APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AS A SOUTH AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION

KAROO LAMB / KAROO LAM SUBMITTED BY: Meat of Origin Karoo (NPC) Registration Number: (2012/078056/08) Registered office: 14 Main Road Clanwilliam 8135 Postal address P.O. Box 241 Clanwilliam 8135 Tel: 027-482 2171 Website: www.karoomeatoforigin.com Contact:

• Prof Johann Kirsten: Chair; jkirsten@sun.ac.za Tel: 082-3723131

• Mr Albertus Erasmus: Attorney and Secretary; ae@eproc.co.za Tel: 083-284 3370

• Ms Christa Malan: Internal Auditor and membership administrator; christa@cmcon.co.za and Tel: 082-3341197

History and Composition of Meat of Origin Karoo (MOOK) The process to establish the Karoo Lamb GI was initiated by the Karoo Development Foundation (KDF) in 2009 when a programme was launched to establish a protocol for the protection of the indigenous meat from the Karoo under the following guidelines and principles: • a transparent and full public participation process (this took place between 2009 and

2011)

• to establish the geographical area known as the Karoo where hormone free and antibiotic free sheep can be raised in a healthy and clean environment and grazed on the indigenous shrubs of this semi-desert and arid area

• to establish a structure for all-inclusive membership and use of the registered name • to find a scientific basis for the link between the region and the Karoo Lamb product • to establish the rules of origin, production practices, slaughtering practices, traceability

systems The facts pertaining to this application is accordingly based on the outcome of this research and years of public consultation. The initial funding for the development of the rules and protocol and the various studies was provided by the provincial departments of agriculture of the Northern Cape and Western Cape. The KDF, as the owner of the Certification mark (Karoo Meat of Origin) and the owners of the protocol and the DAFF dispensation for Certified Karoo Meat of Origin, appointed MOOK to implement and manage the programme until such time that a Karoo Lamb GI is formally established. The KDF is then prepared to cede the certification mark and protocol to DAFF to be use as the instruments for the Karoo GI when registered. MOOK is the registered not for profit company set-up by the Karoo Development Foundation (KDF) to manage the Karoo Meat of Origin Certification Scheme which protocol is registered with DAFF under the Agricultural Products Standards Act. The members of the company are: (i) the Karoo Development Foundation (who registered the certification mark and who ceded the operations to MOOK) (ii) registered Karoo farmers located in the Karoo as defined (iii) all registered abattoirs (iv) registered butchers, meat processors and retailers. Registered members have all been audited by SAMIC in terms of the KMOO protocol registered with DAFF and have passed the audits. Those applicants who failed the audit are not members of MOOK and cannot deliver or sell Karoo Lamb. The members meet once a year at an Annual General Meeting where directors and auditors are appointed. There are currently 6 Directors registered formally with CIPC. Application of membership of MOOK is open to any producer in the Karoo region as defined herewith and also open to any abattoir, retailer or butcher wanting to trade in Karoo Lamb. Many of the potential members producing and slaughtering in the Karoo are involved in retail supply chains which sell “Free Range” or “Natural Lamb” and are therefore at present excluded from being part of representative organisation representing the interests of the Karoo Lamb Value Chain.

1. Name of proposed GI Karoo Lamb / Karoolam

2. Type of product

Meat Product

3. Description of product to which the name Karoo Lamb applies

The name KAROO LAMB refers to all meat cuts from lamb produced and slaughtered in the Karoo region of South Africa as defined herein. Only lamb originating from (that is, born in) the Karoo, will qualify. The specifications for KAROO LAMB carcasses are as follows:

Breed Preferably meat breed types with good bone: muscle ratio with an even fat distribution.

Carcass mass and age class A >12 but < 25kg Classification Age classes A Fat classes 1 to 6 Conformation 3, 4 and 5 Damage Only F1 damage allowed

4. Description of production process

The traditional production practices for KAROO LAMB implies free range grazing on indigenous veld vegetation (comprising typical Karoo plants as listed below). Hence only sheep that feed freely from indigenous veld, in sizeable camps representative of the identified typical Karoo vegetation, and that have access to clean water, qualify for use of the name.

Free range grazing is therefore the dominant practice, but there is the occasional use of additional feeding supplements that may contain cereals, silage or any other natural plant matter, that is provided as supplementary feeding for example, to assist during dry spells and to improve the condition of animals during the reproductive cycle. When used, these feeds may be allowed to a maximum of 30% of the animal’s total daily intake. This implies that animals should still obtain at least 70% of their food intake from the natural veld. The supplementary feeding must be given while the animal grazes on the Karoo veld and roams freely.

Animals originating from feed lots (as opposed to free grazing) do not qualify for use of the name KAROO LAMB; free range grazing or production is a specific requirement as it is acknowledged as a contributing factor to the taste or sensory attributes of the product. Likewise, animals reared on cultivated or planted pastures, do not qualify and cannot be described as KAROO LAMB.

5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Breeding and rearing of sheep (Ovis aries) as well as slaughtering at a registered and certified abattoir must take place in the Karoo region as identified in Section 8. An important factor contributing to the quality of Karoo Lamb is the relative short distances animals travel to the abattoirs. Stress levels of animals are lower and in support of good animal ethics and animal health standards, animals should not be transported for more than 250 kilometres to an abattoir. This therefore also implies that slaughtering will have to take place in the Karoo region.

6. Specific rules concerning packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Abattoirs need to mark all carcasses complying with the rules with the prescribed roller mark and meat stamp as more fully described in section 7.

7. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

One of the following labels must appear on the carcass and packaging of meat products made from KAROO LAMB. This signals the authenticity of the product.

CERTIFIED KAROO meat of origin (Windmill device colour label)

CERTIFIED KAROO meat of origin and (Windmill device black and white label)

CERTIFIED KAROO meat of origin and (Windmill device) (stamp)

CERTIFIED KAROO meat of origin and (Windmill device) (meat stamp)

In addition, a carcass roller mark with the words “CERT KMOO” and the “Certified Karoo Meat of Origin” meat stamp issued by the SA Meat Industry Company (SAMIC) (or such other authorized body) must be used on all carcasses complying with the rules presented above. The protocol governing the use of the certification mark is active and filed with the Registrar: Agricultural Products Standards. Retailers, producers and abattoirs can also market Karoo Lamb using their own label such as “Woolworths Karoo Lamb” as long as the rules for the Karoo Lamb GI contained herein are

implemented. The certification mark “Karoo Meat of Origin” should however be used as primary endorsement to signal the Karoo Lamb GI.

8. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production region for KAROO LAMB is the Karoo region defined with reference to local municipalities in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State provinces where the unique plants which represent typical Karoo vegetation are present. The map below shows the local municipalities in which it was found that the following typical Karoo bushes occur naturally, constituting the predominant indigenous vegetation, namely, Plinthus karrooicus (“Silverkaroo”), Pentzia spinescens (“Skaapbossie”), Eriocephalus ericoides (“Kapokbossie”), Salsola glabrescens (“Rivierganna”), Pentzia incana (“Ankerkaroo”) and Pteronia glauca / Rosenia humilis (“Perdebos”). It has been scientifically shown that the reputation or distinctive character of KAROO LAMB mainly derives from indigenous veld vegetation consisting of the said species.

The districts listed in schedule A below are considered to be the core region where no or limited dispute about the true character of the Karoo is present. There are, however, farms in the municipalities listed in Schedule B which will not be in the Karoo since they typically have different botanical and geological characteristics not representative of the Karoo as defined.

Schedule A:

Municipality TYPE1 PROVINCE Area (km2) Camdeboo B Eastern Cape 7230 Inxuba Yethemba B Eastern Cape 11592 ECDMA10 DMA Eastern Cape 13280 Karoo Hoogland B Northern Cape 29397 Ubuntu B Northern Cape 20389 Umsobomvu B Northern Cape 6819 Emthanjeni B Northern Cape 11390 Kareeberg B Northern Cape 17702 Beaufort West B Western Cape 16330 WCDMA05 DMA Western Cape 5587

Schedule B:

Municipality TYPE PROVINCE Area (km2) Letsemeng B Free State 10225 Kopanong B Free State 15248 Mohokare B Free State 8776 Tokologo B Free State 9326 NCDMA06 DMA Northern Cape 24764 NCDMA08 DMA Northern Cape 65103 Hantam B Northern Cape 27968 Kai !Garib B Northern Cape 7446 //Khara Hais B Northern Cape 3444 !Kheis B Northern Cape 6436 KhΓi-Ma B Northern Cape 8332 Nama Khoi B Northern Cape 15025 Kamiesberg B Northern Cape 11742 Siyathemba B Northern Cape 8209 Siyancuma B Northern Cape 10024 Renosterberg B Northern Cape 5527 Thembelihle B Northern Cape 6980 Sol Plaatjie B Northern Cape 1877 NCDMA07 DMA Northern Cape 15687 Laingsburg B Western Cape 8784 Prince Albert B Western Cape 8153 Blue Crane B Eastern Cape 9836 Ikwezi B Eastern Cape 4453 Baviaans B Eastern Cape 7727 Tsolwana B Eastern Cape 6025 Inkwanca B Eastern Cape 3584 ECDMA13 DMA Eastern Cape 133 Maletswai B Eastern Cape 4358 Gariep B Eastern Cape 8911

Notes: 1 – See the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act (Act 117 of 1998)

2 – As determined by the Municipal Demarcation Board

Qualifying criteria for certified farms:

• Located in the municipalities listed in Schedule A and B, but for Schedule B farms, a detailed botanical audit is needed to verify the Karoo location and identity of the farm

• No feedlot practices on the farm

• Only free-range grazing

• No planted pasture or crop fields more than a maximum size of 2 hectares

• Proof of origin must be provided through the traceability system of the abattoirs that needs to verify that all animals delivered by the certified owner originate from farms in the defined region.

9. Link with the area

The Karoo is partly defined by its topography and its geology but, above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold and is generally also referred to as the Great Karoo (as opposed to the Little Karoo). The only sharp and definite boundary of the Great Karoo is formed by the most inland ranges of the Cape Fold Mountains to the south and south-west. The extent of the Karoo to the north is vague, fading gradually and almost imperceptibly into the increasingly arid Bushmanland towards the north-west. To the north and north-east it fades into the savannah and grasslands of Griqualand West and the Highveld. The boundary to the east grades into the grasslands of the Eastern Midlands.

One common characteristic of all the regions in the Karoo is the unique Karoo vegetation. Many plants provide this unique vegetation and include: aloes, mesembryanthemums, crassulas, euphorbias, stapelias, and desert ephemerals, spaced 50 cm or more apart. The distribution of some of the more dominant bushes that are palatable to animals do provide therefore a more scientific way of providing some demarcation of the Karoo region. These predominant indigenous plants are Plinthus karrooicus (“Silverkaroo”), Pentzia spinescens (“Skaapbossie”), Eriocephalus ericoides (“Kapokbossie”), Salsola glabrescens (“Rivierganna”), Pentzia incana (“Ankerkaroo”) and Pteronia glauca / Rosenia humilis (“Perdebos”). The distinctive character of lamb from the Karoo region as defined above has been proven through sensory tests, chemical analysis of the plants, fat and meat to be intrinsically linked to the indigenous veld vegetation consisting of the species indicated above. Scientific tests done at various Universities in South Africa and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) have shown that significant differences in meat and fat exist between regions with lamb raised on a diet of Karoo plants and grass exhibiting more favourable lamb-like and herbaceous characteristics. Sheep born and raised in the Karoo region and that feed freely in sizeable camps from indigenous veld therefore taste different to other regions and thus qualify for the name “KAROO LAMB”.

10. Nomination of qualified auditor MOOK hereby nominates “Christa Malan Consulting” as the auditor to audit the KAROO LAMB GI. This company has the following experience and qualifications relevant to the critical control dimensions of the GI:

• Employs two of the only 5 South Africans registered for food safety assessments with the International Register of Certified Auditors (IRCA)

11. Critical elements of control

The following elements reflect the most important aspects to secure that Karoo Lamb is indeed Karoo Lamb:

Establish that the farm/producer falls within the Karoo Region as defined in the programme.

• Farms/Producers must be situated in the Karoo Region in order to qualify for the KAROO LAMB GI and the use of the KMOO certification mark.

• On application the farm needs to provide the GPS co-ordinates of the farm(s) as confirmation that the area used for KAROO LAMB production is situated in the regions as indicated below.

• Farms falling in the Central Karoo immediately qualify in terms of origin. • Farms falling in the Middle Karoo, Koup and Laingsburg qualify immediately in terms of Origin. • Farms which fall in the Upper and Hantam Karoo qualifies in terms of origin with the exception of

farms situated West of Calvinia and the Hantam mountains, 40 km south of Sutherland and in the Tankwa-Karoo, these farms needs to be audited prior to being accepted into the KAROO LAMB GI.

• All farm(s) falling outside of these regions needs to be audit before approval to confirm that the vegetation is suitable as indicated in this programme.

Establish that the livestock has been produced in a free range environment.

• Farms/Producers need to demonstrate that livestock is reared in a free range environment with access to natural grazing typical of Karoo Region and have access to clean drinking water.

• Drinking troughs and watering places must be regularly inspected and maintained. They should be easily accessible to livestock without posing any risk of injury.

• Drinking troughs must be cleaned on a regular basis to eliminate the growth of algae and the deposit of waste feed and other contaminants.

Livestock producing units meet the requirements of the programme in terms of vegetation and grazing

• Vegetation which is typically associated with the Karoo needs to be present on the farm from which the livestock is sourced at least three of the flowing shrubs need to be present.

o Plinthus karrooicus (“Silverkaroo”) o Penzia spinescens (“Skaapbossie”) o Pentzia sphaerocephale (‘Berggansie”) o Pentzia lananta (“Blesbokkaroo”) o Pentzia globose (“Vaalkaroo”) o Pentzia calcarea (“Meerkatkaroo”) o Pentzia incana (“Ankerkaroo”) o Eriocephalus ericoides (“Kapokbossie”) o Eriocephalus spinescens (“Doringkapokbossie”)

o Salsola glabrescens (“Rivierganna”) o Pieronia glauca / Rosenia humilis (“Perdebos”)

• Grazing conditions must be monitored to prevent over grazing in order to sustain the livestock.

Livestock is sourced from listed farms.

• Organization has proof of purchase from an approved farm/produce as listed in the MOOK database and has been allocated a certification number.

• Declaration of health, origin and compliance has been received with each batch of livestock.

Good storage practices are maintained to prevent contamination to carcass.

• Carcasses are chilled in a hanging position. • Separate chilling facilities are available for red offal. • Separate chilling facilities are available for rough offal. • Carcasses are chilled to below 5ºC before dispatch. • System in place for the recording chiller/Freezer temperatures.

Prevent contamination during slaughtering and dressing of carcasses.

• Documented slaughter procedure in place. • Documented pre-operational checklist in place. • Documented procedure for the handling of dropped meat or carcasses. • Knife Sterilizers are at 82 ºC. • Carcasses are bled for to 6 min. • Stunning equipment is in good condition and working correctly. • Electrical stimulation equipment in good condition and working. • Two Knife system in place. • Good slaughtering practices are observed during slaughtering. • Slaughter staff are competent.

Carcasses is sourced by retailer/butcher from a listed abattoir or processor.

• Organization has proof of purchase from an approved abattoir. • Organization has a system in place to approve suppliers of packaging and labelling. • Traceability document, are received with every batch of KAROO LAMB carcasses.