Publication of an application 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

(2015/C 142/14)

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).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘SAUCISSON DE LACAUNE’/‘SAUCISSE DE LACAUNE’

EU No: FR-PGI-0005-01201-27.3.2014

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’

2.   Member State or Third Country

France

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.2 Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

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

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’ is a dried salami, more or less cylindrical in shape, packed in natural gut casing. Its weight ranges from 200 g to over 2 kg. It may be presented plain, in netting or trussed.

‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is a dried sausage, evenly cylindrical in shape, packed in natural gut casing. It may be presented in various forms:

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is supple to firm and cohesive in texture. When the sausage is sliced, pieces of lean meat and fat are visible, characteristic of coarse mincing (minimum 8 mm), without tendons or cartilage. The crumbs of fat are clearly intact, firm and white in colour. The lean meat is red to dark red in colour. There is little greasiness in the appearance of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’.

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ has an aroma and taste typical of dried and matured meats, with a fairly distinct peppery note. The aromatic intensity is mild. The smell and taste of fat is unobtrusive.

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’ and ‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ are made with 80 % and 70 % lean meat respectively. The proportion of the lean meat that is matured is at least 30 %.

Seasoning is a blend of salt, pepper and nutmeg. The addition of saltpetre, lactic fermenting agents, sugar and a surface coating of flour is permitted.

The physico-chemical properties of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ are as follows:

—   moisture content with fat removed: ≤ 52 % or ≤ 56 % for salamis with a diameter greater than 70 mm,

—   fat content (for a moisture content of 77 % with fat removed): ≤ 20 %,

—   collagen/protein ratio: ≤ 13 %,

—   total soluble sugar content (for a moisture content of 77 % with fat removed): ≤ 2 %,

—   pH: ≥ 5,2 for products weighing under 1 kg and ≥ 5,0 for products weighing over 1 kg.

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is sold

—   in one piece, labelled: loose or packaged in bags with large perforations; bagged in a protective atmosphere; or vacuum packed,

—   sliced: vacuum packed or packed in a protective atmosphere, except when sliced on demand.

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

Boars weighing over 25 kg and sows are fattened on a diet containing at least 60 % cereals, cereal-based products and legume seeds.

The maximum linoleic acid content is set at 1,9 % of dry matter.

The matured meat used to make ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ comes from heavy pork sows and boars with carcasses weighing in excess of 120 kg. The rest of the meat comes from male pork pigs with carcasses weighing 80 kg or more.

The fat used is back fat. It is white and hard. Belly fat may also be used in ‘Saucisse de Lacaune’.

In the case of the meat and fat used fresh, they are minced, at the latest, on the sixth day after slaughter. If used frozen, freezing takes place 72 hours after slaughter at the latest. The meat and fat are stored at a temperature of – 18 °C or lower, for no more than four months.

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

The following steps take place in the defined geographical area: selection of the cuts; preparation of the ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’, including mincing, stuffing and heat curing; and completion of the drying process.

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

Not applicable.

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

The product labelling must contain the following information:

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area consists of the following 11 municipalities in the department of Tarn: Barre, Berlats, Escroux, Espérausses, Gijounet, Lacaune, Moulin Mage, Murat-sur-Vèbre, Nages, Senaux and Viane.

5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors

The geographical area in which ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’ and ‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ are produced constitutes a homogeneous unit among the mountains of Lacaune. It forms an east-west facing basin that makes up the catchment area of the Gijou River. The area is bounded in the south by the main watershed, from the Montgrand to Montalet, which reaches a height of over 1 200 m, and in the north by a secondary watershed from Roquecézière to the peak of Le Merdélou, which lies at an altitude of roughly 1 000 m and passes through Sié Pass. These two physical barriers create a topographical basin within which the contrasting climatic influences of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea alternate. In addition, the geographical area is also subject to an alpine climate as a result of its altitude.

Under this threefold influence, the area’s climate is characterised by:

Human factors

Historically, production of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ has its origins in the trade of ‘mazelier’, which was well-established in Lacaune in the Middle Ages. In the Occitan language, the term described a person who slaughtered cattle, sheep and pigs. Around the 15th century, with the advent of professional specialisation, this term came to designate a person who transformed pig meat, i.e. the equivalent of the pork butcher of today.

The know-how of meat curers is fundamental for working with this ‘living’ product. This is apparent at several levels.

Meat curers select, prepare and mince the meats and fat according to their own methods, equipment and the quality of the ingredients used. Their mincing skills are especially relevant. Matured meats are preferred in combination with a high percentage of lean meat in the mixture.

Expertise in the use of slicing and/or chopping blades results in a homogeneous mixture. The latter comprises large, even-sized crumbs produced by a mincer of 8 mm minimum, or by any other grinding technique giving the equivalent minced appearance.

Seasoning is simple: salt, pepper and, possibly, nutmeg. There are no additives other than saltpetre.

The mixture is packed in natural gut casings only. It undergoes heat curing and drying in a stage that lasts at least 10 days for dried sausages and 18 days for other products. In order to check that oven fermentation is proceeding correctly, meat curers carry out a touch test or ‘handling’. The consistency must be firm when pressed by hand.

At each stage of manufacture, meat curers optimise the duration of the stages, and the temperature and humidity conditions, depending on the condition of the salamis and sausages. In drying rooms, there is daily monitoring in order to oversee the appearance and aroma of the products, as well as to manage the maturation conditions, i.e. air temperature and humidity, and thereby avoid irregularities in drying. Regardless of the technique used, and whether the drying rooms are natural or ventilated, operators must adapt to variations in air temperature and humidity outside. These are measured daily.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is characterised by lean meat that is red to dark red in colour, in coarse, evenly-sized crumbs, with a lean appearance when sliced.

Its distinguishing organoleptic features include mild and balanced aromatic intensity which does not overwhelm the natural flavour of the dried and matured meat. The texture, both to touch and in the mouth, is supple to firm and cohesive.

Finally, ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is distinguished by being presented solely in natural gut casings.

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 causal link of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is based on the existence of ancestral, traditional and shared know-how that influences the quality of the product and gives it a solid reputation.

The geographical area of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is characterised by geographical and climatic conditions that traditionally favoured drying. The area has seen the development of an extensive network of meat curing businesses that possess the know-how of numerous generations. Today, traditional production methods still use matured meats. The minimum proportion of lean meat is 80 % in the manufacture of the salami and 70 % for the sausage. This gives the lean meat of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ its characteristic red to dark red colour and lean appearance when sliced.

The know-how is also apparent in the selection of cuts of meat, and in the mastery of mincing techniques to obtain a coarse crumb.

Packing in natural gut casings results in a specific form of presentation for ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’.

The aromatic intensity of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is mild owing to the absence of spices other than pepper and nutmeg. There is know-how involved in the amount of seasoning, as well as in daily management of drying rooms. This allows the fully matured ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ to retain a natural flavour of dried and matured meat after the maturation process has finished.

Skilful management of heat curing and drying help to produce a texture that is supple to firm and cohesive to the touch and in the mouth.

The reputation of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ was already established at the beginning of the 20th century, when M. Cousin, in his ‘Voyages gastronomiques au pays de France’, praised the cured meats of the Hôtel Central de Lacaune: ‘an excellent collection of cured meat of the region, consisting of ham and sausage that are very deserving of attention’.

‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ is described in the 1980 and 1986 codes governing cured meats, the curing process and preserved meats. The products also appear in the inventory of culinary heritage of France, under the title ‘Midi-Pyrénées – produits du terroir et recettes traditionnelles’ of 1996.

A reputation and awareness study carried out in 2011 showed that 77 % of people surveyed in the Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon regions are familiar with the dry-cured ham, salami and sausage of the Lacaune geographical area. This confirmed the solid reputation of ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ and the perception that these are ‘local products’ and ‘traditional products’.

Furthermore, it is not unusual to read articles in the press that mention ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ as, for example, in the publication Midi Libre on 8 August 2009 entitled ‘A basketful of aromas’.

Meat curers in the geographical area have also regularly won awards at the Concours général agricole de Paris. Since 2012, ‘Saucisson de Lacaune’/‘Saucisse de Lacaune’ has received 13 awards: five bronze medals, two silver medals and six gold medals.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCSaucissonSaucisseLacauneV1.pdf

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.