EN/06/95/60150 loo.poo (FR) APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION PDO (X) PGI ( ) Submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1993 File No 1. COMPETENT NATIONAL AUTHORITY: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forest Resources Farm production management Department VI Via XX Settembre, 20 - I - 00187 Rome Tel. (06) 4819968-46655104 Fax (06) 4819580 2. APPLICANT: Veneto Berico-Euganeo Ham Producers' Association Via G. Matteotti, 4 - I - 35044 Montagnana (PD) Tel. and fax: (0429) 82694 Association of all Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham producers set up in 1971 designated by Order of the national inspection authority of 6 April 1990 an Approved Body for the inspection and monitoring of compliance with the rules for the protection of Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham. 3. DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT: "Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham" designation of origin protected by Law No 628 of the Italian Republic of 4 November 1981. TYPE OF PRODUCT: Matured, dry-cured ham (prepared meat, dry-cured pigmeat: Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham)
EN/06/95/60150100.P00 (FR) SUMMARY OF RULES: (a) PRODUCT NAME - Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham (b) DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT Matured, dry-cured ham with protected designation of origin; identified by a mark established by law and branded on the skin; natural, semi-pressed shape, without distal part (foot); weight on completion of maturation: between 8 and 11 kg, except in the case of hams for boning, in which case not less than 7 kg; colour when sliced: uniformly ranging from pink to red alternating with white in the fatty areas; tied with string through a hole bored in the upper part of the leg; colour of meat ranging from pink to red with totally white fatty areas; mild, delicate and fragrant flavour; finishing of exposed lean part with a protective covering of foodstuff substances permitted by law and not containing colouring matter; satisfying specific analytical requirements laid down in paragraph B.3 of the Rules; sold whole, boned, put up in cut form or sliced (paragraph B.5 of the Rules); obtained from fresh legs of pigs bom, reared and slaughtered in five Regions of Italy (Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Lazio and Umbria); special requirements for fresh pig legs are set out in paragraph B.4 of the Rules. (c) GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
EN/06/95/60150 loo.poo (FR) Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham is prepared in the Veneto region in the municipalities of Montagnana, Saletto, Ospedaletto Euganeo, Este, Pressana, Roveredo di Guà, Noventa Vicentina, Poiana Maggiore, Orgiano, Alonte, Sossano, Lonigo, Sarego, Villaga and Barbarano Vicentino; rearing and slaughter take place in the area described in paragraph C.3 of the Rules referred to above; the requirements of Article 2(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 are met therefore in that: the area is strictly defined by law and regulation; for the production of the raw material special conditions exist regarding breeds, feeding arrangements and rearing conditions as set out in paragraphs C.6 to C.6.4. and C.9 and in the abovementioned paragraph B.4 of the Rules; these conditions are guaranteed by specific inspection arrangements governing breeders, slaughterers and producers which have been recognized in advance as set out in paragraphs C.8 to C.8.11 and G.l to G.6 of the Rules, with special reference to the procedures and arrangements for identification, recognition and certification. (d) BACKGROUND TO AND ORIGIN OF THE PRODUCT The history of the product dates back to antiquity and has been documented in its region of origin from the time written records began. Its historical and economic roots are to be found in the Celtic custom of using salt to preserve meat, later refined in the Roman period; its origin has been documented historically from pre-industrial times with regard also to the area of origin of the raw material, being the product of an exceptional development of a typical form of farming common to the entire Po region that has found in the typical Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham production area a geographically inspired location with unique climatic and environmental conditions; the necessary historical, social, economic and cultural references are set out in paragraphs D.l to D.7 of the Rules. (e) METHOD OF PRODUCTION The production procedures and requirements relating to the raw material, subject to appropriate rules, are set out as summarized under (c) above; the procedures for the preparation of Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham are governed by the national law for the protection of the designation, by the Consolidated Text and by the relevant technical implementing provisions;
EN/06/95/60150100.P00 (FR) the product undergoes specific processing stages (isolation, cooling, trimming, salting, semi-pressing, pause, washing, drying, maturing), the sole additive being sea salt, under stress-free conditions, for clearly defined periods, as set out in paragraphs E.l to E.9 of the Rules: the inspection arrangements for ensuring that the conditions are adhered to are set out in paragraphs E.2 to E.6 and Section G of the Rules. (f) LINK WITH THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT The practical requirements for obtaining the designation of origin are closely related to environmental conditions and natural and human factors; the raw material and the ham with the designation of origin are closely interrelated and have links with the productive, economic and social development of the geographical region that has determined their unique characteristic features: the raw material possesses characteristics which are attributable solely to the defined geographical macro-area. The development of pig farming in Central and Southern Italy, in an historical digression starting in Etruscan times and continuing up to the present, features the rearing of heavy pigs which are slaughtered at an advanced age. This development arose with indigenous breeds, evolved in line with environmental, social and economic conditions - in particular the cultivation of cereals and the processing of milk which are used for feed - and gradually found its natural and unambiguous objective in the production of the ham; the distinctive nature of the raw material from the defined area is recognized by the Community, as specified in the Rules; the defined geographical macro-area contains a number of smaller areas with unique environmental features and special human skills that have allowed them to develop as areas in which ham with a specific designation is produced; one of these areas, a small part of the Veneto region described in the Rules, is that in which Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham is produced. Because of its location, the area enjoys unique ecological, climatic and environmental conditions attributable both to the presence of the foothills and the steady breezes reaching it from the nearby sea and to the presence of the Berici mountains and the Euganei hills; fuller details are to be found in paragraphs F.l to.2.4 of the Rules; paragraph F.3 contains specific requirements for the protection of the environment in the area of production; paragraph F.4 contains additional important comments. 10
EN/06/95/601501 OO.POO (FR) (g) INSPECTION STRUCTURE The national inspection authority consists of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Craft Trades together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forest Resources (formerly the Ministry of Agriculture) and the Ministry of Health; the national inspection authority uses the services of an authorized body which may be a producers' association; the Veneto Berico-Euganeo Ham Producers' Association, which meets the necessary requirements, is the body that has been authorized from 6 April 1990; specific requirements for the authorized body are set out in paragraphs G. 1 to G.2 of the Rules; the conditions met by the Veneto Berico-Euganeo Ham Producers' Association and references to its respective powers are set out in paragraphs G.4 to G.6 of the Rules; (h) SPECIFIC LABELLING REQUIREMENTS Satisfactory protection of the designation means that full and distinctive identifying requirements must be adopted involving the physical presence on the product of stamps, seals or distinguishing marks; these distinctive identifying requirements form an integral part of the national arrangements for the protection of designations and indications and of the Consolidated Text; the distinctive identifying requirements are set out in paragraphs H.2 to H.4 of the Rules; special rules governing labelling are set out in paragraphs H.5 and H.6 of the Rules; additional provisions relating to the requirements for the presentation of Parma ham are set out in paragraph H.6. (i) SPECIAL NATIONAL REQUIREMENTS The intricate nature of the subject matter and the provision of a satisfactory level of protection, as shown in practice and from lengthy experience, require the 11
EN/06/95/60150100.P00 (FR) review of and additions to a series of national provisions now in force. This has been achieved with the drafting of the Consolidated Text on the protection, production and marketing of Veneto Berico-Euganeo ham (referred to above as the Consolidated Text) for a more up-to-date, uniform and full definition of the rules go vering inspections, prohibitions, penalties, operational procedures, production programming and technical implementing rules. These special requirements and rules for their application are set out in paragraphs 1.1 to 1.3 of the Rules. (Reserved for the Commission) EC No:...M.-bX.^JXkôC^M ^c..2.0 Date of receipt of complete file - 2_o - сл ^ 12