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

(2004/C 61/06)

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.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO (x) PGI ( )

National application No: 93

1. Responsible department in Member State Name: Subdirección General de Sistemas de Calidad Diferenciada - Dirección General de Alimentación - Secretaría General de Agricultura y Alimentación del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación de España

Address: Paseo Infanta Isabel, 1, E-28071 Madrid

Tel. (34) 913 47 53 94

Fax (34) 913 47 54 10

2. Applicant group Names: Addresses:

(a) Joaquim Blanc i Tejedor (DNI (national identity card) No 72960812), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola d'Arnes SCCL (NIF (tax code) No 43014067F), of 4 c/Onze de Setembre, Arnés;

(b) Francesc Martí i Alcoverro (DNI No 40901659), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola i Caixa Rural SCCL (NIF No 43014067F), of 2 c/Estació, Bot;

(c) Francesc Sabaté i Tarragó (DNI No 77880592), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola Sant Isidre SCCL (NIF No 43014281), of Av. Generalitat (s/n), Caseres;

(d) Josep Pere Colat i Clua (DNI No 40926368), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola de Corbera SCCL (NIF No 473013994), of c/Sant Marc (s/n), Corbera d'Ebre;

(e) Joan R. Comelles i Albesa (DNI No 77884411), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola Sant Isidre SCCL (NIF No 43011774), of 77 Av. Misericórdia, La Fatarella;

(f) Pere Royo i Pedrola (DNI No 40919484), representing Celler Cooperatiu Gandesa SCCL (NIF No 43011816F), of 28 Av. Catalunya, Gandesa;

(g) Pere Joan Llop i Barrubés (DNI No 77881340), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola Terra Alta SCCL (NIF No 43013671F), of C/Glorietes (s/n), La Pobla de Massaluca;

(h) Carlos Bel i Espinós (DNI No 39995411), representing Olis La Franja SL (NIF No 43251032), of Crta. de Tortosa (s/n), Horta de Sant Joan;

(i) Josep Santiago Subirats Mulet (DNI No 40906133), representing Subirats d'Horta de Sant Joan SL (NIF No 43594852), of 29 c/Medi Natural, Horta de Sant Joan;

(j) Rafael Solé i Urgell (DNI No 77779213), representing the same, of 18 c/Gandesa, Vilalba dels Arcs;

(k) Josep Manuel García i Lorente (DNI No 40004330), representing the Cooperativa Agrícola i Secció de Crèdit de Flix SCCL (NIF No 43011790), of 75 c/Major, Flix.

Composition: producer/processor (x) other ( )

3. Type of product: Extra virgin olive oil - Class 1.5 Oils and fats

4. Specification (Summary of requirements under Article 4(2)):

4.1. Name: "Aceite de Terra Alta" or "Oli de Terra Alta"

4.2. Description: Extra virgin olive oil made from fruit of Olea Europea L. trees of the Empeltre variety or a mix of Empeltre and the Arbequina, Morruda and Farga secondary varieties, using either mechanical or physical means which do not alter the oil and preserve the taste, aroma and characteristics of the fruit from which it is made.

Empeltre is the principal variety by virtue of its predominance in the area of production.

The characteristics of olive oil of the Terra Alta designation of origin are as follows:

Organoleptic:

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Physical/chemical:

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4.3. Geographical area: The area of production comprises the Terra Alta area and a number of municipalities in the Ribera d'Ebre area, both areas being situated in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.

The municipalities concerned are as follows:

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The first-processing and market preparation area is the same as the area of production.

4.4. Proof of origin: The olives sent to the mills come from groves situated in the area of production and are selected, dressed and packed at plants situated in the area of production and registered with the Regulatory Council. Provided it satisfies the production and market-preparation checks and the physical and chemical and organoleptic tests, the oil obtained from those olives is marketed under the designation of origin and with a front label, back label or, where applicable, a numbered quality label issued by the Regulatory Council.

4.5. Method of production: (a) Growing:

Spacing: generally corresponds to a density of 50 to 80 trees per hectare.

Soil preparation and pruning: those typically practised in the area of production.

Pruning removes the older wood, giving the tree a rounded shape which encourages fruit production and facilitates harvesting.

The breakdown between dry and irrigated land is currently 90 % and 10 %.

Harvesting: begins in mid-November and lasts until the end of January. It involves picking the olives manually, direct from the tree/shaking the latter using vibrating machines.

(b) Oil production:

The PDO extra virgin olive oil is obtained from sound olives of approved varieties, picked, with the greatest care, direct from the tree, when the olives are at their best in terms of ripeness. After the olives have been transported to the mills under conditions designed to preserve their quality, a number of mechanical processes are carried out which include washing, pressing, beating of the paste, separation of the various phases, and storage. After quality evaluation the olive oil is placed in containers of up to five litres.

The olives must be pressed within 48 hours of being picked, to avoid impairing the quality. The olive oil must come from olives of the principal variety, i.e. Empeltre, or from a mix of Empeltre and the secondary varieties Arbequina, Morruda and Farga.

Only oil made from olives grown on trees that are five years old or more can qualify for the Aceite de Terra Alta PDO.

The entire process, i.e. from production to labelling, takes place in the defined geographical area to ensure quality and traceability.

Quality: Virgin olive oils are highly sensitive to external agents, which can alter or affect them in many ways. For that reason it is essential for this type of oil that the entire process takes place in the same geographical area.

Traceability: as regards inspection and certification, for the proper functioning of the certifying body it is essential that the entire process takes place in the defined geographical area.

4.6. Link Historical Olive-growing was most likely introduced into Catalonia and, therefore, Terra Alta, by the Arabs, olive oil mills still being known locally as almazaras, a word of Arabic origin.

In 1948, in a book entitled "Mis Memorias", Antoni Mascaró wrote that in about 1787 the most widespread form of production in the municipality of Batea was olive-growing, followed by cereals and vines "... the solid opulence of the area was to a large extent attributable to olive oil production, which that year reached 21000 cántaros, i.e. 31920 Castilian arrobas (350 tonnes)". This means that a town which at the time had a population of fewer than 1000 inhabitants would have been producing about 1800 tonnes of olives.

In his Diccionario Geográfico (1847), Pascual Madoz writes that in 1847 the Gandesa area produced large quantities of high-quality olive oil, wheat and rye. Again according to Madoz, olive-growing was by far the biggest form of cultivation in what is now Terra Alta, far outstripping present levels of production.

Towards 1900, olive groves were the second most important form of cultivation in the Terra Alta area, accounting for more than 28 % of the farmland, the actual figure per municipality ranging from 20 to 44 %. The municipalities with the largest olive-growing area were Batea, La Fatarella and Horta de Sant Joan. Olive oil production was about 2000 tonnes.

Empeltre is, in the Terra Alta area, the principal and in some cases the only variety of olive grown. A variety whose origin dates back in time, its name derives from the Catalan word "empelt" (graft), in all probability because it was grafted onto older varieties grown in the Baix Aragon and Vall de l'Ebre areas. Such are the importance and specific characteristics of the Empeltre variety in the Terra Alta area that it is referred to as the Terra Alta variety in tree nurseries.

Natural: The characteristics of the olive oil are influenced by the environment as follows:

Although it has, like most olive-growing areas, a Mediterranean climate, the relief of the area is responsible for a special microclimate which has a direct effect on the biological cycle of the olive tree and, by the same token, on the olives.

The three key aspects of the relief are as follows:

(1) Altitude: the area is on a plateau whose average altitude is 400 metres above sea level;

(2) Natural barriers: the area is at a meeting point between three mountain ranges: the Pàndols and the Cavalls, which rise up to 700 metres, and - to the south - Els ports de Beseit, which is up to 1400 metres high. It is the resulting relief which helps to produce the above-mentioned microclimate.

(3) Winds: in addition to, and as a consequence of, the above, the winds in the area are of major importance, not so much because of their intensity (which is not excessive), but because of what they contribute to the growing conditions. The two most important are the Garvinada and the Cerç, the former because it provides the necessary moisture and the latter because, thanks to its nature and frequency, it prevents many fungal diseases by helping the raw materials, i.e. the olives, to ripen without problem and reach the olive oil mills in the best possible state.

4.7. Inspection body Name: Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de origen "Aceite de Terra Alta"

Address: 1 Bassa d'en Gaire, E-43780 Gandesa (Tarragona)

Tel. 977 42 00 18

The Consejo Regulador complies with standard EN-45011.

4.8. Labelling: Must include the words "Aceite de Terra Alta". The labels must be approved by the Consejo Regulador.

4.9. National requirements - Ley 25/1970, de 2 de diciembre, "Estatuto de la Viña, del Vino y de los Alcoholes",

- Decreto 835/1972, de 23 de marzo, por el que se aprueba el reglamento de la Ley 25/1970,

- Orden de 25 de enero de 1994 por la que se precisa la correspondencia entre la legislación española y el Reglamento CEE 2081/92, en materia de Denominaciones de origen e Indicaciones geográficas de productos agrícolas y alimentarios,

- Real Decreto 1643/1999, de 22 de octubre, por el que se regula el procedimiento para la tramitación de las solicitudes de inscripción en el Registro Comunitario de las Denominaciones de Origen Protegidas y de las Indicaciones Geográficas Protegidas.

EC No: ES/00245/21.06.2002.

Date of receipt of the full application: 21 August 2003.