EN Official Journal of the European Union C 258/13

Publication of an 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

(2006/C 258/04)

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

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Application for registration according to Article 5 and Article 17(2)

‘ARANCIA DEL GARGANO’

EC No: IT/PGI/005/0296/10.06.2003

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary has been drawn up for information only. For full details, interested parties are invited to consult the full version of the product specification obtainable from the national authorities indicated in section 1 or from the European Commission (1).

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali Address: Via XX Settembre, 20 I-00187 Roma Tel.: 06 481 99 68 Fax: 06 42 01 31 26 e-mail: qtc3@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant group:

Name: Consorzio di tutela e valorizzazione «Gargano Agrumi» Address: Via Salita della Bella I-71018 Vico del Gargano (FG) Tel.: 0884–96 62 29 Fax: 0884–96 63 99 e-mail: — Composition: Producers/processors ( ) other ( X )

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:

Arancia del Gargano

4.2 Description: Fresh fruit of the ecotypes biondo comune del Gargano or duretta del Gargano, known locally as ‘arancia tosta’.

The main characteristics of Arancia del Gargano are as follows:

Biondo Comune del Gargano:

spherical or pear-shaped;

the rind is fairly thin, tough with a relatively smooth texture and a vibrant golden-yellow colour;

minimum diameter at the centre 60mm;

minimum yield of juice, hand-pressed, 35 %

The pith is soft with average adherence. The carpel length is uneven, average and half-full. The pulp and juice are yellow-orange in colour, with no less than 9 % sugar content, less than 1,2 % acidity, at least 10 % Brix sugar level and a ripeness index (ratio between degrees Brix and citric acid) of at least 6.

Arancia duretta:

round or oval, locally known as duretta tonda or a viso lungo respectively;

the rind is pale orange, varying in intensity, very smooth with fine papillae.

the pulp is finely textured with small vesicae, amber-coloured, typically crunchy, with very few or no seeds and less than 1,2 % acidity;

average diameter at the centre 55-60mm;

minimum yield of juice, hand-pressed, 35 %

no less than 10 % sugar content;

at least 11 % Brix and ripening index (Brix/citric acid) no less than 6.2.

Fruit of the above two types must be heavy, weighing at least 100g, with even-coloured rind and bright green in colour at the base of the peduncle.

Arancia del Gargano must be released for consumption in closed, rigid packaging of vegetable origin, such as wood or cardboard, with a capacity of between 1kg and 25kg. The packaging must ensure that at least 80 % of the fruit, wrapped or unwrapped, carry the mark ‘PGI Arancia del Gargano’. If the fruit is sold loose, it must bear this mark.

4.3 Geographical area: The production and packing area is located in the province of Foggia (Region of Apulia) and includes the municipalities of Vico del Gargano, Ischitella and Rodi Garganico, specifically a section of the northern part of the Gargano promontory — part coastal and part sub-coastal — from Vico del Gargano and Rodi Garganico up to Ischitella.

4.4 Proof of origin: Each stage of the production process is constantly monitored by the inspection body keeping registers of producers and packing stations. This ensures product traceability.

Product traceability and proof of origin are also guaranteed by recording all orange groves in an appropriate register, which is kept and updated by the inspection body, and which also provides details on the location of groves and the quantities of produce reported to the inspection body. All legal and natural persons recorded in the registers are subject to checks carried out by the inspection body, under the provisions contained in the production specifications and the relevant monitoring plan.

4.5 Method of production: The product specification stipulates that the orange grove must be planted in compliance with the orographic and soil conditions that characterise the area of production. Sloping land will be terraced, using dry-stone walls or embankments. In accordance with tradition, the stock used is ‘melangolo’ (citrus mearda), certified as such under the applicable legislation.

Orange trees are kept in a semi-spherical shape, typical to the area and referred to locally as ‘cupola’. The tree structure is formed of two main branches and two secondary branches, allowing the foliage to develop in a circular shape within a square frame. This shape, hollowed on the inside, facilitates aeration and harvesting.

The groves are planted in the traditional pattern, a quincunx, at a density of between 250 and 400 trees per hectare.

The land is irrigated from May to October.

Orange production must not exceed 30 tonnes per hectare for the Biondo comune del Gargano variety and 25 tonnes per hectare for the Duretta del Gargano variety.

Due to the natural staggered ripening of Arancia del Gargano, the harvest period is as follows: from 15 April to the end of August for the Biondo comune del Gargano variety and from 1 December to 30 April for the Duretta del Gargano variety.

Harvesting is manual, with the use of scissors. Artificial ripening of the fruit is prohibited.

Packing of Arancia del Gargano (PGI) takes place solely in the area of production, as stipulated in point 4.3, in order to ensure product traceability.

4.6 Link: The application to register this PGI is based on the unquestionable reputation of this citrus fruit. The local climate where the fruit is grown lends it appreciable qualitative properties. Firstly, the climate is not excessively hot, which discourages the growth of serious diseases of the fruit or trees. Secondly, again linked to the climate, it is the ripening period that gives the fruit from the Gargano area its authentic features; it does not ripen in January, February or March, but as late as the end of April to May and even up to August, several months after the ripening period of citrus fruit from all other areas in Italy. A third but no less important aspect is its high preservation capacity, which in the past enabled Arancia del Gargano to be transported for 30 or even 40 days to arrive intact in Chicago or New York. An essential factor for the spread and reputation of this citrus fruit is, in addition to the unmistakeable organoleptic qualities of Arancia del Gargano and particular size, the blend of climate and soil conditions in the production area (red-calcareous land, rich in iron and manganese, mostly sloping from valley sides or, in sections, valley floors, exposure to cold winds causing sudden drops in temperature), and by man's constant work on the land, which over time has built up a wealth of agronomic expertise.

The reputation of Arancia del Gargano has transcended regional borders ever since antiquity and was mentioned in the works of several authors, including Gabriele d'Annunzio himself. Since 1700, citrus fruit from the Gargano peninsula were the focus of a procession that is still held now, each year in February, to honour Saint Valentine, patron saint of citrus groves, during which orange and lemon trees and fruit are blessed. Numerous records, photographs, posters and advertisements have been kept to show the exceptional reputation — even internationally — of this unique fruit from the Gargano.

The first historic references on citrus growing in the area date from 1003, courtesy of Melo, prince of Bari, who sent local ‘pomi citrini’ to Normandy, equivalent to the melangolo (bitter orange) to show the Normans the rich production of the Gargano region. During the 1600s, the municipalities of Vico del Gargano and Rodi Garganico traded large quantities of citrus fruits with the Venetians. This high level of trading continued into the 1800s and the reputation of the Arancia del Gargano even reached other European countries and America.

4.7 Inspection body:

Name: C.C.I.A.A. di Foggia Address: via Dante, 27 I-71100 Foggia Tel.: 0881797111 Fax: 0881726046 e-mail: —

The inspection body is an appointed public authority.

4.8 Labelling: The packaging must contain the following indications:

‘Arancia del Gargano’ (which may be followed by either of the ecotypes sold ‘biondo comune’ or ‘duretta’), the logo, the PGI name in full and indications concerning the producer, packing station, retailer and the net weight as sold.

Products prepared using PGI Arancia del Gargano, even after processing, may be released for consumption bearing the name of the certified PGI without affixing the EU logo provided that:

the protected designation product certified as such is the sole component of the product group concerned;

users of the protected designation product are authorised by the holders of the intellectual property right concerned, grouped together in a syndicate and assigned a supervisory role by the Ministry for Agricultural Policy. The syndicate will be responsible for registering them and keeping watch on correct use of the protected designation. In the absence of a supervisory syndicate, these functions shall be carried out by the Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policy, as the national authority responsible for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

The logo consists of a stylised image of two oranges with a leafy branch inside an elliptical crown. The crown bears the wording ‘Arancia del Gargano’, underneath which, in the centre, is the wording ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ (Protected Geographical Indication).

The oranges in the logo are orange in colour, with the wording ‘Arancia del Gargano’ in white on an orange background, the branch and leaves in green and the wording ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ in an inverted arch with shaded edges.

4.9 National requirements: —

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