INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT TO THE DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN OF TERUEL

The Agricultural and Livestock services of the Provincial Council of Teruel are located in La Masía ‘El Chantre’ Improvement Centre. Their main aim is to manage the local programmes destined to the improvement of the agricultural sector in the province.

The County Council in Teruel has been constantly working towards the improvement of the Agricultural and Livestock services, mainly in the hogs, sheep, CUNICOLA and bovine sectors.

Their main objective is to promote, select and improve our different breeds, both autochthonous and imported, complying with the high demands of the outstanding producers on behalf of the stockbreeders of the province.

Thus, going back to the origins of the Designation of Origin, the production of certain pork breeds had to be regulated, including their food, transport, slaughter process as well as their aging processes.

The first aspect to be taken into account was to know which breeds were the most appropriate to use their parental line, that is, breeding the best to the best. Therefore the main strategy was put forward:

- The maternal line should fulfill 3 requirements:

• .. It should have outstanding reproduction levels (fertility, proliferation, breed weight. Weight and number of rearing pigs, etc.)
• .. It should have good productive levels (daily average weight gain, conversion level). We should bear in mind that the mother will supply 50% of its traits to the D.O. Furthermore, productive traits are best passed on to the next generation than reproductive traits.
• .. It shouldn’t be subject to suffer the Porcine Stress Syndrome present in overweight breeds. Otherwise, it would have a negative influence on the production and quality of the meat.

They reached to the conclusion that the most adequate breeds were purebreds Large White and Landrace or crossbreeds.

Maternal Large White and Landrace crossbreeds are widely used as finishing sires. The advantages of the heterosis, also known as hybrid vigour or outbreeding enhancement are granted, i.e., the possibility to obtain a genetically superior individual by combining the virtues of its parents.

Male Durocs were considered as finishing sires since they produce a better quality meat.

This breed will pass on traits such as strength, stress resistance, low consumption levels and higher meat quality. It will also transfer a higher intramuscular fat content to the D.O. supplying juiciness, flavour, taste, colour and stripes characteristic of the Designation of Origin Ham.

JAMON DE TERUEL DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN

BACKGROUND

First regulation October 1984 verified by the MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing in Aragón)

First ranking in Spain

Third in the world

March 2009 – Public Law Corporation

EU June 1996 – applied to the rest of the European Member States

SOCIO-ECONOMIC RELEVANCE

Over 2000 jobs were created

In-situ and ex-situ project developments

Largest enterprise in Teruel

SWINE PRODUCTION

Out of a total of 869 livestock farms, 379 were actually registered in the Council Regulation

78% of slaughtered pigs in Teruel are aimed at obtaining the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) (470.000 units)

Around 50 million euros were invested in the swine production aimed at PDOs.

800 directs jobs were created

PGI processes (Protected Geographical Indication) ‘Carne de cerdo de Teruel’.

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

10 registered slaughters

55 drying-cooling places

5 processing plants

1300 direct jobs

743738 hams from Teruel (total quantity of cured hams in Teruel is of 3.800.000 units)

150 million euros aimed at ham production. 60 million correspond to the province of Teruel.

LIVESTOCK FARMS

General regulations:

- Registers in the Administration

- Complying with legislation in force

Internal regulation:

- Record of livestock farms in the Council Regulation

LIVESTOCK FARMS – INTERNAL REGULATION

- Identification of piglets: no.of register + TSG label (Traditional Specialty Guaranteed) + week of birth

- Feed: regulation on feeding and distribution of the holding

- Castration of barrows

- Notification of holding movements to the C.R.D.O.

- Register of Livestock Farms

Holding Movements:

- Weight (live animal) between 115kg and 130 kg

- Identification on the loin

- Sanitary control information

SLAUGHTERS

General regulations:l

- Registers in the Administration

- Complying with legislation in force

Internal regulation:

- Register in the Administration

- Located in the province of Teruel

- Reception of holdings: division between D.O.P. and the rest (classified according to origin of batches)

- It is forbidden to drill the pig’s back legs

Quality control procedures:

- Before slaughter: check sanitary information and identification of the animal

- During slaughter: carcass weight > 86 kg, back thickness between 1.6 and 4.5 cm, no physical default, castrated pigs

- Identification of pieces: no. Slaughter, week of slaughter, precedence of livestock farm, order of slaughter.

- Report of incidents: satisfactory hams, rejected hams (reasons)

CRYING-COOLING ROOMS

General regulations: Registers in the Administration complying with legislation in force

Internal regulation: of Drying Rooms

Location:: Municipalities in the province of Teruel with an average height of > than 800 metres above sea level

Reception

- Temperature in the centre of the piece between 0 and 2 degrees

- Council Labelling

- Weight: > 11 kg after cooling for 24 hours

- Fat thickness at the end of the leg

- No physical default

Classification: separation according to holdings

Salting: with thick salt for a period of less than 14 days.

Washing: with warm water

Settling/Resting or Post-Salting:

 

- Temperature between 3 and 6 degrees

- Relative humidity between 80% and 90&

- Salt diffusion to the interior of the piecea

- Period of 45 to 90 days

Drying: Minimum period of 6 months.

Aging/Curing: months minimum, counting from the beginning of the process.

Body fluid tests: minimum 2 per year (salinity and humidity) Samples and branding:

Samples and branding:

 

- 7 kg. minimum

- No default after drilling

- Long-shaped, sharp and rounded edges

- With the bone

- with its skin or a V-cut

Ham Branding procedures:

 

- Check information – labelling, curing period, sample, weight, physical defects.

- Fire-stamped with an eight-point star and the word ‘Teruel’ on it.

Information on the Label::

 

- Code bar number with logo

- Labelling Register of Cured Hamo

PACKING INDUSTRIES

Internal Regulation

- Register in the Council

- Located in the province of Teruel

- Register of Cooling rooms

- Off-site specialised rooms

Packing in off-site rooms:

- Check information of the piece

- No. Batch assignment

- Separate batch storing

- Handling

- Commercial label and C.R.D.O. label

EU COUNCIL REGULATION (Order 6/2/09 – BOA –Official Bulletin of Aragón 9/3/09) for the Designation of Origin JAMÓN DE TERUEL

EU Regulation 509/06

Act 9/2006 ‘Calidad Alimentaria Aragón’"

Specifications of D.O.P.

Operational regulations

Articles of Associations

Proceeding manual (EU EN-45011)

STRUCTURE OF CONTROL QUALITY OF COUNCIL COMMISSION D.O.

The Certificate Director shall work under the supervision and approval of the Committee of Parties with ultimate responsibility for the audits, and as many technical experts as may be needed, to evaluate the operators who are registered in the Commission Council.

 

QUALITY SYSTEM

The compliance with the specifications corresponds to the operators themselves, who have voluntarily registered, and shall carry out a self-quality control system.

The Commission Council shall:

- Publish the reports, with binding effect, prior to the D.O. registration process of the operators.

- The certification of the operators in compliance with the General Requirements for entities willing to obtain the certificate for their products’ (EU –EN 45011 or subsequent regulation)

PARTIES COMMITTEE

This body safeguards the control system process. All the parts will compulsory take part in relation to the content and well functioning of the Certificate System, as established in the EN 45011.

It is formed by organizations which represent the different interests of the participants in the process of certification, with no particular interest.

The Parties Committee is a body designated by the Government, which works under no hierarchical or administrative dependence for the Plenary of the Council Commission, in accordance with the principles of impartiality, objectivity and technical competence, in charge of the supervision and confirmation of the activities carried out by the Certificate Area to the operators who are registered, also ensuring that the technical and proceeding specifications put forward as for the D.O. of Teruel are fully accomplished.