ANNEX IISupplementary provisions
ANNEX II CONSOLIDATED SINGLE DOCUMENT Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs ( 1 ) ‘FOURME DE MONTBRISON’ EC No: FR-PDO-0105-01014-06.07.2012 PGI ( ) PDO (X) 1. Name ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ 2. Member State or Third Country France 3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff 3.1. Type of product Class 1.3. Cheeses 3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ is a cheese produced from renneted cow’s milk. It is made in the form of a cylinder between 17 and 21 cm in height and 11,5 and 14,5 cm in diameter, weighing 2,1 to 2,7 kg, has blue veins, is unpressed, uncooked, fermented and salted by adding salt to the curd when it is placed in the mould. The cheese has a fat content of at least 52 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation and the matured cheese must have a dry matter content of at least 52 grams per 100 grams of cheese. The designation of origin ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ must not be used for the cheese until the 32nd day after renneting. There is a bloom on the dry, orange-coloured rind, where white, yellow and red mould may also be present. The inside of the cheese is cream in colour, with a few cracks and a marbling of light blue veins. ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ has a homogeneous, slightly firm texture and melts in the mouth. It has a subtle, scented flavour and a fruity, milky taste with a hint of a blue cheese, making it rather mild. A hint of salt and a slight bitterness are accepted. 3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only) — 3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only) Throughout the year, the dairy cows’ basic ration comprises fodder from the defined geographical area. The feed authorised in the basic ration comprises all fodder except cruciferous plants in the form of fodder. The proportion of hay, grass, wilted grass or grass silage, expressed as dry matter, must be greater than or equal to 80 % of the fodder in the dairy cows’ basic ration on average for all the dairy cows over the year. The proportion of maize silage, expressed as dry matter, must not exceed 20 % of the dairy cows’ basic ration on average for all the dairy cows over the year. Outside the grazing period, hay represents at least 3 kg of dry matter per dairy cow per day on average for all the dairy cows. When grass is available, grazing is mandatory for the dairy cows as soon as the weather allows. The minimum duration of grazing is 150 days a year. The use of supplements and additives is limited to a maximum of 1 800 kg of dry matter per dairy cow per year on average for all the dairy cows. Only the raw materials and additives specified in a positive list are authorised in the supplements and additives given to the dairy cows. 3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area The milk is produced and the cheese made, matured and preserved for 32 days from the date of renneting, within the geographical area. 3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. Cutting ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ is authorised if it does not completely alter its texture. Rind must be present on portions weighing more than 50 grams. 3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling The labelling of cheeses with the designation of origin ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ must include the designation of origin in characters at least two-thirds the size of the largest characters used on the label and display the European Union PDO symbol. Irrespective of the regulatory indications applicable to all cheeses, it is forbidden to place any qualifier directly next to the designation of origin, with the exception of specific trade marks or brand names. 4. Concise definition of the geographical area The geographical area for ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ comprises the following: Department of the Loire: the municipalities of Bard, Cervières, Chalmazel, La Chamba, La Chambonie, Champoly, Châtelneuf, La Côte-en-Couzan, Ecotay-l’Olme, Essertines-en-Châtelneuf, Jeansagnière, Lérigneux, Noirétable, Palogneux, Roche, Saint-Bonnet-le-Courreau, Saint-Didier-sur-Rochefort, Saint-Georges-en-Couzan, Saint-Jean-la-Vêtre, Saint-Julien-la-Vêtre, Saint-Just-en-Bas, Saint-Laurent-Rochefort, Saint-Priest-la-Vêtre, Saint-Romain-d’Urfé, Les Salles, Sauvain, La Valla, Verrières-en-Forez. Department of Puy-de-Dôme: the municipalities of Brugeron, Job, Saint-Anthème, Saint-Pierre-la-Bourlhonne and Valcivières. 5. Link with the geographical area 5.1. Specificity of the geographical area Natural factors The geographical area for the designation of origin ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ mainly comprises the ‘hautes chaumes’ forming the summits of the Forez mountains within the departments of the Loire and the Puy-de-Dôme, as well as the eastern part of the Forez mountains. The area is a middle mountain region (with an altitude of 1 634 m at the highest point) oriented north-south overall, situated on a granite bedrock and bordered by natural boundaries. The landscape is made up of mountain and subalpine moors featuring bare plateaux with round and gentle hilltops, surrounded by mainly coniferous forest slopes. There are numerous peat bogs and meadows. Precipitation is relatively high (more than 1 000 mm a year on average). The climate is subject to an oceanic and continental influence. Average annual temperatures therefore tend to be cold, below 10 °C and often below 5 °C. The winters are long and cold, with frequent snow. Because of the high altitude and precipitation, fodder production is essentially based on the permanent meadows. Human factors The production of ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ dates back to the early Middle Ages in the region of the Haut-Forez, where an agri-pastoral system was maintained until the Second World War. The cheese was produced in ‘jasseries’, mountain-pasture buildings which became established on both sides of the Forez mountains. At that time the cheese was produced during the summer season from the milk of modest-sized herds; the women made the cheese while the men remained in the village and continued the summer work in the fields. The natural environment therefore provided coniferous tree trunks which, once hollowed out, made gutters (called ‘chéneaux’) perfectly suited to draining the cheese during production. The cheese was often preserved until the summer descent, then sold at the markets on either side of the mountains, including the large market of Montbrison. Nowadays the dairy cattle are reared largely on the permanent meadows. The production conditions for ‘Fourme de Montbrison’, particularly the mandatory grazing during the period when this is possible, the grass-based feed ration and the restricted use of maize silage make the best possible use of this natural resource. Inherited from the ancestral techniques, the technological process of producing ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ makes optimum use of local know-how, bringing into play: — appropriate mixing linked to a small curd grain size of approximately 0,5 to 1 cm at the side; — salting in the mass and reduced exterior salting; — the very special technique of additional draining in gutters made of coniferous wood. 5.2. Specificity of the product ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ is a veined cheese with a subtle, scented flavour; it is in the shape of a cylinder 17 to 21 cm in height and 11,5 to 14,5 cm in diameter with an orange-coloured outer covering; the cheese has small openings and a hint of a blue cheese, making it rather mild. 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 specific characteristics of ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ originate in particular from the special methods used to produce the milk and the cheese. The production of the milk is based on the richness of the pastures in the Forez mountains and contributes to the subtle, scented flavour of ‘Fourme de Montbrison’. Its relatively small size is linked to its origin: small herds with small-scale milk production and cheesemaking carried out by women. The rather mild taste of ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ is linked to the fine cutting of the curd grains. This reduced curd grain size causes small openings in the cheese, resulting in restricted development of Penicillium roqueforti moulds which is less pronounced than in other veined cheeses. The very specific orangey colour of the rind is influenced by the salting techniques, which promote the establishment of surface flora. The development of surface flora is also promoted by the draining in coniferous wood gutters. The wooden gutters are a reservoir of surface flora and contribute directly to the development of this flora by preventing the rind from drying out too quickly. The salting techniques used also make ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ less salty than other blue cheeses. Reference to publication of the specification (Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006) https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCFourmeDeMontbrison.pdf ( 1 ) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12 . Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs ( OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1 ).