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

2012/C 197/09

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 of the date of this publication

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘AGNELLO DEL CENTRO ITALIA’

EC No: IT-PGI-0005-0808-18.05.2010

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name:

‘Agnello del Centro Italia’

2.   Member State or third Country:

Italy

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1.   Type of product:

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

‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat is obtained from slaughtered lambs which are less than 12 months old and from the following local breeds and cross-breeds: Appenninica, Bergamasca, Biellese, Fabrianese, Merinizzata Italiana, Pomarancina, Sopravissana, Zerasca; Comisana, Cornella Bianca, Cornigliese (Corniglio), Garfagnina Bianca, Gentile di Puglia, Massese, Pagliarola, Pecora delle Langhe. There are three types of carcasses, with the following characteristics: the ‘light’ lamb, weighing between 8,01 and 13,0 kg, whose degree of fat cover falls under classes 1, 2 and 3 as defined in the ‘Community scale for the classification of carcasses of light lambs’; the ‘heavy’ lamb, weighing 13,01 kg or more, whose conformation falls under classes U, R and O and whose degree of fat cover falls under classes 2, 3 and 4 as defined in the ‘Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals’; the ‘castrated’ lamb, weighing 20,0 kg or more, whose conformation falls under classes E, U and R and whose degree of fat cover falls under classes 2, 3 and 4 as defined in the ‘Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals’.

The meat's pH is measured on the Longissimus toraci muscle and has a value between 6,15 and 6,80 if measured once all the slaughter procedures are completed and before the refrigeration of the carcasses; the value is between 5,15 and 5,80 if measured between 24 and 30 hours following the slaughter.

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

—

3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only):

The lambs are suckled exclusively with their mother's milk until weaning. After that, their basic diet consists of fodder made up of wild plants from the meadows, sown pasture, pulses and/or grasses, all obtained in the geographical area. Mineral and vitamin supplements and feedstuffs are allowed at a maximum daily quantity of 0,4 kg per head.

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

The birth and rearing of the lambs take place in the same farm located in the geographical area of production as delimited in point 4 below.

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

—

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat must bear a label containing the following information: the ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ logo; the type of product (Light — Heavy — Castrated); the EU’s graphic symbol.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

The geographical area of production of ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat includes the territories of the following regions: Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Tuscany, Umbria; Emilia-Romagna, including the entire territories of the provinces of Bologna, Rimini, Forlì-Cesena, Ravenna and, to a certain extent, the territories of the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma, delimited by the motorway route A1 Bologna-Milano from the border of the province of Bologna, by the junction with motorway A16 Parma-La Spezia and up until the border with the Tuscany — Passo della Cisa region.

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

The geographical area is characterised by three levels of altitude: the Apennine mountains, consisting mainly of limestone, which make up the central axis; the hills, where clay predominates and finally the plains on the valley floor which are made up of alluvial soils.

Environmental variations condition plant production quantitatively and qualitatively and, from the valley floor to the highest altitudes, a progressive change is observed in the percentage composition of the grazing resources.

As a result, the feed intake of ovine animals includes pastures and sown pasture which are essentially made up of fodder crops and pulses.

The rearing of ovine breeds is perfectly adapted to the particularities and difficult geographical and climatic conditions of this area of central Italy thanks to the horizontal, but especially vertical, transhumance practised by shepherds on both small and large scales since ancient times. Their goal is to integrate the resources offered by fodder from different areas by moving their flocks onto the pastures of the plains and to the seashore in winter and, inversely, onto the pastures of the Apennines during spring and summer. This practice exemplifies the ecological integration of local production systems and resources available in the geographical area of reference. It can also be considered a means of self-organisation for cattle-rearing, intended to overcome not only the adverse climatic conditions but also the imbalance between the dietary needs of the animals and the availability of forage.

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

The characteristics of ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat correspond to the relation between the speed at which the animals gain weight and their yield.

The early development of tissues provides for a good meat/bone ratio at the time of slaughter, which constitutes an overall advantage in terms of commercial yield. Its superior yield compared to other ovine meats, particularly milk-fed meats which are mainly sold on the local market, is precisely what makes it appreciated by consumers and market operators alike.

5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI):

The product is obtained from breeds and cross-breeds which are deeply rooted in the production area; some of them take their name from the geographical areas where they best adapted to the environment and gave the best yields. This strong link between environment and genetic heritage, deriving from a breed known generically as ‘Appenninica’ and used in the production of ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat, has allowed these animals to grow more rapidly than other breeds/genetic types reared in the area.

Moreover, the very names of these ovine breeds testify to their link with the geographical area. Indeed, the ongoing cross-breeding, hybridisation and selection of the ovine population from central Italy has produced specimens which have adapted perfectly to the specificities of the area, to the extent that they have taken the names of the municipalities in which they have produced the highest yields: the ‘Fabrianese’ from Fabriano; the ‘Pomarancina’ from Pomarance; the ‘Sopravissana’ from Visso which spread throughout the Marche region at the turn of the 20th century and which from there reached Umbria, Agro Romano, the part of Maremma situated between Tuscany and Lazio and as far as the Abruzzo region, which with the practice of transhumance became the centre of great seasonal migrations. The ‘Massese’ race which originates in the Valle del Forno in the province of Massa Carrara; the ‘Garfagnina Bianca’ population, which spread throughout the Valle del Serchio in Garfagnana and in the Val di Magra (Lunigiana and the Pontremoli region); the ‘Zerasca’ in Lunigiana, in the territory of Zeri in the province of Massa-Carrara.

The reputation of ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat thus derives from a qualitative synthesis carried out on the breeds historically present in the area, whose production value is further raised thanks to a high quality diet obtained through a cattle-breeding system which, taking place in the open air for at least eight months a year, allows for the extensive use of sown pastures where endemic plant fodder crops also grow. Its reputation is also due to the management capacities of the breeders and the screening measures they use to improve quality and productivity.

Today ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ meat enjoys a well-established reputation which originates in a document published in September 1961 by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, in the context of the ‘Rassegna Interregionale ovina’ held in Castelluccio di Norcia (Perugia), which stated: ‘The goal is to improve living conditions in mountain areas by creating the conditions necessary for developing livestock rearing and the “Agnello del Centro Italia” in particular.’

Reference to publication of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

The Ministry launched the national objection procedure with the publication of the proposal for recognising the protected geographical indication ‘Agnello del Centro Italia’ in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 66 of 20 March 2010.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following web site: http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or

by going directly to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (http://www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (on the top right of the screen) and then on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.