The European Commission has published on 19th June the Regulation EU No 665/2014 defining the detailed rules for using the optional quality term “mountain product”. The implementing regulation EU No 1151/2012 had already entered into force on the 3rd January 2013, but some aspects needed further clarification. The new delegated act has entered into force last 26th June.
The main points regarding the delegated act can be summarised as follows:
Products of animal origin
- Animals shall be reared for at least the last 2/3 of their life in mountain areas, if the products are processed in such areas.
- The term ‘mountain product’ may be applied to products made from transhumant animals that have been reared for at least 1/4 of their life in transhumance grazing on pastures in mountain areas.
Feedstuffs
- The proportion of the annual animal diet that cannot be produced in mountain areas, expressed as a percentage of dry matter, cannot exceed 50 % in general and, in the case of ruminants, 40 %.
- For pigs, the proportion of feedstuffs that cannot be produced in mountain areas, expressed as a percentage of dry matter, shall not exceed 75% of the annual animal diet.
Processing operations outside mountain areas
Member States may determine:
- that the rule of a distance less than 30 km from the mountain area does not apply for milk and milk products.
- or that the processing facilities must be located within a distance, to be specified, of less than 30km.
For more information please check:
- The news on DG AGRI website
- Regulation EU No 1151/2012
- Delegated act EU No 665/2014
- Technical note made by the Mountain Pig Association of France (in french).
For more information please contact Damiana Maiz or Marta de la Cera.
