EN Official Journal of the European Union C 270/15

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

(2007/C 270/09)

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

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘OIGNON DOUX DES CÉVENNES’

EC No: FR/PDO/005/0314/25.09.2003

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) Address: 51, rue d'Anjou F-75008 Paris Telephone (33) 153 89 80 00 Fax (33) 142 25 57 97 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr

2. Applicant group:

Name: Association de Défense de l'Oignon Doux des Cévennes (A.D.O.C.) Address: 15, avenue Emmanuel d'Alzon F-30120 Le Vigan Telephone (33) 467 82 69 34 Fax (33) 467 82 69 16 E-mail: defenseoignondoux.cevennes@wanadoo.fr Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 1.6: Fruit, vegetables and cereals fresh or processed

4. Specification:

(Summary of the requirements in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name: ‘Oignon doux des Cévennes’

4.2. Description: Storage onion, pearly white to coppery in colour, with a large roundish to elongated bulb, a brilliant aspect and a fine and translucent skin. The scales are thick with a white, moderately firm and juicy flesh. The dry matter content is less than 10 %. Eaten raw, the flesh is crunchy but is not sharp or bitter and has a fine, balanced flavour. Eaten cooked, it keeps its brilliance and becomes translucent, unctuous, juicy and sugary to the taste, with no bitterness and a roasted, chestnut flavour.

4.3. Geographical area: The onions are sown, grown and packaged in the geographical area made up of the following municipalities in the department of the Gard: Arphy; Arre; Arrigas; Aulas; Aumessas; Avèze; Bez-et-Esparon; Bréau-et-Salagosse; Colognac; Cros; Lasalle; Mandagout; Mars; Molières-Cavaillac; Monoblet; Notre-Dame-de-la-Rouvière; Pommiers; Roquedur; Saint-André-de-Majencoules; Saint-André-de-Valborgne; Saint-Bonnet-de-Salendrinque; Saint-Bresson; Sainte-Croix-de-Caderle; Saint-Julien-de-la-Nef; Saint-Laurent-le-Minier; Saint-Martial; Saint-Roman-de-Codières; Soudorgues; Sumène; Vabres; Valleraugue and le Vigan.

4.4. Proof of origin: Each trader submits a declaration of aptitude to INAO, which thus registers all traders using the name.

The onions must be grown on parcels identified by INAO on the basis of criteria relating to the location of the parcels and the production conditions laid down in the specification for the designation. Applications for identification must be submitted by 31 December of the year preceding the year of planting.

Each year producers must draw up a:

planting declaration containing a list of the parcels used for sowing and on which the onions are planted out,

harvest declaration indicating the quantities of onions harvested per parcel.

Throughout the growing cycle, producers must keep a cultivation register indicating the operations carried out on each parcel.

Onions harvested on the same parcel are stored separately and are given a specific identification number.

Producers and packers must keep a record of entries and exits so that the provenance and destination of the onions and the quantities placed on the market can be identified. This record must be made available to the persons responsible for control.

The onions are marketed in packaging bearing details identifying the packer, the date of packing and the identification number of each batch.

Packaged batches undergo an organoleptic test by sampling and, where necessary, an analytical test.

4.5. Method of production: The onions must be sown, grown and packed within the production area described in point 4.3.

Seeds

The seeds come from bulbs of the Allium cepa L. species representative of the variety of traditional sweet onions in the Cévennes:

flat leaves, greenish-bluish in colour, fairly glaucescent,

large bulbs, roundish to elongated, thick scales with a fine skin, white flesh, moderately firm, with dry scales pearly white to coppery in colour,

average maturing time,

dry matter content less than 10 %.

Seeds meeting the variety requirements described above are the registered varieties Cénol and Toli and seeds produced on the holding.

Cultivation cycle

The farming methods used must ensure that a long-keeping onion, of a regular size and meeting the variety requirements described above is obtained.

The seeds are sown in the nursery between 1 January and 15 March with a maximum density of 1 200 plants per m2.

Planting out is done manually between 15 April and 10 June when the plantlets have reached the three- to four-leaf stage. The planting density may not exceed 80 plants per m2.

Watering, which is done up to the point at which the tops of the plants fall over, must be regular and in small quantities.

Fertilisation should preferably be by organic means and must be rationed. Mineral nitrogen inputs must be staggered and may not be applied later than one month prior to harvest.

The application of anti-germinating agents is prohibited.

The onions are lifted and harvested manually.

Harvesting, which takes place from August to September, commences when at least 50 % of the tops have fallen.

The agronomic yield per parcel may not be more than 100 tonnes per hectare.

Following harvest, the onions must be cured. Curing is done either in the field or in a curing facility, or a combination of the two.

The onions are kept in a dry, well-ventilated place or in a cold room.

Following curing, the roots are cut off and damaged leaves or those which come off easily are removed to give the onions a smooth, brilliant aspect. The stem must be dry to the touch.

Packing must be done in the prescribed geographical area to maintain quality. The onions are packed by the grower or are delivered to a packing plant. Packing within the prescribed area avoids excessive handling, thus preserving the onions' characteristics, in particular their fine, translucent and highly fragile leaves, without causing any impairment. Onions packed after 15 May of the year following the year of harvest may not bear the name ‘Oignon Doux des Cévennes’. Lastly, organoleptic and analytical testing, ensuring that the onions comply with the organoleptic profile, is done by sampling packaged batches.

The onions must be marketed in the original packaging used exclusively for the name ‘Oignon Doux des Cévennes’. Marketing may not begin before 1 August of the year of harvest.

4.6. Link: The southern side of the Cévennes, which is not particularly well-suited to farming and is outside the extensive stock-farming areas, has led people to organise themselves to ensure food self-sufficiency. Despite the natural constraints, Cévennes farmers have harnessed the land by growing food crops. They have used the farmable land to a maximum and created new land by building terraces following the contour of the land, supported by dry-stone walls and gravity-irrigated by a canal bringing water from upstream rivers. These terraces are traditionally called ‘cébières’.

Also, the climate constraints have led to crops being grown which can be harvested before the equinox rains.

Sweet onions are a traditional vegetable and are part of the heritage of the region and its inhabitants.

The resultant production system is based on:

rugged terrain with steep slopes. Terracing the silted-up land a little lower down has enabled this terrain to be managed and the soil to be protected against erosion. The rugged terrain is one of the main reasons for maintaining the terraces. Even today, old terraces around the villages and hamlets are still the main areas in which the onions are grown,

light, well-draining soils not susceptible to parasites or plant-health problems. These types of soil and the very healthy microclimates mean that crop rotation is not necessary, and some terraces have been bearing onions continuously for more than 50 years,

a Mediterranean climate, with very dry summers and sometimes heavy rainfall. The temperatures and sunlight on the well-exposed slopes provide a relatively short growing season, beginning in early spring, producing a harvest early enough to be able to leave the onions to cure in the field before the autumn rains,

a growing system closely linked to local conditions: patchwork parcels on which mechanisation is impossible. Technical operations have thus been adapted to these natural constraints, particularly by means of high-density, manual planting out, harvesting by hand, etc.

The choice of varieties also mirrors the close ties between the environment and cultivation: over the years the growers have selected plant material geared to local conditions in terms of its growing-cycle, preservation, as well as taste and pleasure characteristics.

The characteristics of the natural environment have been particularly favourable for the development of the onion, and the know-how of Cévennes farmers has manifested itself in many different ways, by changing the natural environment to make it suitable for growing this product and improving the plant by selection in order to benefit from the local conditions.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) Address: 51, rue d'Anjou F-75008 Paris Telephone (33) 153 89 80 00 Fax (33) 142 25 57 97 E-mail: info@inao.gouv.fr





Name: D.G.C.C.R.F. Address: 59, bd Vincent Auriol F-75703 Paris Cedex 13 Telephone (33) 144 87 17 17 Fax (33) 144 97 30 37 E-mail: C3@dgccrf.finances.gouv.fr

4.8. Labelling: Each pack of onions bears a label indicating the following at least:

the designation of origin,

‘appellation d'origine contrôlée’ or ‘AOC’, which must appear immediately before or after the designation with no text in-between,

the name of the packer,

the date of packing,

the identification number of the batch.

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