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Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2005/C 59/07)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in a Member State, in a WTO member country or in a third country recognized in accordance with Article 12(3) within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

‘OLIVA ASCOLANA DEL PICENO’

EC No: IT/00331/04.12.2003

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary has been drawn up for information purposes only. For full details, in particular the producers of the PDO or PGI concerned, please consult the complete version of the product specification obtainable at national level or from the European Commission (1).

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Group:

3.   Type of product:

Class 1.6: Fruit, vegetables, cereals, whether or not processed

4.   Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1.   Name: ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’

4.2.   Description: The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ denotes the ‘ascolana tenera’ variety of olive, either in brine or stuffed.

Upon sale to the public, the product must present the following characteristics and maintain these up until the shown expiry date:

Uniform colour ranging from green to pale yellow with a characteristic yeast aroma. The taste is somewhat tart, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, fragrant and crunchy with a thick, smooth and compact flesh.

Sensory profile

Visible: slightly elongated, irregular shape (elliptical); visible patches of green; when broken, the bread coating remains stuck to the olive and appears compact.

Aroma: medium intensity aroma with notes of green olive and spices.

Taste: the ascolana tenera variety of olive gives the product its crunchy and delicate taste with a medium to intensely bitter aftertaste.

Microbiological characteristics:

Consonant with the applicable rules on food safety.

Physical characteristics:

1 kg of stuffed olives should comprise a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 95 units.

4.3.   Geographical area: The PDO area of production covers certain municipalities in the Provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Teramo, as indicated in the production specification, located in the Marche and Abruzzi Regions. The production area is defined by the relevant map.

4.4.   Proof of origin: Olive growing in the Piceno area goes back to the very beginning of its introduction into the Italian peninsula by the Phoenicians and Greeks. The table olive variety, now known as ‘ascolana tenera,’ evolved over time as a result of selection techniques. As far back as in Ancient Roman times, the variety was enjoyed and recognised, being named ‘picenae’, and subsequently ‘ascolana’. Martial wrote a satirical epigram criticising a certain Mancino for hosting unworthy banquets which lacked various delicacies, in particular picenae olives. In another of his epigrams, he virtually classifies the Piceno olive as an appetite stimulant. In antiquity, the Piceno area was believed to have been thickly covered with olive groves, according to a lesser-known Latin author in his epic poem entitled ‘la Puniche’. At that time, the term ‘picenae olive’ sufficed to identify the olives that were sent from the area to Rome. Pliny considered them the best olives in Italy. The name ‘picenae’ olive would not have been used to refer to other varieties of table olives since specific references exist in Columella's volumes ‘On Agriculture’, which highlight ten varieties of table olive, including the Piceno olive. Subsequently, the Benedictine Olivetan monks were responsible for rationalising olive growing practices and were the first to pickle olives by using ‘lye’, an alkaline liquid obtained by dissolving one part of quicklime to 4-5 parts of wood ash in water. Unpublished documents from the Benedictine monastery archives provide information on growing, harvesting and using table olives in the Ascoli area dating to before 1500. Documents from this era described the methods employed to prepare the olives using a lime and potassium-based preparation before conserving the olives in salt. Various writers described the harvest and processing of ascolane olives and of the stoned olives which were referred to as ‘Judas’ because they had no soul. These olives can be considered the precursors of the stuffed olives.

The ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ PDO therefore denotes a complex process born of a chain of labour practices handed down over the ages and elevated to the dignified rank of tradition. Safeguarding such typical production and protecting it from powerful economic interests as a cultural identity with strong ties to the land requires a traceability system to guarantee the origin of the product. For this reason, the phases of production will be regulated by creating specific registers of olive growers, identifying the areas where the olives are grown, the processors and packagers, including the location of plants for these purposes; beef, pigmeat and poultry producers; stuffed olive producers and the location of olive processing plants. The same entity, authorised by the Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policy, will verify that the product protected by the PDO meets the specified requirements.

4.5.   Method of production: The method of production must fully comply with the description set out in the production specification available from the EU. Growing, processing and packaging must all be carried out within the area of production defined under point 4.3 in order to guarantee traceability and control.

4.6.   Link: The Piceno area is an ancient region stretching from the Province of Ancona to Atri in Abruzzi. At present, the area lies within two different administrative Regions, Marche and Abruzzi, more specifically, parts of municipalities in the Ascoli Piceno and Teramo provinces. The historical centre and birthplace of the tradition and culture lies in the city of Ascoli Piceno and its surroundings. The area of production is particularly mountainous, with the Apennines to the west and the Sibylline range sloping east down to the Adriatic coast. The climate is affected by the morphology of the area and the length of coastline where the warm and humid Sirocco winds blow in. Precipitation gradually increases from the coast to the inland hilly areas where recorded rainfall levels fluctuate due to the concentration of rainfall during the autumn and towards the end of winter/beginning of spring. The sea affects the climate of the whole area devoted to ascolana table olives, which grow best with an average annual rainfall of no less than 900 mm and in calcium-rich soil. The combination of production factors in the small and specific area defined above gives rise to the optimal conditions needed to give the product its characteristic features of soft flesh and the typical scents and aromas that make this method of production unique in its field. The original distribution centre is the municipality of Ascoli Piceno and its surroundings where ascolana olive growing is still governed by cultural rather than economic factors. This variety typically produces robust, large trees with dense foliage and an ellipsoidal drupe weighing on average 8 grams, 1/9th of which is the stone, weighing less than 1 gram. The distinctive qualities of the ascolana olive have been recognised and enjoyed by numerous historical figures, including Pope Sixtus V — who brought it to the tables of the Vatican —, Rossini, Garibaldi and Puccini. Some bibliographical studies trace the origins of the tradition of stuffing and frying table olives back to the 19th century according to methods and recipes that are still in use today. Popular tradition holds that the practice of stuffing and frying olives was born of the need to use up the various types of meat left over at the banquets and lunch spreads of prosperous families. The original recipe for the stuffing can be traced back to the time of the unification of the Kingdom of Italy (1859/61). The Oliva Ascolana del Piceno is a product underpinned by quality and a natural reputation due to its age-old history and deeply-rooted tradition.

4.7.   Inspection body: 

4.8.   Labelling: Products bearing the name ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ presented either in brine or stuffed are packaged in special containers or wrappers in accordance with the current rules on food safety. It is forbidden to include any description that is not specifically set out in the production specification. The name must appear on the label in clear, indelible script, at least twice the size of the name of the producer, company etc. In addition, it must include the words ‘in brine’, ‘in natural juices’ or ‘stuffed’, according to the type of product it contains, and the graphics portraying the image must be used strictly in conjunction with the Protected Designation of Origin.

The logo takes the form of a flat cube seen in perspective from below. It shows three faces of different sizes. The front face, a perfect square, depicts two stylised olive leaves, the outer edges forming a circle within the square and the inner edges forming an oval, which in turn represents an olive sliced horizontally by three wavy lines, separating the olive into four parts. The central part of the olive (the oval) and the leaves are set at a 30° angle to the right of the base. The olive is joined to the leaves by a twig that is cut off in the bottom left-hand corner of the square. The medium-sized face of the cube below the central face depicts the design of a castle sculpted in perspective on travertine textured stone, at a 30° angle to the central face. The smaller third face on the left, at a 60° angle to the central face, only depicts the travertine texture. Colour: the logo is in black and white, but may be reproduced in any colour or combination of colours.

4.9.   National requirements: —

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(1)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, Agricultural product quality policy, B-1049 Brussels.

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