Sisak and Draganić and later to a part of Slavonia and Podravina stretching as far as the Hungarian border, making the Turopolje pig the most widespread pig breed in Croatia. For example, in 1921 some 85 000 Turopolje pigs were being bred, some of them for export.

With the transition from extensive to intensive pig-farming in the middle of the 20th century, the Turopolje pig breed lost its economic importance and almost died out. The revival of breeding began in 1996, when the breed was included in the state programme for renewal and in situ protection.

Due to its inferior production features compared to other breeds, autochthonous Turopolje pigs are rare nowadays, and are reared almost exclusively in the geographical area defined in point 4. In this area, the pigs are still reared using a traditional, local low-input technology developed in the past by keeping Turopolje pigs outdoors in an ecosystem of floodplain forests and swampy meadows. Under this type of pig rearing, the pigs grow slowly, roam freely, and feed on grass and other natural sources of food available (herbs, acorns and other tree fruits, wild fruits, roots, tubers, mushrooms, insects, worms, snails, shells, etc.), which they find by themselves by grazing and burrowing, with a minimum supplement of concentrated feed.

The low-input technology involved in the rearing of Turopolje pigs outdoors is unique to the geographical area defined in point 4, where it has been applied for centuries. Outside the geographical area, pig rearing is more intensive, with a higher proportion of feed mix in the diet, little movement, and a lack of natural sources of food, which adversely affects the characteristics of the meat of Turopolje pigs, in particular the colour and structure as well as the taste and aroma of their meat.

Specificity of the product

The Turopolje pig is thought to have emerged in the early Middle Ages through the cross-breeding of a locally domesticated pig whose original form was the Mediterranean wild boar (Sus mediterraneus) with a pig of the Šiška breed – a direct descendant of the European wild boar (Sus scrofa ferus), which the newly arrived Slavic tribes brought with them to this region. The resulting pig was adaptable and resistant to weather conditions and diseases, and fitted in extremely well with Turopolje’s ecosystem. The breed was developed locally, without any significant external influence, which is why today the Turopolje breed shows a clear genetic distance from pig breeds from near and far.

Fattening pigs of the Turopolje breed are characterised by a slower growth rate and a shorter carcass with a smaller proportion of meat than other pig breeds, while the accumulation of fat, especially in the subcutaneous part and between the muscles, is significantly higher. (Karolyi et al., 2019: Turopolje Pig. In: European Local Pig Breeds – Diversity and Performance. A study of project TREASURE (M. Čandek-Potokar, R. Nieto Linan (ed.), IntechOpen, pp. 271–274).

Due to their older age at slaughter and greater physical activity while outdoors, the pigs’ meat has a darker, redder colour, a more compact muscle texture and less surface secretion than pork of standard production, without the so-called PSE (pale, soft and exudative) characteristics that often appear in stress-sensitive genotypes due to gene mutations, which have not been recorded in these breeds. This is confirmed by studies which have shown that the pH of the meat (measured on the M. longissimus dorsi) is within the limits of the normal quality for pork (pH1 > 6,0 and pH2 between 5,5 and 6,1), with a meat colour of CIE L* < 50 and CIE a* > 15.

The meat of the Turopolje pig has always been especially prized and is often considered to be superior to the meat of other breeds of pig; Ritzoffy (1931) attributes the higher quality, thinner fibre and characteristic colour and flavour of the meat of the Turopolje pig to the injection of Mediterranean blood. Recent scientific studies have confirmed the thinness (smaller diameter) of muscle fibres in the meat of the Turopolje pig compared to industrial cross-breeds of pig (Đikić et al., 2010: Biological characteristics of Turopolje pig breed as factors in renewing and preservation of population. Stočarstvo 64 (2–4), p. 86).

Public interest in the Turopolje pig endures to this day, as evidenced by numerous print and electronic media. A survey of consumer preferences confirmed that Croatian consumers are generally familiar with the Turopolje pig (89,5 % of respondents) and recognise the quality of its meat and products, while almost half of all respondents (47 %) and most respondents at local level (55–57 %) consider them better than the meat and products of modern pig breeds (Annex 5.4, Cerjak 2019: Znanje i preferencije potrošača prema turopoljskoj svinji i proizvodima od turopoljske svinje [Consumer knowledge of and preferences for the Turopolje pig and its products], Zagreb University of Agriculture, pp. 1–40).

Causal link between the geographical area and the product

The protection of the product ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’ is based on the specific quality of the meat resulting from the genetic basis, the way in which the pigs are kept and fed, and the pigs’ age at slaughter.

The geography and relief, and climatic and biotic factors of the lowland forest ecosystems of Pokuplje and Posavina favoured the early development of pig-farming in the Turopolje area, whose inhabitants have been excellent pig breeders since time immemorial. The Turopolje pig – one of Europe’s oldest pig breeds – was developed without any significant external influence, over a lengthy period of time, in which the continuous interaction between genotype and environment led the breed to adapt to and utilise the area’s natural resources. Resistant to weather and disease, with modest needs and capable of finding food on their own, the pigs have always been able to survive outdoors, which is why they spent most of the year grazing in the forest, where they had grass and acorns as their main food energy source, satisfying their protein requirements by burrowing. This low-input technology (food and housing capacity) with full use of natural resources has been maintained in the farming of this breed to this day.

The breeding method, which includes free grazing in forests and on pastures and feeding on naturally available food sources, and innate breed characteristics such as robustness, slow weight gain and an ability for compensatory growth and fat accumulation, together with an absence of intensive selection or any significant cross-breeding, have shaped the growth characteristics of the Turopolje pig, which directly affect the development of body tissue and the specific characteristics of ‘Meso turopoljske svinje’. The fact that the pigs remain outdoors, their greater muscle activity, together with the older age of the fattening pigs at slaughter, lead to a greater accumulation of muscle pigment, giving the meat a darker, redder colour. The colour of the meat and bacon is also more sustainable, due to a more varied choice of food and the intake of natural antioxidants and other substances that help stabilise the tissue. The smaller diameter of the muscle fibres gives the meat a finer texture. The meat is also compact and without surface secretion. At the same time, compensatory growth with an energy-rich diet in the final stages of breeding during the autumn season after weaker growth in spring and summer leads to rapid development of adipose tissue in breeds with a low potential for muscle growth such as the Turopolje pig. Therefore, the meat of the Turopolje pig has an innately higher degree of fat accumulation, especially in the subcutaneous part and between the muscles, which is why, when consumed, the cooked meat has an elastic, juicy consistency, full of flavour and a specific aroma from the rendered fat of the meat.

Due to the outdoor breeding and the quality of the meat, most modern-day consumers, especially local ones, consider the meat of the Turopolje pig to be superior to and of greater market value than standard pork.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/hrana/proizvodi_u_postupku_zastite-zoi-zozp-zts/Specifikacija_Meso_turopoljske%20svinje.pdf

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(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.