EN Official Journal of the European Union C 99/20

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2016/C 99/07)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘KRČKO MASLINOVO ULJE’

EU No: HR-PDO-0005-01345 – 19.06.2015

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’

2. Member State or Third Country

Croatia

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Product type

Class 1.5. Fats (butter, margarine, oils, etc.)

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

‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ is an extra virgin olive oil obtained directly from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical means.

When placed on the market, ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ must have the following

— physico-chemical properties: — free fatty acid content: ≤ 0,50 %; — peroxide value: ≤ 8,0 mmol O2/kg; — specific extinction in UV light: K270 ≤ 0,20, K232 ≤ 2,25.

— organoleptic characteristics: — aroma: fresh olives, fruit and leaves/grass (median ≥ 1,0); — taste: healthy and fresh olives, with bitterness and sharpness of the following values: bitterness: median ≥ 2,0; sharpness: median ≥ 2,0.

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ is produced from the following cultivars of olives indigenous to Krk: ‘Debela’, ‘Naška’, ‘Rošulja’ and ‘Slatka’, which are indigenous to Krk and which, together or individually, must constitute at least 80 % of it. Cultivars found within the defined geographical area mentioned in point 4 may also be used to produce ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’, but they may not constitute more than 20 % of the olive oil, and that 20 % share may not have a significant influence on the quality of the product.

Description of the olive cultivars:

‘Debela’ (synonyms: ‘Lošinjka’, ‘Krčka krupna’) The fruit is big and very fleshy. The average weight of the fruit is 4,6 g. Oil comprises up to 20 % of it. The cultivar is wind-, drought- and cold-resistant. It is used for olive oil extraction, but can also serve as a table olive.

‘Naška’ (synonym: ‘Drobnica’) The fruit is round and elongated and weighs an average of 2 g. It is used for olive oil extraction and up to 19 % of it is made up of oil. It produces regular yields and serves as a pollinator for other olive cultivars. It is sensitive to cold and the Bora wind.

‘Rošulja’ The fruit is medium-sized, round, weighs an average of 3,2 g and 19,4 % of it on average is constituted by oil. It is sensitive to the Bora wind.

‘Slatka’ (synonym: ‘Plominka’) The fruit is fleshy and tapered and weighs an average of 2,8 g. Oil makes up 16 % of the fruit. It produces abundant yields, and the fruit is used for oil extraction and as a foodstuff. It is resistant to cold and frost.

3.4. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All stages in the production of ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ must take place in the geographical area referred to in point 4.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ must be packaged within the geographical area mentioned in point 4. This greatly facilitates traceability checks, which would be more difficult to carry out outside of the production area, and the preservation of quality, which would be jeopardised by transportation. ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ is sensitive to external influences (light, temperature and air), and any unnecessary transportation and packaging outside of the production area could have a negative impact on its physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics. ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ may be placed in 100 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml, 750 ml or 1 l containers.

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

Use of the name of a farm, mention of its specific location, mention of toponyms and mention of packaging on the farm or association of farms located within the area of production is permitted only if the product is obtained exclusively from olives harvested in olive groves on the farm(s) in question, i.e. olive groves located within the defined geographical area mentioned in item 4.

When placing the product on the market with any type of packaging, the labelling must contain the name ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’, and be clearly distinguishable by size, type and colour of the letters (typography) from any other inscription.

The packaging must also feature a logo. The logo can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Logo of ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’

All users of the indication who place the product on the market in accordance with its specification have the right to use the logo, under the same conditions.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Production of ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ takes place exclusively on the island of Krk and smaller islets located within the administrative borders of the following local self-government units of the island: the town of Krk and the municipalities of Baška, Vrbnik, Punat, Dobrinj, Malinska-Dubašnica and Omišalj.

5. Link with the geographical area

The terrain of the island of Krk has all the characteristics of the Dinaric Mountains in the coastal and island belt conducive to the development of olive cultivation. The soil surface of the island is very diverse and commonly referred to it as ‘anthropogenic soil’, which is understood to mean the regosols under olive groves, vineyards and fruit orchards.

One of Krk island’s notable features is the pronounced rockiness of its olive groves. This precludes the use of agricultural machinery, so nearly all tasks, from working the soil to harvesting the olives, are performed by hand.

The small plots of arable land have accumulated as a result of painstaking work by Krk’s farmers. The surplus rocks are heaped together in numerous piles and used by olive-growers to build dry-stone walls. The most valuable agricultural soils are regosols derived from layers of flysch, and the most prevalent soils are brown soils derived from limestone and dolomite, with a varied, but most often high, content of bedrock. Many olive groves have been planted on terra rossa soils, the majority of which have developed from pure limestones. Some of the olive groves also grow on rocky ground, most often containing skeletal brown soils and terra rossa soils. Olive trees can be planted in such areas only after clearing and scaling of the rock, enclosure with dry stone walls, terracing and bringing in fertile soil. This is how distinct little plots were created (called ‘kazetice’ or ‘škrape’, and referred to in popular speech as ‘škatule’ or ‘particele’), in which olive trees were planted.

The average annual air temperature on the island of Krk is 14,16 °C. The hottest months of the year are from May to September. The average summer air temperature is 22,8 °C. The coldest months of the year are December, January and February. In those months the temperature may fall below 0 °C. The coldest month is January and the hottest is July.

The main winds are the Bora, Jugo (Sirocco) and Maestral. The Jugo is an important wind which ensures that the olive trees have sufficient moisture.

Precipitation is not evenly distributed; the most falls in autumn and the least in summer. Average precipitation in and around the town of Krk is between 1 070 mm and 1 090 mm. In particular areas (micro-climates), precipitation per square metre is around 10-20 % higher or lower.

Precipitation falls as snow on an average of three days a year, but snow stays on the ground for an average of only one day a year.

The range of indigenous olive cultivars on Krk — ‘Naška’, ‘Debela’, ‘Rošulja’ and ‘Slatka’ — give ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ added specificity, as they are resistant to low temperatures. Olive-growers on Krk have over the centuries selected cultivars best adapted to the area.

The ‘Debela’ variety is wind-, drought- and cold-resistant, and yields a large amount of oil. ‘Naška’ is also oleaginous and a good pollinator for other varieties. ‘Rošulja’ olives, as well as having high oil content, yield oil of exceptional quality. ‘Slatka’ olives, on the other hand, are resistant to cold and frost.

An analysis of the aliphatic hydrocarbon content of Krk island cultivar oils revealed that the composition of the aliphatic hydrocarbon fraction of the ‘Naška’ cultivar is entirely different from that of other cultivars from the island of Krk; what is particularly interesting is that this composition is completely different from that of all known examples cited in the literature. The aliphatic hydrocarbon profile of the ‘Naška’ cultivar is similar to that of the Spanish ‘Empeltre’ cultivar. This factor could also serve as a basis for proving the origin of the oil.

‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ is characterised by a dominant aroma of olives, fruit and leaves/grass stemming from its richness in volatile compounds, which serve to round off the oil’s sensory profile.

Sharpness and bitterness (bitterness: median ≥ 2,0; sharpness: median ≥ 2,0) are some of the positive characteristics of ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’. These are a consequence of the high amount of polyphenols in the oil, which also give it anti-oxidative properties and protect it from deteriorating due to oxidation. Olive growers directly influence the characteristics of ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’, primarily by paying attention to the harvesting periods and the speed and method of processing. Harvest at an early stage of the ripening of the olives and rapid processing have a direct effect on the quantity of polyphenols and on the bitterness and sharpness of the oil, whose medians are greater than or equal to 2. Earlier harvesting periods and the speed of processing also account for the low proportion of free fatty acids (less than 0,5 %) and low peroxide value (less than 8 mmol).

Krk is Croatia’s northernmost island and the place in the Mediterranean region with the most pronounced continental influence on climatic conditions. It is a well-known fact that olives grown in such regions produce oil with a large amount of oleic acid and polyphenols. These protect ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ from deteriorating and give it freshness and aromaticity.

Cold winters (with even the presence of snow), hot and dry summers and the harsh terrain create biological stress, to which the olives respond by producing secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, which are high-value compounds that give ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ its specific character.

The interaction of local environmental factors, indigenous cultivars, human factors and traditions of olive and olive-oil production give the product named ‘Krčko maslinovo ulje’ characteristics unique to the island of Krk.

Reference to publication of the product specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

http://www.mps.hr/UserDocsImages/HRANA/KRCKO%20MASLINOVO%20ULJE/Specifikacija%20proizvoda-%20KRČKO%20MASLINOVO%20ULJE.pdf

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.