VI/5048/95 - EN COUNCIL REGULATION NO. 2081/92/EEC APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION PDO, ARTICLE 17

1. Responsible department in the Member State: Name: Institut National des Appellations d'Origine - 138, Champs Elysées - 75008 Paris Tel.: (1) 45 62 54 75 Fax: (1) 42 25 57 97

2. Applicant group: (a) Name: Syndicat des Fabricants de Fromage Bleu des Causses (b) Address: B.P. 18, 12102 Millau. (c) Composition: producer/processor (x) other ( )

3. Name of product: Bleu des Causses

4. Type of product: (see list): Class 1.3 - Cheeses

5. Specifications (summary of Article 4(2) conditions): (a) Name: (see 3) (b) Description: Blue-veined whole cow's milk cheese in the form of a flat cylinder weighing 2.3 to 3 kg. (c) Geographical area: Rouergue, with two extensions: the Quercy causses (limestone plateaux) to the west and the Lozère causses and part of the Margeride granite massif to the east. (d) Evidence: The Causses blue cheese's origins are as old as those of Roquefort. The rural inhabitants of the causses customarily placed their cow's milk cheeses in natural cavities in the limestone scree. These cavities faced north and were swept by drafts of cool, damp air. This cheese was first called 'Bleu d'Aveyron' and defined as such by a décret in 1937. Then, under the name 'Bleu des Causses' it obtained a designation of origin by a Millau court ruling in 1953 that was confirmed by the décret of 21/05/1979. (e) Method of production: Causses blue cheese is made by traditional methods: whole milk, generally used raw, is curdled at 30xC; the curd is cut and stirred, then placed in moulds perforated with holes. After the cheese is seeded with Pénicillium mould, it is allowed to drip, salted, brushed, then stabbed with needles to allow the mould to grow under the effects of the cave's cool air. The ripening takes from 3 to 6 months, with a 70-day minimum. (f) Link: The typical characteristics of Causses blue cheese are closely linked to the nature of the region, which consists of rocky, dry, limestone plateaux (the causses), and its singular, slow ripening in a natural environment, usually genuine caves arranged in karstie cavities and ventilated by currents of cool, damp air. (g) Inspection structure: Name: INAO Address: 138, Champs Elysées, 75008 Paris Name: DGCCRF Address: 59, Bd V. Auriol, 75703 Paris CEDEX 13 VI/5048/95 - EN COUNCIL REGULATION NO. 2081/92/EEC APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION PDO, ARTICLE 17

(h) Labelling: Legal obligation to display the INAO logo + acronym, the phrase 'Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée and the cheese's name, (i) National requirements (if any): Décret of 23 December 1986.

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE COMMISSION EEC No.: VI BI4/FR/010^40124 Date of receipt of the application: £^/ol/3^