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Specifications
Decree 29 December 1986
on the “Saint-Nectaire” Appellation
d’Origine
Art.1 :
The “Saint-Nectaire” appellation d’origine applies exclusively
to cheeses complying with the terms of the current legislation and local,
legal and permanent customs, regarding the production and delivery of
milk as well as the making and ripening of the cheeses.
In particular, the milk must come from a herd that is officially free
from tuberculosis and brucellosis or from a herd that is officially free
from tuberculosis and free from brucellosis. The production of milk and
the cheese-making process must take place in the geographic area extending
to the territory of the following communes:
Department of Cantal
Arrondissement of Saint-Flour
Allanche canton: the communes of Allanche, Landeyrat, Pradiers,
Saint-Saturnin, Ségur-les-Villas and Vernols
Canton of Condat: all the communes
Arrondissement of Mauriac
Canton of Champ-sur-Tarentaines: all the communes
Department of Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissement of Clermont-Ferrand
Canton of Rochefort-Montagne: the communes of Aurières, La Bourboule,
Le Mont-Dore, Murat-le-Quaire, Orcival and Vernines
Canton of Saint-Amant-Tallende: the communes of Aydat, Cournols, Olloix,
Saulzet-le-Froid and Le-Vernet-Sainte-Marguerite
Arrondissement of Issoire
Canton of Ardes-sur-Couze : the communes of Anzat-le-Luguet, Ardes-sur-Couze,
La Chapelle-Marcousse, Chassagne, Dauzat-sur-Vodable, La Godivelle, Mazoires,
Rentières, Roche-Charles-la-Mayrant and Saint-Alyre-es-Montagne
Canton of Besse: all the communes
Canton of Champeix: the communes of Courgoul, Creste, Grandeyrolles, Montaigut-le-Blanc,
Saint-Nectaire,Saurier and Verrières
Canton of Tauves: the communes of Labessette, Larodde, Singles and Tauvec
Canton of La Tour d’Auvergne: all the communes
Art.2 : The cheese entitled to carry
the “Saint-Nectaire” appellation d’origine is a cheese
made exclusively from cow’s milk, with semi-firm pressed salted
curds, with a flowery rind showing, depending on the ripening stage distinctive
white, yellow or red mould; it is in the shape of a flat cylinder about
21 cm in diameter and 5 cm high, weighing about 1.7 kg, containing a minimum
45 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese after complete desiccation, with
the solids content of ripened cheese not less than 52 grams per 100 grams.
The solids content of unripe cheese sold for later maturing is set at
a minimum 48 grams per 100 grams of cheese.
The “Petit Saint-Nectaire” cheese must have the same characteristics
as those defined above, albeit in a smaller size (about 13 cm in diameter,
3.5 cm thick and weighing about 600 grams).
White unripe cheeses may be frozen before they enter the ripening cellars,
in compliance with current regulatory requirements.
The white Saint-Nectaire cheeses must be thawed out at a temperature not
exceeding +12 °C.
The frozen quantities, as well as the dates of entry and exit from freezing,
must be recorded on the register described in article 7 of this decree.
Any freezing or thawing operation carried out after the maximum time set
in the internal regulations will mean that the cheeses involved lose their
entitlement to the appellation d’origine. In this case, the identification
markings shall be removed.
Colouring of the rind is allowed using the authorised food colours, the
list of which may be established by the inspection commission.
In no circumstances can it lead to cheeses in which the rind is not at
least partially flowered.
Art.3: Cheeses allowed
to carry the “Saint-Nectaire” or “Petit Saint-Nectaire”
appellation d’origine must carry an indelible marking which is affixed
during the pressing operation onto the centre of the cheese under the
conditions defined below.
Cheeses made on the farm
The marking comprises an oval green coloured casein label, of length
72 mm and width 38 mm, bearing the following information printed in black:
• above the longest part, in 8-mm high characters, the words:
“Saint-Nectaire Fermier”
• on the longest part, in 8-mm high characters, the registration
number of the production unit
Cheeses made in a dairy
The marking comprises a square green coloured casein label, with
4.5-cm sides, carrying the following information printed in black:
• in the upper part of the label, the words: “Saint-Nectaire
laitier”, in 5-mm high characters, in two lines
• in the middle of the label, in 10-mm high characters, the
registration number of the cheese production plant
Art.4 : “Saint-Nectaire”
cheeses must be ripened in the departments of Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal;
ripening in cellars must last at least three weeks.
Anyone running a Saint-Nectaire ripening unit must declare it to the inspection
commission mentioned in article 5. This declaration in two copies must
bear the name or corporate name and address of the ripener. A receipt
is sent to the person concerned by the said commission.
Art.5 : (further defined
by decree 89-463, 3 July 1989): The quality criteria applicable to “Saint-Nectaire”
cheese include in particular assessment items relating to the shape and
firmness, the rind, texture of the paste and taste. The rating table and
the sampling and inspection procedures are defined in the internal regulations
of the inspection commission below, on the conform advice of the national
committee for the appellation d’origine for cheeses.
Inspection of the quality of the cheeses allowed to used the “Saint-Nectaire”
appellation d’origine as well as the raw ingredients used in their
making is ensured by a inspection commission made up as follows :
• The Regional Director for Agriculture and forests for the
Auvergne Region or his representative
• The head of the inter-department unit for the general direction
of competition, consumption and fraud suppression or his representative
- Five professional representatives designated by the inter-professional
body certified by the National committee for cheese appellations d’origine
and specifically responsible for defending the “Saint Nectaire”
appellation d’origine. The president is selected from their ranks.
At least three of the five professional representatives must be present
for the inspection commission to operate.
This commission may issue a warning to the professionals involved in cases
where the cheeses that have been submitted to the inspections do not comply
with the defined specifications.
Any warning is followed by a new inspection, to be carried out within
a maximum three months from the day the warning was issued.
If two warnings have been issued within a maximum six months, the commission
may decide to suspend the use of the appellation d’origine. This
will take effect the day following the date the decision was received.
This suspension lasts as long as the inspections, which are then carried
out fortnightly from the notification of the decision, do not show satisfactory
results.
If a producer or a refiner puts up any opposition to the checks to inspect
the quality of the cheeses to be carried out by the agents of the inspection
commission for the quality of the cheese, a warning is immediately sent
to him by recorded delivery letter to inform him that the inspection will
take place within eight days at the most of the receipt of the letter
being returned.
If the second check cannot be carried out because of action by the person
concerned, the suspension of the use of the appellations shall be notified
immediately and will take effect the day following the date the decision
was received.
This procedure also applies when the agents of the general direction of
competition, consumption and fraud suppression are refused access to carry
out the checks, independently from the criminal proceedings based on article
6 of the law, 28 July 1912, incurred by anyone trying to prevent the said
agents from carrying out their duties.
Art.6 : The inter-professional
body concerned at article 5 of this decree sends each year to the National
Committee a progress report giving, in particular, the statistical and
economic data as well as the monitoring operations for the cheeses using
the “Saint-Nectaire” appellation d’origine.
Art.7 : In order to
enable the inspection of the quality and the origin of the cheeses entering
and leaving, the producers and the refiners must keep up to date a record
of the cheeses or any equivalent accounting document under the conditions
set out in the internal regulations described in article 5.
Art.8 : (modified by
Decree, 8 August 1994) - Independently from the regulatory statements
applicable to all the cheeses and those outlined in article 9 below, the
labelling of the cheeses entitled to bear the “Saint-Nectaire”
appellation must include the name of the appellation written in letters
at least equal in size to two-thirds of those of the largest characters
on the labels.
In the labelling of the cheeses entitled to use the appellation d’origine
contrôlée, it is compulsory to affix the logo including the
abbreviation I.N.A.O., the statement “Appellation d’Origine
Contrôlée” and the name of the appellation.
The use of any qualifying or other statement to accompany the said appellation
d’origine is prohibited in the labelling, the advertising, the invoices
or commercial documents, except:
• specific proprietary or commercial brands,
• The statements authorised by the internal regulations set
out in article 5 of this decree and on the conform advice of the National
committee for the appellations d’origine of the cheeses
Art.9 : The statement “Fabrication
fermière” or any other inferring the farmhouse origin of
the cheese is reserved for farm producers who transform the milk produced
on their farm.
The farmhouse-made cheese collected and ripened by a ripener may also
bear this statement.
Art.10 : The use of any indication
or symbol likely to lead the buyer to believe that a cheese is entitled
to the “Saint-Nectaire” appellation d’origine while
it does not satisfy all the conditions set out in the present decree will
incur proceedings in compliance with the law on fraud suppression and
on the protection of the appellations d’origine.
Art.11 : The decree, 21 May 1979
and modified on the “Saint-Nectaire” appellation d’origine
is abrogated.
Art.12 : The State minister, the
minister of economy, finances and privatisation, and the minister of agriculture
have been respectively put in charge, each in his own right, to execute
the present decree, to be published in the Journal Officiel of the French
Republic.
Executed in Paris, 29 December 1986
Jacques CHIRAC
By the Prime Minister:
The Minister of state, minister for economy, finances and privatisation,
Édouard BALLADUR
The minister of agriculture
François GUILLAUME
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