Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2007/C 128/07)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PANE DI MATERA’

EC No: IT/PGI/005/0372/27.09.2004

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Group:

3.   Type of product:

Class 2.4 — Bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker's wares — Bread

4.   Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1.   Name: ‘Pane di Matera’

4.2.   Description: Product obtained by using only durum wheat flour, the quantities of which must be in line with the following parameters: gluten: ≥ 11 %; yellow index ≥ 21; moisture content: ≤ 15,50 %; ash: ≤ 2 % in the dry matter. At least 20 % of the flour used must come from local ecotypes and old varieties such as Cappelli, Duro Lucano, Capeiti and Appulo, grown in the Province of Matera. Flour produced from genetically modified organisms may not be used. The bread's characteristics are its yellow colour, its typical, very uneven porosity (with pores inside the bread varying in diameter from 2-3 mm to as much as 60 mm) and its highly distinctive taste and aroma.

The PGI ‘Pane di Matera ’has the following properties when released for consumption:

Visually, ‘Pane di Matera ’is cone-shaped or ‘tall’, each loaf weighing either 1 or 2 kg, with a crust at least 3 mm thick and a pale yellow crumb with characteristic holes.

4.3.   Geographical area: The production area covers the whole of the Province of Matera.

4.4.   Proof of origin: Every stage in the production process must be monitored and a record kept of the inputs and outputs at each stage. This, along with the compilation of specific registers managed by the inspection body of the land registry parcels in which the wheat cultivation, mills and producers are located, the keeping of production registers and the notification to the inspection body of the quantities produced, ensures product traceability. All natural and legal persons whose names appear in the registers will be subject to control by the inspection body in accordance with the specification and the control plan.

4.5.   Method of production: The production process can be summarised as follows: the production of Pane di Matera PGI begins with the preparation of the culture yeast (natural yeast) with 1 kg of flour (type W300), 250 g of fresh ripe fruit pulp kept in 250-300 cl of water to soak, placed in a tube of jute until it doubles in volume over 10 to 12 hours at 26-30 °C. Flour is added to the mix in an equal quantity to the weight obtained plus 40 % of the water, repeating the additions of flour and water several times until a mix is obtained that rises in 3-4 hours. The culture yeast may be used up to 3 times.

The following ingredients are used to produce Pane di Matera PGI: 100 kg durum wheat flour, 20-30 kg culture yeast, 2,5-3 kg salt and 75-85 litres water. The ingredients are put into a dough mixer and worked for 25-35 minutes. The dough must then be left to rise in the bowl for 25-35 minutes, covered with cotton or wool cloths to obtain an even leavening and temperature. It is then separated into 1,2 kg or 2,4 kg portions, roughly in the shape of the final product, to produce loaves weighing 1 and 2 kg respectively, with a variation range of 10 %. The loaves, which are shaped by hand, are then left, covered with a cotton cloth, on wooden boards for 25-35 minutes. After a final leavening period of 30 minutes, the loaves are baked in an oven fired with wood material (locally produced) or gas. In order to preserve its typical characteristics, ‘Pane di Matera ’is packaged either in micro-perforated plastic, partly coloured and partly transparent to aid product visibility, or in windowed multi-layered paper, which both displays the bread and ensures it keeps for at least one week.

Every stage in the production process, from preparation to packaging, takes place in the Province of Matera.

This is aimed at ensuring product traceability, control and quality, avoiding, in line with tradition, any delays between preparation and packaging, preserving all the special characteristics of the bread and exercising direct and immediate control over the packaging process, which must in no way be at odds with the preparation of the product or alter its special characteristics or quality.

Failure to package the product immediately would mean that the conservation period of 7-9 days, which is a specific characteristic of the bread, could no longer be guaranteed.

Those intending to produce ‘Pane di Matera ’PGI must comply strictly with the product specification submitted to the EU.

4.6.   Link: The area of production of Pane di Matera has a major impact on its characteristics and specific features as it influences the qualitative composition of the natural yeast used to produce the bread, the suitability for bread-making of the flour obtained from wheat grown in the hills of Matera, thanks to the soil (clay-rich land) and climate conditions (average annual precipitation 350 mm and average temperature between 5,7 and 24,1 °C) and the production of wood material used in the traditional wood-fired ovens that bring out the product's characteristic aroma.

Thanks to human endeavour and creativity which, in the context of a well-established tradition, have made in possible to combine environmental factors with cultural and lifestyle needs, ‘Pane di Matera ’is the typical product of a well-defined geographic area and the authentic expression of Matera rural life, as well as a prime economic resource.

The reputation earned by ‘Pane di Matera ’PGI is undoubtedly well established. It is linked to the combination of production factors in the area of production, which need no further demonstration. The product is known and appreciated precisely for its unique characteristics. Consumers therefore recognise it on the market.

Proof of the origin and special characteristics of ‘Pane di Matera ’can be found in historical references showing a long tradition dating from the Kingdom of Naples and before. By 1857, Matera already had four ‘maestri di centimoli ’(master millers). In every farm, in every home, there was a mortar chiselled into the rock which served to mill the family's wheat. The first industrial mill came onto the scene in 1884, employed around 50 people and had a siren indicating the start and end of the day's work. In those bygone days, every family or group of families had to have its own oven. Then came public bakeries, to which the family's home-made bread would be sent for baking. Every bakery oven was chiselled into the rock and was hermetically sealed. The wood used as fuel consisted mainly of Mediterranean species, which produced a particular aroma. Having left their bread there, the women would go back home and the baker hermetically sealed the oven door. After about three hours the oven door would be removed and tall, round loaves of bread would be taken out, now golden in colour and with an unmistakeable aroma. The women identified their bread by putting the initials of the head of the family into the dough beforehand. In 1857 Pietro Antonio Ridola counted eleven bakeries; in 1959-65 there were around fifteen. The inhabitants of Matera did not abandon the bread-making tradition even when living conditions substantially improved around 1969-70 and other foods became a staple. Thus tradition, culture and quality won out. Product traceability is ensured by the compilation of a list of bread-makers and packagers, which is held by the inspection body.

4.7.   Inspection body:

4.8.   Labelling: The labels to be affixed to the packaging contain the wording ‘Protected Geographical Indication ’and ‘Pane di Matera ’plus the logo, which must be used only in conjunction with the PGI. The graphical symbol is made up of a horizontal oval shape, the upper outline of which is marked out by the following wording: ‘PANE DI MATERA’.

The lower outline is marked out by the words: INDICAZIONE GEOGRAFICA PROTETTA. Inside the oval, in the foreground, are two yellow sheaves of durum wheat, and in the background, the city of Matera and the Cathedral's bell tower. Provided the product is baked in a wood-fired oven, the wording ‘pane cotto in forno a legna ’[bread baked in a wood oven] may be added to the Protected Geographical Indication ‘Pane di Matera’.

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

(2)  The protein content is determined as ‘total nitrogen’, by multiplying the nitrogen content by the processing coefficient of 5,7.

(3)  The consistency of the crumb, i.e. its hardness, was measured as the force (N) needed to compress by 25 % the middle of a slice 25mm thick