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Requirement specifications (summary of the registration application)

1. Applicant

Interprofession TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, Brunnmattstrasse 21, 3007 Berne, Switzerland

2. Name of the product

TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese

3. Protection required

Protected designation of origin

4. Class of Product

Cheese

5. Proof of lawful representation of the applicant

The Interprofession TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, groups all the cheese dairies producing TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, at the time being. The milk producers are affiliated via their cooperatives or producers' association. The cheese ripening experts (known as affineurs) are represented by those cheese dairies which ripen the cheese on their own premises and by the only cheese ripening and trading company.

6. Proof that the designation is not a generic name

TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, is mentioned in the ordinance on the designation of Swiss cheeses (ordinance 910.12 from May 28 1997) as a cheese with a protected designation of origin. The cheese is also protected by bilateral agreements with various countries on the protection of regions of origin, descriptions of origin and other geographical designations, in particular with France, Spain and Germany.

7. Historical development

The monks of the Premonstratensian order were the first to make the cheese in their monastery and the farms which they managed. Much later the monks taught the farmers around them how to make the cheese. The first cheese dairies in the villages were set up in the 1880ies. The first recorded mention of the "Bellelay Cheese" is in a letter dated 1570 from the then Abbot of Bellelay Abbey to the Prince-Bishop of Basel. The letter mentions "dryssig belleley Kess" (thirty belleley cheeses), which the Abbot had supplied. In a book dated from 1628 the "cheese from Bellelay" appears for the first time and is described as a full-fat cheese of excellent quality.

8. Characteristics of the product marked by the particular, natural and human factors inherent in the geographical terroir

TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, is characterized by its small size and the fact that the cheese is not cut into pieces. Its texture and body are ideal for paring. It is produced from raw milk of cows grazing in the mountainous and summering pasture areas. The cows may not be fed on silage. The use of starter cultures, raw milk and the shape of the cheese are characteristic elements of TÊTE DE MOINE.

TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, possesses a moist rind created by regular rubbing of the cheese during its maturing period. The ripening process pervading the cheese from the rind contributes to the pleasant aroma which results from a well-balanced ratio between shape and weight.

9. Description of local, proper and standard procedures

The monks of the Premonstratensian order were the first to make this cheese, but the social roots have been lost in the course of time. Between 1937 and 1974 the production method of TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, changed considerably/ Since the time of the Premonstratensian monks as the inventors of TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, but in particular between 1937 and 1974 the production of the cheese changed considerably. The cheese is no longer a seasonal speciality and wooden frames are no longer used. Basic elements, however, such as the adherence to the particular natural and human factors inherent in the geographical terroir, the raw milk, the ban on silage fodder, the use of starter cultures, copper vats and pine boards have not been abandoned.

10. Requirement specifications

a) Geographical region

The geographical region comprises the mountainous areas and summer pastures of the districts of Franches Montagnes, Porrentruy, Moutier and Courtelary, the municipality of Saulcy, and the land owned by the cheese dairy at Courgenay.

b) Product description and main characteristics

TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese, is a raw milk cheese with a cylindrical or slightly domed shape. Its rind is firm, smeared, grainy, moist, healthy and red-brown. The diameter of the cheese is 10 to 15 cm, its height 70-100% of the diameter, and its weight 0.7 to 2 kg. The cheese has a delicate, yellow to ivory-coloured, homogeneous, sticky and silky body. The cheese melts readily in the mouth and is particularly suitable for paring and cutting. It tastes of bark and mushroom, and smells of hay.

c) Assessment of the production method

The milk is delivered to the dairies twice a day. If supplied once a day, the temperature may not exceed 10°C when the milk gets to the dairy. Bactofugation and ultrafiltration may not be used, the only permissible procedures to standardize the fat content are natural skimming or centrifugation. Then starter cultures and rennet are added and exert their effects on the milk; the use of genetically modified organisms or additives is prohibited. The milk has to be processed within 24 hours after the milking of the cows. It is kept cool and stored at 15°C at the dairy. The milk is processed in copper vats, has to meet the cheese dairy quality standard and may not be heated to over 38°C. The curd is heated to between 46° and 53°C and then pressed. Each cheese wheel has to bear a casein mark. The wheels are immersed in a brine bath for at least 12 hours. During its maturing the cheese is regularly treated with the bacteria culture Brevibacterium linens, and with water or brine solution in order to promote smear formation on the rind. Cheese maturing on pine boards lasts for at least 75 days.

d) Certification body

Product certification according to the EN 45011 standard is done by the Organisme Intercantonal de Certification (OIC), Jordils 3, CH-1000 Lausanne 6, Switzerland. The certification procedure is described in the inspection handbook of TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese.

e) Labelling and traceability

The applicant has issued a general label for TÊTE DE MOINE, Bellelay cheese. In order to ensure traceability, however, the cheese dairies have to affix a casein mark on each wheel showing the accreditation number and the production date.