EN Official Journal of the European Union C 283/16

Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2011/C 283/08

This publication confers the right to object to the amendment application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

AMENDMENT APPLICATION ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 9

‘BERENJENA DE ALMAGRO’

EC No: ES-PGI-0105-0011-23.09.2009

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment:

—  Name of product — Description of product — Geographical area — Proof of origin —  Method of production — Link —  Labelling —  National requirements — Other (inspection body)

2. Type of amendment(s):

— Amendment to single document or summary sheet —  Amendment to specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the single document nor summary sheet has been published —  Amendment to specification that requires no amendment to the published single document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006) —  Temporary amendment to specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

3. Amendment(s):

3.1. Description of product:

The definition of the raw material has been extended such that whereas previously the product was defined at the species level, it now specifies the variety, so that only fruit obtained from the species ‘Solanum Melongena’ var. ‘Dealmagro’ may be marketed as ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI, since this new variety has been recognised as an indigenous variety of the geographical production area.

This new variety has been entered in the Official Register of Commercial Varieties of the Ministry of the Environment and the Rural and Marine Environment under the name ‘Dealmagro’ and registration number 20060251, in view of the similarity to the name of the traditional production area and the local/common name by which this particular aubergine is known. The information on this variety can be found in the Spanish Office of Plant Varieties.

Including only this indigenous variety in the description of the product is intended to identify and characterise more precisely the unique product that is ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI.

The description of the chemical composition has been changed in line with new analysis methods, as has that of the properties of the ‘Dealmagro’ variety.

3.2. Geographical area:

The protected area: the ‘Dealmagro’ indigenous variety, because it is very well adapted to the geographical area and because of the demand for the production of products covered by the ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI, is now being grown in another municipality that is not included in the PGI production area.

One of the municipalities where this indigenous variety of aubergine has been grown for many years, is Viso del Marqués, a municipality belonging to the District of Campo de Calatrava. The municipality of Viso del Marqués borders Granátula de Calatrava to the north and Calzada de Calatrava to the West, two municipalities included in the production area of the ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI.

The link between Viso del Marqués and the geographical production area of the ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI is, according to a study:

— a historical link: since time immemorial, aubergines have been grown in Viso del Marqués and in other areas,

— a natural link: the main variety of aubergine grown is the indigenous variety of this area, var. ‘Dealmagro’,

— an orographical link: the northern area of the municipality has moderate altitudes of around 650 m, similar to the geographical production area,

— a hydrographical link: two watersheds cover the municipality, the basins of the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir, and the hydrogeological resources of the basins are used to irrigate the crop, as happens in the geographical production area,

— a climatological link: the continental Mediterranean climate, characterised by cold winters and hot summers that sometimes reach 40 °C, and precipitation levels that oscillate between 400-600 mm/year with the rainy period concentrated primarily in winter and spring, with long, dry summers.

We therefore consider that the protected production area for the ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI should be extended to the Municipality of Viso del Marqués.

3.3. Proof of origin:

In this section we specify the variety grown, which must be the indigenous ‘Dealmagro’ variety, since it is this variety that has been entered in the Official Register of Commercial Varieties of the Ministry of the Environment and the Rural and Marine Environment.

3.4. Inspection body:

In accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, the Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha has opted for verification of compliance with the product specification of protected geographical indications and protected geographical designations by an inspection body or several inspection bodies, within the meaning of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, that act as product certification bodies. We therefore request that the inspection body for ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ PGI be the certification body ‘Servicios de Inspección y Certificación, S.L. (SIC)’, since it meets the requirements of standard UNE-EN 45011 ‘General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems’ and moreover is an inspection agency authorised by the Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘BERENJENA DE ALMAGRO’

EC No: ES-PGI-0105-0011-23.09.2009

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Berenjena de Almagro’

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

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

‘Berenjena de Almagro’ is the healthy, clean and whole fruit obtained from the species ‘Solanum Melongena’ var. ‘Dealmagro’, that has undergone a traditional preserving method involving cooking, seasoning, fermentation and packaging.

The process of making the ‘preserve’ begins by cooking the fruit for between 5 and 20 minutes. Once the fruit has been cooked, it undergoes a process of fermentation in suitable containers, at which point seasoning is added and the product is left for between 4 and 15 days.

The seasoning contains vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, cumin, garlic, paprika and water.

Once it is packaged, it can be marketed in one of the following four forms: with seasoning, stuffed, with natural pepper or pepper paste, whole and lastly sliced.

After the fermentation process, the aubergines are packaged in the place where they are processed.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

Aubergines of the indigenous variety, species ‘Solanum Melongena’ var. ‘Dealmagro’. The fruit is a fleshy berry, which comes in various shapes including round, elongated, and pear shaped, and in different colours including green, purple, violet, dark speckled, etc., mostly covered by the pale green calyx, while the uncovered part turns violet.

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

—

3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area:

The production, processing and packaging of the aubergine must take place in the defined geographical area.

Processing involves cooking and fermentation, which always begins immediately after cooking, the aubergine being still hot, which in equilibrium with the product and the climactic conditions of the surroundings, initiates a natural and spontaneous process of lactic fermentation, which converts the now-cooked aubergine into a product with the distinctive colour, texture and flavour for which ‘Berenjena de Almagro’ is known.

3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

Packaging takes place in the same place as processing. After the fermentation process which takes 4 to 15 days, and in order to maintain the distinctive flavour of the ‘Berenjena de Almagro’, the aubergines must be packaged in the place where they are processed. They are packaged in cans, glass jars or any other form of food packaging.

3.7. Specific rules covering labelling:

Commercial labels must bear the following wording: ‘Indicación geográfica protegida “Berenjena de Almagro” ’.

The marketed product bears a numbered secondary label issued by the Regulatory Board and affixed in registered processing undertakings in such a way that it cannot be reused.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The geographical production, preparation and packaging area comprises the following municipalities:

Aldea del rey, Almagro, Bolaños de Calatrava, Calzada de Calatrava, Granátula de Calatrava, Valenzuela de Calatrava and Viso del Marques, all within the Province of Ciudad Real.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The area has limy-clayey soils of the Alfisol and Aridisol types, with a light red alluvial and ‘in situ’ disintegration horizon with a low organic material content and a lower horizon with an accumulation of calcium carbonate, which is in many cases cemented.

The climate is continental, i.e. extreme with wide oscillations, very hard winters and hot summers, when temperatures can occasionally reach 40 °C.

The average precipitation is 430 mm a year, with rain being concentrated in autumn (26 %), winter (32 %) and spring (30 %). Summers are long and dry.

The aubergine has been grown since time immemorial. Its adaptation to the specific character of the geographical area and genetic selection by farmers, who reproduce their own seeds, have resulted in a variety of aubergine that is native to the area registered under the name ‘Dealmagro’.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

‘Berenjena de Almagro’ is unique because of both the plant variety used and the particular processing method.

The plant variety is the indigenous variety of the production area ‘Dealmagro’.

Local/endemic variety, genetically selected by the farmers of the geographical production area over the years. Genetic selection has been undertaken on the basis of adaptation to the area's soil and climate conditions (crop production/yield) and on the basis of the organoleptic characteristics that consumers of this product have demanded over the years. Ultimately, the product obtained is unique in the world, as it is a variety that is grown and processed/prepared exclusively in this area.

The fruit is a fleshy berry, which comes in various shapes and in different colours including green, purple, violet, dark speckled, etc., mostly covered by the pale green calyx, while the uncovered part turns violet.

The distinctive processing system involves cooking for between 5 and 20 minutes. Once the fruit has been cooked, it undergoes a process of fermentation in suitable receptacles, at which point seasoning (vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, cumin, garlic, paprika and water) is added and the product is left for between 4 and 15 days. At the end of the processing period, it is packaged.

Its chemical composition is as follows:

— kcal × (100 g) < 32,

— vegetable fat < 1,5 %,

— pH < 4,5

— acetic acid < 15 g/kg,

— sodium (%) < 0,6.

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 ‘Dealmagro’ aubergine belongs to the subspecies Sculentum (Solarum Melongena) and falls under the depressum group of small or dwarf varieties. It is a native, endemic variety, completely adapted to the geographical environment of the production area.

This is the variety that the consumer has demanded and accepted, because it is this variety that can be subjected to the singular and specific preparation method of the area, which for centuries, in accordance with traditional recipes for cooking times and days of fermentation, have enabled the ‘Dealmagro’ variety to be selected in such a way as to obtain the final product that is the Berejena de Almagro, which is unique in the world.

Reference to the publication of the product specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

http://docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/descargarArchivo.do?ruta=2010/10/20/pdf/2010_17414.pdf&tipo=rutaDocm

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.