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

2011/C 345/07

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 from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘SER KORYCIŃSKI SWOJSKI’

EC No: PL-PGI-0005-0835-18.10.2010

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name:

‘Ser koryciński swojski’

2.   Member State or third country:

Poland

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:

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ is a ripened cheese made from raw whole cow’s milk, to which rennet and table salt are added. Spices and herbs may be added.

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ has a flattened spherical (geoidal) shape with an elliptical cross-section; it is up to 30 cm in diameter (depending on the size of the strainer used in its production and the quantity of cheese placed in it) and weighs 2,5-5 kg (depending on the strainer used and the length of the ripening period).

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ has plentiful small eyes of different sizes and shapes. The surface of the cheese is fluted.

There are three maturation periods for cheese sold under the name ‘ser koryciński swojski’:

The length of the maturation period does not alter the specific characteristics of ‘ser koryciński swojski’ referred to in (5.2).

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

The milk used in production is raw whole milk. No physical or chemical processing is permitted, except for the filtering-out of macroscopic impurities and cooling at an ambient temperature for preservation purposes. The making of the cheese must begin no later than five hours after milking finishes.

The use of different spices merely serves to impart flavours and does not alter the characteristics of ‘ser koryciński swojski’.

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

The milk used to produce ‘ser koryciński swojski’ comes from cows which are pasture-grazed for at least 150 days a year. The animals are fed using traditional methods; meadow hay, cereal feeds (barley, rye, wheat and cereal blends) or hay silage form the basis of their feed in winter.

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

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

—

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

All producers of ‘ser koryciński swojski’ are required to use the common ‘ser koryciński swojski’ logo on their labels. The ‘ser koryciński swojski’ logo will be distributed via the Zrzeszenie Producentów Sera Korycińskiego (Association of Korycin Cheese Producers).

The rules governing the distribution of the logo do not in any way discriminate against producers who do not belong to the Association.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ is produced in three municipalities in Sokólski County, Podlaskie Province, namely Korycin, Suchowola and Janów.

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

5.1.1.   Natural factors

The geographical area in which ‘ser koryciński swojski’ is produced is situated in the Białystok High Plain mesoregion, which is part of the North Podlachian Lowland macroregion, a moraine lakeland area characterised by marshy depressions amidst extensive plateaux. The area’s varied landscape was formed by repeated glacial action. The North Podlachian Lowland comprises several smaller components, namely: valleys, basins, plains and high plains, including the Białystok High Plain. High plains are of morainic origin and display very great morphological variety. The most commonly encountered landforms here are eroded moraine hills and kames which reach a height of 200 m above sea level in places.

This lowland has a climate that becomes markedly more continental towards the east (whereas maritime climatic influences prevail in western Poland). The area where ‘ser koryciński swojski’ is produced is situated in the southern part of north-eastern Poland, which is considered to be the coldest region in the country, apart from the mountains. The winters are long (averaging about 110 days), with the lowest temperatures in the country: average air temperatures in January are between – 5 and – 6 °C (the January average for Warsaw is about – 3,5 °C), and there is a fairly long-lasting snow cover. Summers last for about 90 days and are fairly warm, the average July temperature being about 18 °C. The transition periods are shorter than in the central part of the country. The average annual rainfall is about 650 mm. Most rainfall occurs in the April-September period. The timing of the rainfall is a favourable factor, as 70 % of all rainfall occurs during the growing season, which is beneficial for meadows and pastures. The frequency of the rainfall during the growing season is also favourable, as rainfall occurs on about 94 days. The growing season is short. Beginning a third of the way through April and finishing at the end of October, it lasts for about 200 days.

5.1.2.   Historical factors and human skills

The region in which ‘ser koryciński swojski’ is produced does not have any heavy industry. The industrial plants operating here are involved in agri-foods — in particular milk — processing. Most of the land is used for farming or forested. Agricultural land, almost all of which is held by individual farms, accounts for a significant proportion of the area. Most of it is low-production-value and sparsely wooded farmland.

Podlaskie Province, which includes the area defined in (4), is geared to producing milk and milk products, as evidenced by the fact that it has the highest proportion of grassland in Poland, accounting for 35,4 % of the cultivated area. Pastures account for 13 % and meadows for 22,4 %. The province ranks second in the country in terms of head of cattle. It supplies the market with one in three litres of Polish-produced milk and one in five blocks of butter. Its milk producers produce an average of 33,3 tonnes of milk, compared with the national average of 16,2 tonnes. Its share of the national figure is increasing steadily.

It has traditionally been geared to producing milk and milk products because of the low level of industrialisation in the past and continuing low levels of investment, high unemployment and low wages. In the past, it was mainly raw milk that was sold, but many farms also made butter and ‘ser koryciński swojski’ for their own use or for sale. Cheese-making was in particular a way of making use of the milk produced on farms and diversifying diets. The specific skills of ‘ser koryciński swojski’ producers are demonstrated in particular by the use of unpasteurised milk to produce the cheese and by the turning of the product during ripening at various stages determined by the producers’ knowledge and experience.

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ has a specific shape associated with the strainers in which it is made. These vessels also give the cheese its characteristic fluted surface. It is made from whole unpasteurised milk, which gives it its characteristic fresh milk aroma. The cheese is moist and elastic, with plentiful evenly sized and evenly distributed small eyes.

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

The link between ‘ser koryciński swojski’ and the area is based on the specific characteristics defined in (5.2), and on its reputation.

The specific characteristics of ‘ser koryciński swojski’ have evolved over the many years for which it has been produced, knowledge of the production method and associated practical skills being passed from one generation to the next, as dairy-technology and production manuals do not describe how to make this product, which is closely linked to the geographical area defined in (4). The product enjoys a good reputation, as evidenced by the number of articles in the press, references on the internet and awards it has received. ‘Ser koryciński swojski’ sells in reputable shops for up to 50 % more than the prices charged for other rennet cheeses. ‘Ser koryciński swojski’ is sold over the internet for exactly the same price as ‘oscypek’, which is a protected designation of origin.

Korycin cheese (ser koryciński) won first prize and the title ‘Smak Roku’ at the Polagra Farm trade fair in Poznań in 2004, a ‘Perła’ in the Nasze Kulinarne Dziedzictwo competition, and the title ‘Podlaska Marka Roku’ in the taste category. The Korycin Cheese Festival (Święto sera korycińskiego) has been held every autumn since 2004. In 2005, ‘ser koryciński swojski’ was included on the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development’s national list of traditional products.

‘Ser koryciński swojski’ is increasingly well-known and sought-after, especially in northern and central Poland. It is promoted every year in Warsaw during the Podlasie w stolicy festival.

References to the recognition and popularity with which Korycin cheese has met regularly appear in the regional and national press: Gazeta Wyborcza (Białystok), 4-5 June 2005 — ‘Podlasie w stolicy’; Kurier Poranny, 4 July 2005 — ‘Tłoczno i smacznie’; Gazeta Współczesna, 12 September 2005 — ‘Zrób sobie swojski ser’; Gazeta Współczesna, 29 September 2005 — ‘Święto sera po raz drugi’; Gazeta Współczesna, 4 October 2005 — ‘Gospodynie z Gminy Korycin twierdzą, że nie ma to jak … Swojskiego sera smak’; Gazeta Współczesna, 29 November 2005 — ‘Projekt dla sera’; Gazeta Współczesna, 24 September 2007 — ‘Magia Smaku’; Gazeta Współczesna, 25 September 2007 — ‘Pierwsza przydomowa serowarnia’; Gazeta Współczesna, 23 October 2007 — ‘Sery to jest przyszłość’; Kurier Poranny, 17 October 2007 — ‘Niektórzy wracają’; Kurier Poranny, 19 January 2008 — ‘Dobra marka To jest to!’; Gazeta Współczesna, 17 March 2008 — ‘Pierwszy Festiwal Kuchni Podlaskiej’; GWAGRO, 19 May 2008 — ‘Danie warte ‚Perły‘’; Gazeta współczesna, 11 June 2008 — ‘Podlasie w stolicy’; Gazeta Współczesna, 19 June 2008 — ‘Serowarnia po polsku’; Gazeta Wyborcza Duży Format, 16 February 2009‘Bambus w szynce’; Gazeta Współczesna, 17 March 2009 — ‘To były smaki’; Gazeta Wyborcza (Białystok), 15 May 2009 — ‘Wspólna dla wszystkich jest kaczka – mowa o potrawach przygotowanych na Międzynarodowy Festiwal Kuchni’; Gazeta Współczesna, 9 June 2009 — ‘Dobre smaki można promować’; Gazeta Współczesna, 16 June 2009 — ‘Regionalne specjały – próbujmy i kupujmy’. An internet search for ‘ser koryciński’ yields 10 pages of hits; ‘ser koryciński swojski’ is also described in Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://www.minrol.gov.pl/index.php?/pol/Jakosc-zywnosci/Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne/Zlozone-wnioski-o-rejestracje-Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.