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

2013/C 290/04

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

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs  (2)

‘STRACHITUNT’

EC No: IT-PDO-0005-01047-19.10.2012

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Name

‘Strachitunt’

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 point 1 applies

‘Strachitunt’ is a blue cheese made from raw whole cow’s milk using the ancient dual-curd technique and matured for a medium to long period of at least 75 days.

‘Strachitunt’ has a thin and coarse rind, of average firmness, sometimes covered with mould, and yellowish in colour but turning to grey with extended ripening.

It is a cylindrical cheese with flat sides varying in diameter from 25 cm to 28 cm, with a straight or slightly convex heel of 15 cm to 18 cm in height. Each cheese weighs between 4 kg and 6 kg.

When cut, ‘Strachitunt’ has a compact, marbled texture, melting away from the rind, with creamy streaks and green-blue veins from the mould formation. The degree of marbling in the curd varies according to the number of spores naturally present in the milk and their capacity to develop.

The flavour is aromatic and intense, ranging from mild to spicy, and can become more pronounced as it matures.

The fat content is at least 48 %, expressed as a percentage of dry matter.

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only)

Raw milk, collected in two separate milkings, with at least 90 % of the total coming from Bruna (brown) cows.

Calf rennet and salt available on the market are used in the production process.

3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)

The milk used in the production of ‘Strachitunt’ comes from farms where grass and/or hay from mixed-grass meadows make up at least 65 % of the total dry matter in the cattle’s diet. At least 90 % of this fodder, corresponding to around 60 % of the cattle’s diet, must come from the area identified in point 4 below. The animals’ diet may also include cereal concentrates (corn, barley, wheat), pulses (soya), and by-products of cereal and pulse processing, representing no more than 35 % of the dry matter, with salt licks and mineral or vitamin complexes as supplements.

The use of maize silage is prohibited.

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

All stages of the production process must take place within the defined geographical area described in point 4 below, including rearing the cows, milking, collecting and processing the milk, and making and maturing the cheese.

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

Strachitunt PDO cheese may be cut and packaged outside the geographical production area. Companies cutting and packaging the cheese must inform the Consorzio di Tutela (protection body) for ‘Strachitunt’ prior to carrying out such activities.

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling

‘Strachitunt’ cheese is marketed in whole wheels and/or cut into pieces, and is released for consumption with the logo (Figure 1) stamped on one side and the date of production stamped on the heel.

Whole wheels must also have an identifying label bearing the name ‘Strachitunt’ and the logo (Figure 1) on the top side of the wheel. If cut into pieces, the external packaging of the cheese must show the logo in a repeated pattern (Figure 1).

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area includes the municipalities of Taleggio, Vedeseta, Gerosa and Blello, located in Bergamo province at a minimum altitude of 700 m above sea level. These areas, in part or as a whole, make up the Valtaleggio region.

5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

The Taleggio valley, located at the heart of the Orobian Pre-Alps with a considerable portion in the Bergamo Orobian natural park, has no industrial activities or sources of pollution within its borders, and benefits from a sufficiently remote position compared with the overcrowded Lombardy plains and the most built-up areas. This situation enables the Taleggio valley to retain uncontaminated areas where nature thrives, and these have a positive influence on all the production activities in the area.

Aside from their neighbouring locations, the districts identified above also share similar geo-anthropic characteristics. The prevalence of grazing meadows gives an ideal environment for rearing livestock and alpine grazing, and enables the milk used in making ‘Strachitunt’ cheese to be produced and processed. The high proportion of Bruna cows in the area is typical of cattle-rearing in this mountain region. The location of the area of origin guarantees that animals will have at least six months of pasture-grazing each year, and this improves the quality of the milk, which is highly dependent on achieving an optimum level of animal welfare. The combination of these conditions and the general climate of this mountain region at an altitude of at least 700 m above sea level, together with the storehouses where the cheese is matured, continues to represent the optimal environment for producing many different types of soft cheese, today as in the past. The geographical area consists of localities with an historic and documented dairy-farming tradition, and thus the techniques used in producing and maturing Strachitunt are long-established.

Within the geographical production area, the milk is processed either directly at the alpine pasture site, or at other farms in the region: in the first case, the milk is not transported at all; in the second, it is transported only a short distance.

In addition, the adoption of traditional techniques, such as the dual-curd method and the use of acid whey as a degreasing agent to clean the heating vat and utensils, are environmentally friendly and respect the microflora that are naturally present in the working environment, whilst maintaining the wholesomeness of the finished product. Farms within the area of origin mainly use underground storehouses for maturing the cheese, with ‘static’ cooling systems that take advantage of the climate’s low temperatures. This is made possible by the shape of the valley, whereby the areas to the right of the Enna stream have a very limited exposure to the sun, even during the summer. These conditions help to determine the varying degree of marbling that characterises the cheese.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Strachitunt’ is the product of the ancient dual-curd cheese-making technique. This technique requires the use of two curds: one warm, and one cold, obtained approximately 12 hours apart from the two daily milkings.

The curds are combined and mixed to form a single cheese.

‘Strachitunt’s’ distinguishing characteristics are its special production method, its degree of marbling which varies according to the presence of natural mould (adding any fungal cultures to the milk is prohibited), and its compact, marbled texture melting away from the rind, with creamy streaks.

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 methods used to produce ‘Strachitunt’ stem from the morphological characteristics of the Valtaleggio area, which shaped the development of small farms where cheeses were made for private consumption.

In addition, rearing Bruna cattle, with their remarkable capacity to adapt to the mountain soil and climate conditions, has influenced and continues to influence the characteristics of the milk.

Historically, it was necessary to produce raw-milk cheeses in copper vats because wood was used for fuel, which did not allow the milk to be heat-treated.

The dual-curd technique also emerged as a result of the necessity of processing milk immediately after milking, as it was impossible to keep it chilled; this method allowed the warm curd to be used as soon as it was obtained together with the cold curd from the previous milk processing.

This processing method means that the chemical, physical and microbiological qualities of the milk and of the finished product are very closely linked. The marbling comes from the natural presence of mould spores in the milk and in the places where the cheese matures. This mould is able to develop due to the special production techniques and the practice of piercing holes in the cheese while it is maturing.

All the activities that take place during the production of ‘Strachitunt’ are inseparably linked to the geographical environment and the traditions handed down over time, which determine the distinctive characteristics of the finished product.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

The Ministry launched the national objection procedure with the publication of the PDO proposal for ‘Strachitunt’ in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 14 of 19 January 2011.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following website:

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’ (at the top right of the screen), and then on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3)  See footnote 2.