# C_2023070EN.01001601.xml

| 27.2.2023 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 70/16 |
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27.2.2023

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70/16

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Publication of an approved standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014

(2023/C 70/10)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 6b(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

Communicating the approval of a standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication originating in a Member State

(Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012)

‘Granada Mollar de Elche / Granada de Elche’

EU No: PDO-ES-01230-AM01— 30.11.2022

PGI ( ) PDO (X)

1.   Name of product

‘Granada Mollar de Elche / Granada de Elche’

2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Spain

3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Directorate-General for Rural Development, Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Transition to a Green Economy

4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)

This amendment has been made because of the need to replace the method currently used to measure acidity, as it poses certain difficulties when taking measurements in the field and in the warehouse, and the values obtained have a degree of variability and are therefore unreliable. Measuring the pH is considered to be an alternative method, as pH is a commonly used parameter when determining the physico-chemical quality of pomegranate juice and is related to acidity. Moreover, the use of portable pH meters makes taking measurements in the field more practical, and the values obtained are more reliable. Both pH and acidity were measured during the last two growing seasons, and the two measurements were found to be in line with one another. The acidity is currently used to calculate the maturity index, so if the acidity is no longer measured it will not be possible to calculate the maturity index, which must therefore be deleted from the specification.

This is a ‘standard’ amendment in line with Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, because it does not:

| — | relate to the essential characteristics of the product; |
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relate to the essential characteristics of the product;

| — | alter the link referred to in point (f)(i) or (ii) of Article 7(1); |
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alter the link referred to in point (f)(i) or (ii) of Article 7(1);

| — | include a change to the name, or to any part of the name, of the product; |
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include a change to the name, or to any part of the name, of the product;

| — | affect the defined geographical area; or |
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affect the defined geographical area; or

| — | represent an increase in restrictions on trade in the product or its raw materials. |
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represent an increase in restrictions on trade in the product or its raw materials.

This amendment involves a change to the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Granada Mollar de Elche / Granada de Elche’

EU No: PDO-ES-01230-AM01— 30.11.2022

PGI ( ) PDO (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

‘Granada Mollar de Elche / Granada de Elche’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Spain

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.6. Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed

3.2.   Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’ is the fruit of the Mollar de Elche variety of the species Punica granatum L., classes Extra and I as defined in the Codex Standard for pomegranates. The product is characterised by its acid-sugar balance, creamy yellow to red outer skin and the anthocyanin content of the arils, which gives them a deep pink to red colour.

The ripe fruit has the following characteristics:

1.   Morphological

Shape of the fruit: round; the inside is divided into lobes and within these are the seeds (arils). The outer skin is of fine to medium thickness, smooth and shiny.

Colour: from cream to deep red on the outside. The seeds are covered with a juicy pulp ranging from deep pink to red in colour.

2.   Physical and chemical

Degrees Brix: minimum 14 °

Acidity (pH): minimum 3,30 and maximum 4,40

3.   Organoleptic

The pulp is moderately astringent and tastes very sweet, while the seeds are mild.

The fruit must have the following characteristics:

| a) | They must be whole, clean and healthy; fruit showing signs of any kind of rotting or other impairment are excluded. They must look fresh and be free of foreign odours and/or tastes and free of abnormal external moisture. |
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a)

They must be whole, clean and healthy; fruit showing signs of any kind of rotting or other impairment are excluded. They must look fresh and be free of foreign odours and/or tastes and free of abnormal external moisture.

| b) | The size of ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’ is judged by the weight of each fruit and fruit weighing less than 125 g are excluded. |
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b)

The size of ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’ is judged by the weight of each fruit and fruit weighing less than 125 g are excluded.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

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

All steps in production must take place in the defined geographical area.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product to which the registered name refers

The product must be prepared and packaged within the defined geographical area to prevent deterioration that may result from excessive handling or transportation of fruit that is not properly prepared and packed.

This is also important with regard to the fruit’s characteristic shape, as at the end opposite to the stalk, the pomegranate has a calyx shaped like a crown, closed and with a short neck. If it is not handled properly, the skin and crown may be damaged. In order to prevent the fruit being knocked, grazed or bruised as a result of incorrect transport and/or excessive handling, which would impair the characteristics of the skin and/or the quality of the pulp or damage the crown, the product must be packaged at source.

Once the pomegranates have been picked, they are taken to the packhouses. They may be brushed with soft pig bristles, so that the crown does not get broken. The fruit must be kept at a temperature of 4-8 °C.

Preparation and packaging at source also guarantees traceability, as the packaging in which the pomegranates are dispatched must bear the particulars that are mandatory for the protected designation of origin, together with the origin of the product, as prescribed by the single control system in operation up until dispatch to the final consumer. Two types of packaging may be used: up to a maximum weight of 5 kg and up to a maximum weight of 10 kg.

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

The wording or labels identifying ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’ intended for consumption must be accompanied by a conformity mark known as a certification label, identified by an alphanumeric code, to be affixed by the registered packhouse in such a way that it cannot be reused and ensuring that traceability is guaranteed. These certification labels are issued by the Regulatory Board on a non-discriminatory basis to all operators complying with the specification.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area is situated in the province of Alicante in the south-east of the Autonomous Community of Valencia and comprises all the municipalities that make up the comarcas of Bajo Vinalopó, Alacantí and Bajo Segura.

5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors

Climate

As regards climate, the south of the Autonomous Community of Valencia has features that distinguish it from other parts of the Spanish Mediterranean. In particular: low precipitation, around 263 mm per year, and high levels of sunshine – because there are few cloudy days and mists are rare – with an especially dry period when the pomegranates are ripening, from June to September. The defined geographical area lies mostly within the BSh or hot semi-arid climate zone and to a lesser extent in the BSk or cold semi-arid zone (Köppen-Geiger climate classification).

Soil

Most of the parcels planted with pomegranates in the production area have clay loam soils. These soils have a pH (8-9) and levels of carbonates (around 45.76 %) and active lime (around 10 %) that are much higher than those found in other regions and production areas. Both the levels of salts in the soil and those introduced by the irrigation water or irrigation regime (Intrigliolo et al, 2011) are a characteristic of production of the Mollar variety.

Human factors

Cultivation practices

In Spain, pomegranates are grown mainly in the south-east of the country. According to the Anuario de Estadística Agraria, in 2008 there were 2 387 hectares planted with pomegranates, of which 84,4 % were in the province of Alicante, in the comarcas which make up the defined geographical area.

Of the different varieties grown in the area (Mollar, Valenciana and Wonderful), Mollar was a local exclusive until recent years. It was obtained by the local farmers selecting, over decades, those plants which gave the best-quality fruit and which best adapted to the area’s climate and soil conditions, which were propagated by grafting or cuttings.

As it has been established there for so long, the local growers have developed cultivation techniques to produce the best possible results. Every year the trees are shaped and/or maintained by pruning, sucker control (mainly by mechanical means) and manual thinning of developing fruit (in several stages) to obtain fruit less damaged by pests and of a more uniform colour and size.

Long years of experience in growing ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’ have led producers to establish specific irrigation management as a means for improving fruit set and preventing fruit splitting.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

Mollar pomegranates grown in the defined area have characteristics that distinguish them from pomegranates grown elsewhere. The environmental conditions affect the physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the fruit and also the date of harvest.

The date of commercial maturity of the Mollar variety is determined by two factors: the sugar (soluble solids) content of the juice must be higher than 14° Brix and the colour of the skin must have changed from green to cream, with no green tones. In the defined area the fruit reaches commercial maturity in the first week of October, though the first batches may be harvested a week earlier or later depending on maximum day- and night-time temperatures in the period when the colour changes. The fruit is harvested earlier than in areas further north or at a higher altitude.

The acidity of the juice is between 3.30 and 4.40 (expressed in terms of pH). The acid-sugar balance gives the product its characteristic sweet taste.

On the outside the colour of the fruit is cream to red, with a shiny appearance. The colour of the juice is typical of pomegranates grown in the area, due to the anthocyanin content.

5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The environmental conditions (semi-arid climate with mild temperatures in winter and low rainfall, and scarcely any rain in summer), the strong sunshine and high temperatures in the period when the fruit is developing and ripening affect the outer colour, the taste and anthocyanin content of Mollar pomegranates grown in the area.

The dry weather that occurs in the months before the harvesting season begins (from June to September) turns the juice a deeper red.

The range of maximum temperatures that prevail in the area when the fruit is developing (July-August), over 30 °C but under 40 °C, produces fruit whose acidity, due to organic acids, is between 3,30 and 4,40, expressed in terms of pH. The acid-sugar balance gives the product its characteristic sweet taste.

These conditions also affect flowering and the date of harvesting, which is in the first week of October, but may be a week earlier or later depending on maximum day- and night-time temperatures in the period when the colour changes.

Publication reference of the specification

Link to the product specification http://www.agricultura.gva.es/pc_granadamollarelche

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(1)  OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

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