EN Official Journal of the European Union C 437/11

Publication of an application for approval of minor amendment in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2016/C 437/08)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF A MINOR AMENDMENT

Application for approval of a minor amendment in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)

‘MARCHFELDSPARGEL’

EU No: PGI-AT-02124 — 29.2.2016

PDO ( ) PGI ( X ) TSG ( )

1. Applicant group and legitimate interest

Address: Verein Genuss Region Marchfeldspargel g.g.A. Marchfeldstraße 9 2304 Mannsdorf/Donau ÖSTERREICH Tel. +43 2212-2414 Fax +43 2212-2897 E-mail: spargel@sulzmann.at

The group is the original applicant group, which has a legitimate interest in updating the specification.

2. Member State or Third Country

Austria

3. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment(s)

— ☐ Description of product — ☐ Proof of origin — ☐ Method of production — ☐ Link with the geographical area — ☒ Labelling — ☐ Other [to be specified]

4. Type of amendment(s)

— ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, that requires no amendment to the published single document — ☒ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, that requires an amendment to the published single document — ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered PDO or PGI to be qualified as minor in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, for which a single document (or equivalent) has not been published — ☐ Amendment to product specification of registered TSG to be qualified as minor in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

5. Amendment(s)

The specification (consisting of the summary and material part) relating to the protected name ‘Marchfeldspargel (PGI)’ is amended as follows:

— Summary: — In Section 1 the details of the responsible department in the Member State have been updated to read: Österreichisches Patentamt Dresdner Straße 87 1200 Wien ÖSTERREICH Tel. +43 1 53424-0 Fax +43 1 53424-535 E-mail: herkunftsangaben@patentamt.at — Section 5) h) (Labelling) read: ‘Common logo; “Marchfeldspargel” and name, address, colour category, class, grade, weight, and number of packages’; the following has been deleted from it: ‘Common logo; and number of packages’.

— Material part: — The common logo and the words ‘number of packages’ have been deleted from Annex 2, Section 5) h) (Labelling).

Justification

The obligation to display the producers' common logo has been removed from the specification, as the logo is no longer used. Indicating the number of packages on the label has, in practice, proved irrelevant for monitoring purposes.

6. Updated product specification (only for PDO and PGI)

The full text of the specification is available at

http://www.patentamt.at/Media/Marchfeldspargel_feb2016.pdf and can also be accessed directly via the Austrian Patent Office's website (www.patentamt.at) by navigating to the following: ‘Markenschutz/Schutzrechte/Herkunftsangabe’. The text appears under the name of the quality designation.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘MARCHFELDSPARGEL’

EU No: PGI-AT-02124 — 29.2.2016

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s)

‘Marchfeldspargel’

2. Member State or Third Country

Austria

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.6. Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed

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

The asparagus stalks (= young shoots of the asparagus species Asparagus officinalis L.) must be intact, healthy, free of damage from inappropriate washing, clean, fresh in appearance and smell, pest-free and free of damage from rodents or insects, crushing, bruising or abnormal external moisture, and of foreign odours and/or taste. The cut at the base of the stalks must be as clean as possible. In addition, the asparagus stalks must be neither hollow, split, nor peeled. Small cracks which have appeared after harvesting are permitted to a limited extent. ‘Marchfeldspargel’ has a typical, fine asparagus aroma, with few bitter substances. Its taste must not be bitter or woody.

The asparagus is divided into four categories according to colour:

— white asparagus,

— violet asparagus: tips of a colour between pink and violet/purple and a partly white stalk,

— violet-green asparagus: partly violet and green colouring,

— green asparagus: tips and most of the stalk must be green.

White and violet asparagus must not exceed 22 cm in length, violet-green and green asparagus must not exceed 25 cm in length.

Varieties:

— German: Ruhm von Braunschweig, Schwetzinger Meisterschuss, Huchels Auslese, Lukullus, Vulkan, Presto, Merkur, Hermes, Eposs, Ravel, Ramos

green asparagus varieties (= anthocyanin-free): Spaganiva, Schneewittchen, Schneekopf,

— Dutch: Venlim, Carlim, Gijnlim, Boonlim, Backlim, Thielim, Horlim, Prelim, Grolim,

— French: Larac, Cito, Aneto, Desto, Selection ‘Darbonne no4’, Selection ‘Darbonne no3’, Jacq. Ma. 2001, Jacq. Ma. 2002, Andreas, Dariana, Cipres, Viola,

— United States: Mary Washington.

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

—

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

—

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

‘Marchfeldspargel’ is marketed in firmly bound bundles, stacked in boxes, or in small packs. The asparagus is sorted by size according to the diameters in the specification. The contents of each package or bundle must be uniform and must include only asparagus of the same origin, product category and colour category. The asparagus may be packaged only in anti-humidity, light-deflecting materials which can be sealed.

A special transport system ensures that the day's fresh asparagus is available throughout Austria within 24 hours.

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

The protected label ‘Marchfeldspargel’ and name, address, colour category, class, grade, and weight.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Marchfeld: the fertile plain to the east of Vienna, between the rivers Danube and Morava (German: March); it is demarcated by the Danube to the south, the Morava to the east, the Weinviertel hills to the north, and the Vienna city boundary to the west.

5. Link with the geographical area

The Marchfeld region is influenced by the climate of the western foothills of the Pannonian Steppes and has specific soil types (riverside, chernozem, colluvial and alluvial soils with high humus levels and varying high levels of loam and loess). Together with south-east Styria, it has the most days of sunshine per year of any region in Austria and it is one of the warmest areas in the country. The Marchfeld region has been an influential asparagus-producing region since the nineteenth century (at the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, individual farms supplied the Viennese Court), so the farmers of ‘Marchfeldspargel’ are very experienced in asparagus cultivation. The favourable production conditions make it easy to comply with ecological standards.

‘Marchfeldspargel’ is characterised by its particularly specific asparagus aroma; it contains fewer bitter substances than comparable products and is striking on account of its particular tenderness.

The climatic conditions combined with the specific soil types provide the perfect basis for asparagus cultivation. The high mean temperatures and sufficient humidity mean that conditions are very well suited to crop growing. The wild form of asparagus is thus native to the Marchfeld region. The long experience of the farmers of ‘Marchfeldspargel’ helps to ensure that only varieties best suited to the production conditions are cultivated. Given that the asparagus varieties used are well suited to the specific soil conditions in the Marchfeld region, ‘Marchfeldspargel’ contains fewer bitter substances. Moreover, ‘Marchfeldspargel’ shoots are harvested when shorter than comparable products, so they are less woody.

‘Marchfeldspargel’ also enjoys a good reputation; the ‘Marchfeldspargel’ season is opened by leading political, business and cultural figures, and as part of this event, the ‘Marchfeldspargel’ queen is crowned.

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

The full text of the specification is available at http://www.patentamt.at/Media/Marchfeldspargel_feb2016.pdf

and can also be accessed directly via the Austrian Patent Office's website (www.patentamt.at) by navigating to the following: ‘Markenschutz/Schutzrechte/Herkunftsangabe’. The text appears under the name of the quality designation.

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

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