Publication of an application for registration pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 8(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 on certificates of specific character

(2003/C 141/05)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 8 and 9 of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to the application must be submitted to the competent authority in the Member State concerned within a time limit of five months from the date of this publication. Supporting arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under points 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2082/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A SPECIFIC PRODUCT

National application No: 1

1. Responsible department in the Member State Name: Ministero per le Politiche agricole e forestali

Address: Via XX Settembre, 20, I-00187 Roma

Tel. (39-06) 481 99 68

Fax (39-06) 42 01 31 26

E-mail: qualita@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant group (a) Name: Consorzio produttori carni avicunicole pregiate (C.AVI.P.)

(b) Address: Via degli Artigiani, 20, I-60032 Castelplanio (AN)

(c) Composition: Producer organisations, processing cooperatives in the poultry- and rabbit-farming sector and private companies

3. Name of product: Gallo Ruspante

4. Type of product: Fresh meat - Class 1.1

5. Specification

(Summary of requirements under Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92)

(a) Name: Gallo Ruspante with the Community indication and symbol referred to in (Regulation (EC) No 2515/94) Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1848/93 as amended and supplemented.

(b) Special method of production: This involves:

1. the following stages and rules, to be applied at the same farm:

- deep-litter, extensive-type production under cover,

- litter comprising wood chips and/or chopped straw,

- maximum size: 1500 m2 per individual hen-house and 3000 m2per individual poultry farm,

- natural ventilation and lighting,

- maximum stocking density: 12 birds/m2 but not more than 25 kg liveweight/m2,

- introduction of chicks within 48 hours of hatching (only male chicks sexed on hatching),

- feed rations made up of at least 65 % cereals, including up to 15 % by-products, administered throughout most of fattening period.

The raw materials allowed in feed rations are:

- maize,

- maize gluten,

- grain sorghum,

- common and durum wheat,

- plant species with high protein- and fat-contents,

- bran, sharps and middlings,

- fats and oils of animal and vegetable origin.

Minimum age of birds: 100 days on slaughter; they must be sexually mature and the tip of the sternum must be rigid (ossified).

2. The following operations must be applied at the same processing plant:

- slaughtering carried out separately or on specified production lines or on specified days,

- full or partial evisceration,

- air chilling,

- packing with provision for traceability.

(c) Traditional character: On traditional markets in the past, the adjective ruspante (free-range) was closely linked to male domestic fowl from country areas and was therefore similar to today's Gallo Ruspante.

This was particularly the case in central Italy and other regions of the country where this type of chicken was sold locally at weekly livestock markets, the bird at times being referred to by the adjective ruspante on its own. This particular trade was mainly the province of women (the rezdora or reggitora). In the past the birds were also sold directly to well-off families or were presented to the farm owner as complimentary gifts (regalie), but retail sales ever more frequently involved slaughterhouses, which displayed the chickens for sale under the name ruspante, which took on the meaning of cockerel from the countryside reared in the traditional manner. The free-range cockerel or ruspante (always masculine in gender!) embodied a type of traditional peasant family-farm where the farm-wife was in charge and the chicks were reared without any distinction as to gender. The female chicks were reared as layers and for breeding. The males were reared as broilers for consumption on the farm or for sale on the market under the name ruspante once they reached sexual maturity. A single cockerel was kept in the farmyard for breeding purposes. The special characteristic of the traditional ruspante was not only that it was a male bird reared to sexual maturity (gallo or cockerel) in the farmyard and fed on middlings which it needed to scratch around for (ruspando), but it was also a slow-growing bird that had therefore ranged freely (ruspato) for the whole of its relatively long life. It should not be forgotten that traditional layers, including today's breeds, are slow-growing and quite different from modern fast-growing chickens bred as table fowl. The cockerels' feed rations made up mainly of good-quality grain, their slow rate of growth, the fact that they reach sexual and skeletal maturity before slaughter, and their lengthy motor activity give their flesh special flavours that come out during ageing and cooking, imparting a traditional consistency and savour to the meat.

Today's "Gallo Ruspante" free-range cockerels therefore continue to display the traditional characteristics of the past and are different from all other deep-litter table fowl.

(d) Description of the product: Gallo Ruspante traditional free-range chickens are fowl of the species Gallus domesticus selected for laying eggs for consumption of certified provenance and belonging to slow-growing, light-weight breeds.

Gallo Ruspante chickens are released for consumption only after slaughter, partially eviscerated or eviscerated without offal, with heads and feet, air chilled, in individual or combined packages protected in some way. The minimum weight of the individual product must comply with the following parameters:

- eviscerated without offal - greater than or equal to 1,35 kg,

- partially eviscerated - greater than or equal to 1,40 kg.

On maturity Gallo Ruspante chickens must display the following characteristics:

Organoleptic characteristics

Appearance:

- tip of sternum ossified,

- yellow-coloured skin,

- length of the base of the lamina of the comb 3-5 cm,

- average diameter of wattles 2,5 to 4 cm,

- well-developed auricular fold,

- thick, raised external edge of auditory meatus,

- long, narrow median ridge resulting from longitudinal development of pectoral muscles,

- central portion of median ridge triangular-like in shape, white-coloured and very thin,

- clearly visible, closely packed feather follicles, particularly in the following anatomical areas: sides of median ridge (side and rear of neck as far as knee-joint area), cranio-latero-ventral area of breast, wing area and lumbosacral area,

- uropygial gland raised and fairly firm,

- highly developed scales on tibio-tarso-metatarsic joint where they do not overlap.

Consistency of flesh:

- very thin, not very evident connective adipose-subcutaneous tissue and firm,

- compact pectoral and thigh muscles.

Chemical characteristics

Determination on 100 g of edible part including skin:

- less than 80 % moisture content,

- 18 % ± 2 % protein,

- less than 5,5 % fats.

Keeping

The product must be kept at a temperature of between 0 and + 4 °C. The holding temperature must be shown on the label with the words "da consumarsi cotto" ("to be consumed cooked") and the "best-before" date must be expressed as "da consumarsi entro..." ("to be consumed by...") with the day and month.

Gallo Ruspante chickens are released for consumption only after the birds are slaughtered and partially or fully eviscerated, presented solely with heads and feet and air-chilled in authorised establishments in compliance with procedures suitable for identifying the birds. To that end the chickens must be slaughtered separately or on specified production lines or on days specified in advance; the following records must also be kept:

1. producers authorised to produce "Gallo Ruspante" must keep a farm register giving their identification data, the date of introduction, the number of fowl introduced and their provenance, the number of birds sent for slaughter, their age, the date of dispatch, the name and address of the purchaser and the quantity and provenance of feed used;

2. slaughterhouses authorised to use the name "Gallo Ruspante" must keep:

- a separate register containing the names and addresses of the producers,

- a slaughter register giving data identifying the slaughterhouse, the data identifying the producer, the date of arrival of birds, the number and total live or dead weight of birds sent for slaughter, the date of slaughter, the total number of birds slaughtered, the number of birds complying with the specifications and marketed, the name and address of the purchaser and the serial numbers of the birds marketed;

3. feed manufacturers and feed suppliers must keep records showing that the composition of feed supplied to the producers referred to in point 1 fulfils the requirements of Article 5.

Products carrying the certificate of specific character "Gallo Ruspante" must be released for consumption individually wrapped in heat-sealed plastic packaging or in combined packages, protected in some way. The minimum weight of the individual product must comply with the following:

- eviscerated without offal - at least 1,35 kg,

- partially eviscerated - at least 1,40 kg.

Each product must bear a special mark showing the logo corresponding to the following colour references:

1. upper part of chicken: red made up of 100 % Warm Red U;

2. lower part of chicken: green made up of 18,5 % yellow, 80 % green and 1,5 % black;

3. band across middle of chicken: white, with words "GALLO RUSPANTE" in black;

4. circle round chicken: black;

5. background of circle: white.

The mark forms an integral part of the rules on designation, which provides for it to be used solely with the words "Gallo Ruspante" followed by "Specialità Tradizionale Garantita" and/or the Community symbol referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1848/93 as amended and supplemented, the name of the inspection body and all the wording laid down by the rules in force. The mark also shows serial numbers for identifying the individual bird, the age at which it was slaughtered and the batch of origin; it can also show the private logo of the marketing company.

(e) Minimum requirements and inspection procedures: A body designated in accordance with Article 14(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 is responsible for checking to see that the mark containing the expression "Gallo Ruspante" is used properly.

The schedule of checks of compliance with the rules on production and traceability is to include checks of:

- the provenance of the breeds,

- the vitality, marketable size and microbiological specifications of the chick,

- the general and technical rules on rearing,

- feed,

- certifying of compliance,

- withdrawal of non-compliance,

- regular inspections are carried out of:

- the farm: at least once during each production cycle,

- feed manufacturers and feed suppliers: at least once a year,

- the slaughterhouse: at least four times a year.

6. Application for reservation under Article 13(2) The applicant organisation requests that the name be reserved in accordance with Article 13(2).

Reservation is requested of the name in Italian only.

EC No: IT/00019/00.08.10.

Date of receipt of the full application: 23 December 2002.