20.12.2005   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 323/2

Rua General Humberto Delgado 5470- 247 Montalegre, Portugal.

Tel.: (351) 276 512 253

Fax: (351) 276 512 528

Email: quadrimonte@iol.pt

4.1

:

Name

:

‘Chouriça de carne de Barroso — Montalegre’

4.2

:

Description

:

A smoked sausage, made from the pig meat and pig fat of the Bisaro breed or of cross-breeds that must be 50 % Bisaro, stuffed into hog casings. The pig meat and fat are seasoned with salt, garlic, red or white wine from the Trás-os-Montes region, powdered chilli pepper (regionally known as ‘pimento’) and/or powdered red bell pepper (or ‘pimentão’). The sausage is shaped like a horseshoe, is between 25 and 35 cm in length and has a cylindrical section of approximately 3 cm in diameter. It varies from red to brown in colour and is spotted, as the pieces of fat are visible. The casing is wrapped tightly around the filling and is unbroken. The casing used is tied shut with two simple knots at each end, using a single piece of cotton twine.

4.3

:

Geographical area

:

Due to the special production requirements of these sausages, their flavours, the expertise available and the climatic conditions of the region, the geographical area for processing and packing is limited to the municipality of Montalegre, in the Vila Real district. Taking into account the traditional animal feed and existing agricultural production, the geographical area for processing and packing is naturally limited to the municipalities of Boticas, Chaves and Montalegre, in the Vila Real district. The territory consisting of these three municipalities is known and identified as ‘Barroso’.

4.4

:

Proof of origin

:

The farms, slaughterhouses and meat-cutting and preparation plants must be licensed, authorised by the group of producers after the private control body has given its approval and located in the specified production or processing areas respectively. The entire production process, from the farm that produces the raw materials to the place where the product is sold, is subject to a rigorous control system ensuring the product is fully traceable. The pigs are reared in livestock farms possessing an area compatible with traditional, semi-extensive farming systems, where it is possible to produce traditional animal feed. The certification mark on each sausage is numbered, ensuring full traceability to the farm from which the product originated. It is possible to prove the origin of the product at any point in the production chain by means of the serial number, which must be indicated on the certification mark.

4.5

:

Method of production

:

Topside, loin, lean trimmings off the leg, and the meat attached to the spinal vertebrae are used. The pig meat is cut into small pieces and seasoned with salt, red or white wine from the Trás-os-Montes region, and garlic. It is marinated for up to 5 days at a temperature below 10 °C in a room with low humidity, after which chilli pepper powder and red bell pepper powder are added. This mixture is then stuffed into a hog casing (small intestine). After stuffing, the casing is cut to the desired size after the ends have been knotted with cotton twine. The two ends are then tied with simple knots and the sausage is bent into a horseshoe shape. The sausage is smoked over a low fire in a smoking room or a traditional smokehouse for 10 to 15 days. The smoke is obtained through the direct combustion of wood, primarily oak, from the region. It is placed on the market as a whole sausage and is always pre-packed at the place of origin. Due to the product's characteristics and composition, it cannot be cut or sliced. Special material is used for its packaging, which, when it comes into contact with the product, is innocuous and inert. The product may be packed in a normal or controlled atmosphere or in a vacuum. Packing can only be carried out in the geographical processing area so as to ensure traceability and control and to prevent any change to the product's taste and microbiological characteristics.

4.6

:

Link

:

Due to climatic, geographic and socio–economic conditions, and the diffícult links with the rest of the country, the diet of the Barroso region was limited to local products, mainly bread, potatoes and pork. References made to taxes on pigs and pork products in various municipal registers, including that of Montalegre, prove that pig-breeding has been important in this area for a very long time. For it to remain edible throughout the year, ways were discovered to preserve pig meat, and these quickly became ancestral skills passed down from one generation to the next. The preparation of these products is the result of, and is very dependent on, the region's cold and dry climate, which forces every household to keep a fire burning at all times, thus providing unique conditions for smoking, characterised by a light and gradual smoke supply. It was thus that the need to take advantage of and preserve the pig meat provided by the traditional slaughter gave rise to sausages of various shapes, different ingredients and different colours and flavours, but which were always an expression of the local characteristics: the land and the people. In short, the relationship between this product and the geographical area stems from the breed of (indigenous) animal, the local produce fed to these animals, the knowledge to choose the correct pieces of pig meat, the smoking process using regional firewood and the curing process conducted in a very cold and dry environment suitable for preserving the product.

4.7

:

Inspection body

:

Tradição e Qualidade has been recognised as complying with the requirements of Standard 45011:2001.

4.8

:

Labelling

:

It is compulsory for the labelling to include the following: the wording ‘Chouriça de carne de Barroso — Montalegre — Indicação Geográfica Protegida’ (Protected Geographical Indication), the Community's own logo, the logo for Barroso-Montalegre, reproduced below, together with the words ‘Montalegre’ and ‘Chouriça de carne’. It must also include the certification mark, which must state the name of the product, the control body and the serial number (numeric or alphanumeric code ensuring the product's traceability).

4.9

:

National requirements

:

—