EN Official Journal of the European Union C 358/15

Publication of an application for approval of minor amendments 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

(2017/C 358/11)

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 MINOR AMENDMENTS

Application for approval of minor amendments 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)

‘POMME DU LIMOUSIN’

EU No: PDO-FR-0442-AM02 — 18.5.2017

PDO ( X ) PGI ( ) TSG ( )

1. Applicant group and legitimate interest

Syndicat de défense de l'AOP Pomme du Limousin (‘Pomme du Limousin’ PDO protection association) 9 place Saint-Blaise 19230 Pompadour FRANCE Tel. +33 555733151 Fax +33 981383423 Email: syndicatpommelimousin@gmail.com

The ‘Pomme du Limousin’ PDO protection association, made up of ‘Pomme du Limousin’ PDO operators (producers and storers/packagers), has a legitimate interest in submitting the application.

2. Member State or Third Country

France

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

— ☐ Product description — ☐ Proof of origin — ☐ Method of production — ☐ Link — ☒ Labelling — ☒ Other: applicant group, geographical area, link, inspection, national requirements

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 and requiring 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 and requiring 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)

Heading ‘Labelling’

The requirement that the PDO logo of the European Union and/or the indication ‘AOP’ (‘PDO’) must appear on the sticker affixed to each ‘Pomme du Limousin’ apple is replaced by a requirement that the sticker must bear the PDO logo. In line with this, the rule determining the font size to be used for the ‘AOP’ (PDO) indication on the sticker is removed.

The font size to be used for the designation of origin ‘Pomme du Limousin’ on the sticker and on unit packages changes:

— On the sticker affixed to each fruit, the name must be written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label, except those used in the European Union's PDO logo, rather than ‘in characters at least half as large as the letters “AOP” or larger than 1,5 mm if there is no “AOP” indication’. The relevant provision of the current product specification is therefore amended as follows: ‘Each apple is identified by a sticker bearing: — the European Union PDO logo, — the designation of origin “Pomme du Limousin” written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label, except those used in the European Union PDO logo.’ The same changes are made to point 3.6 of the single document.

— On unit packages, the name must be written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label, instead of ‘in characters at least as large as the largest characters on the label except those of the indication “AOP” (PDO) or “appellation d'origine protégée” (protected designation of origin).’ The provision on unit packages of the current product specification is therefore amended as follows: ‘The labels on unit packages must include, on the side with the information on standards: — the designation of origin “Pomme du Limousin” written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label, — the European Union PDO logo.’ The same change is also made to point 3.6 of the single document: The paragraph ‘In addition to the information to be provided by law, the labelling on individual packages must contain, on the side with the information on standards, the designation of origin “Pomme du Limousin” written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label’ replaces the paragraph ‘The labels on unit packages must include, on the side with the information on standards: — the designation of origin “Pomme du Limousin” written in characters at least as large as the largest characters on the label except those of the indication “AOP” (PDO) or “appellation d'origine protégée” (protected designation of origin), — the European Union PDO logo.’ These changes are intended to harmonise the rules on labelling in order to simplify the management of stickers and the information appearing on the standardisation label on unit packages. They allow the ‘Pomme du Limousin’ name to stand out, while also giving operators and/or retailers the possibility to use their company or retailer's brands. The provision stating that ‘On the label, nothing must appear between “AOP” or “appellation d'origine protégée” and the designation of origin’ is deleted. It does not appear necessary in the light of current EU rules. This provision is also deleted from point 3.6 of the single document.

Other

— Under the heading ‘applicant group’, the group's contact details have been updated.

— Under the heading ‘Geographical area’, the reference to the administrative regions of Limousin and Aquitaine is replaced by a reference to the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, since the Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes regions were merged into one single region named Nouvelle-Aquitaine on 1 January 2016. The sentence ‘All stages of the production must take place in the geographical area, which covers the territory of the following 100 municipalities’ is replaced by ‘All stages of the production must take place in the geographical area approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality (Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité) at the meeting of the competent national committee on 11 December 2003. The perimeter of this area comprises the territory of the following municipalities, based on the 2016 Official Geographic Code’, in order for the specification to include the reference dates for the delimitation of the geographical area and the list of municipalities delineating its perimeter. Moreover, to indicate that maps showing the delimitation of the geographical area are made available, the sentence ‘Maps of the geographical area can be found on the website of the National Institute of Origin and Quality’ is added. The names of four municipalities are corrected as follows: ‘Génis’ replaces ‘Genis’, ‘Savignac-Lédrier’ replaces ‘Savignac-Ledrier’, ‘Saint-Laurent-les-Églises’ replaces ‘Saint-Laurent-les-Eglises’ and ‘Saint-Paul’ replaces ‘Saint-Paul-d'Eyjeaux’. The same corrections are made in point 4 of the single document. These changes do not affect the perimeter of the geographical area, which remains unchanged.

— Under the heading ‘Details bearing out the link with the geographical area’, the number of permanent employees and seasonal workers employed by the sector are updated with 2016 data. The same correction is made in point 5 of the single document.

— Under the heading ‘References to inspection bodies’, the contact details of the inspection body are replaced by those of the competent authority for inspections in order to avoid having to amend the specification if the inspection body changes.

— Under the ‘National requirements’ heading, the ‘document-based and/or visual yield assessment method’ referred to is replaced by a ‘document-based’ assessment method. In practice, a document-based check has proved sufficient to ensure compliance with the provision.

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

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-80e22731-2551-4b7e-bb17-1d5897a5ab50/telechargement

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘POMME DU LIMOUSIN’

EU No: PDO-FR-0442-AM02 — 18.5.2017

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Pomme du Limousin’

2. Member State or Third Country

France

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 the product to which the name in 1 applies

‘Pomme du Limousin’ is a fresh apple with the following characteristics:

— it has a slightly elongated shape, with a clearly marked eye and eye cavity,

— it has a minimum size of 65 millimetres or a minimum weight of 115 grams,

— the flesh is white, firm, crispy, juicy and non-floury,

— the flavour is balanced as regards sweetness and acidity.

The apples are of the ‘Golden delicious’ variety or of one of the mutants authorised for the ‘Pomme du Limousin’ designation of origin (standard characteristics similar to those of ‘Golden delicious’), with the exception of Cala golden.

‘Pomme du Limousin’ has a refractive index of at least 12,5 % Brix, firmness of at least 5 kilos per square centimetre and acidity of at least 3,7 grams per litre of malic acid.

The apple falls within marketing classes ‘Extra’ and ‘1’, within the meaning of EU legislation, or marketing class 2 purely because of the degree of russeting.

‘Pomme du Limousin’ is greeny-white to yellow in colour and may have a pink blush.

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

Not applicable.

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

The entire production process takes place within the geographical area.

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

The apples must be stored cold in order to preserve their firmness, texture and juiciness.

The geographical area has a local expertise in storage. Storage sites

— manage their storage plans, drawn up on the basis of analysis of the fruit carried out at harvest, and coordinate the deliveries of fruit by producers,

— optimise the method and the time for filling the storage rooms,

— control oxygen levels after the fruit is cooled, the stability of the temperature, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels as long as the fruit is being marketed.

Packaging must take place in the ‘Pomme du Limousin’ geographical area of origin, in view of:

— the packaging sites' expertise in managing stored fruit (monitoring the rooms, checking the fruit during storage),

— the fragility of the fruit and its sensitivity to shock and rough handling,

— special packaging facilities which limit impacts and preserve the quality of the fruit,

— the requirement for the fruit to be traceable: the fruit is not shipped in bulk and each piece is individually labelled to enable consumers to clearly identify the product and avoid any mixing with fruit of a different origin.

The apples are packaged in clean containers to preserve the characteristics and quality of the fruit.

Therefore, packages may contain no more than 20 kilos of apples, and the use of plastic bags and paper bags is prohibited.

The apples may no longer be released for sale under the designation of origin ‘Pomme du Limousin’ after a specified date. This is determined on the basis of the colour of the apples and varies from 1 June to 1 August of the year following the harvesting date.

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

Each apple is identified by a sticker bearing:

— the European Union PDO logo,

— the designation of origin ‘Pomme du Limousin’ written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label, except those used in the European Union PDO logo.

However, this requirement for the apples to be individually labelled does not apply to pre-packaged fruit.

In addition to the information to be provided by law, the labelling on individual packages must contain, on the side with the information on standards, the designation of origin ‘Pomme du Limousin’ written in characters of a size at least half that of the largest characters appearing on the label.

Besides the label, all the accompanying documents and invoices must bear the designation of origin ‘Pomme du Limousin’ and the words ‘appellation d'origine protégée’ (protected designation of origin) or ‘AOP’ (PDO).

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

Municipalities belonging to the Corrèze department:

Allassac, Arnac-Pompadour, Beyssac, Beyssenac, Chabrignac, Chameyrat, Concèze, Condat-sur-Ganaveix, Donzenac, Espartignac, Estivaux, Juillac, Lagraulière, Lascaux, Lubersac, Montgibaud, Objat, Orgnac-sur-Vézère, Perpezac-le-Noir, Sadroc, Saint-Aulaire, Saint-Bonnet-l'Enfantier, Sainte-Féréole, Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes, Saint-Julien-le-Vendômois, Saint-Martin-Sepert, Saint-Pardoux-Corbier, Saint-Pardoux-l'Ortigier, Saint-Solve, Saint-Sornin-Lavolps, Saint-Ybard, Salon-la-Tour, Ségur-le-Château, Seilhac, Troche, Uzerche, Vigeois, Vignols and Voutezac.

Municipalities belonging to the Creuse department:

Bénévent-l'Abbaye, Chauchet (Le), Grand-Bourg (Le), Marsac, Montboucher, Nouzerolles, Sardent, Saint-Agnant-de-Versillat, Sainte-Feyre, Saint-Germain-Beaupré, Saint-Julien-le-Châtel and Saint-Pierre-Chérignat.

Municipalities belonging to the Dordogne department:

Angoisse, Anlhiac, Clermont-d'Excideuil, Dussac, Excideuil, Firbeix, Génis, Jumilhac-le-Grand, Lanouaille, Payzac, Saint-Cyr-les-Champagnes, Saint-Médard-d'Excideuil, Saint-Mesmin, Saint-Paul-la-Roche, Saint-Pierre-de-Frugie, Saint-Priest-les-Fougères, Salagnac, Sarlande, Sarrazac and Savignac-Lédrier.

Municipalities belonging to the Haute-Vienne department:

Boisseuil, Bussière-Galant, Chalard (Le), Champnétery, Château-Chervix, Cognac-la-Forêt, Coussac-Bonneval, Geneytouse (La), Glandon, Glanges, Janailhac, Ladignac-le-Long, Linards, Meyze (La), Nieul, Oradour-sur-Vayres, Pensol, Roche-l'Abeille (La), Roziers-Saint-Georges, Sainte-Anne-Saint-Priest, Saint-Hilaire-la-Treille, Saint-Jean-Ligoure, Saint-Laurent-les-Églises, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Méard, Saint-Paul, Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche and Vicq-sur-Breuilh.

5. Link with the geographical area

The geographical area consists of a crystalline basement formed by the pedogenic development of metamorphic and granitic rocks, including local formations of alterites and formations on colluvial or old residual alluvial soils.

The light, deep soil has good water-retention properties.

The geographical area has a humid, ocean climate, with fairly abundant, albeit not excessive, rainfall (average annual rainfall of less than 1 300 mm) and temperatures that do not reach extremes (average temperature above 9 °C).

Another factor is altitude: orchards are located on well-ventilated hill-top plateaus, at an altitude generally between 350 and 450 metres.

Limousin is a region with a strong fruit-growing tradition. ‘Golden Delicious’, which has been grown in Limousin since 1950, has continued to develop there. In this area, apple growing complements livestock farming and is based on traditional cultivation practices such as moderate irrigation and hand-picking.

The area also has local expertise in storage. Once harvested, the apples are stored in dedicated rooms with a controlled atmosphere, the technical and maintenance parameters of which are set every year (waterproofing, volume, number of hours of operation, etc.). Regular monitoring is carried out to check that the batches are preserved properly at all times.

‘Pomme du Limousin’ is characterised by its excellent eating qualities and its presentation: it has a slightly elongated shape, a particular colour, firm flesh, a high amount of juice, a good balance between sweetness and acidity and a long shelf life, which allows it to be marketed until 1 August.

The natural environment combined with the tree-growing tradition make the area well suited to the growing of the ‘Golden Delicious’ variety and have enabled the original characteristics of the ‘Pomme du Limousin’ to be preserved.

At higher altitude, there is more sunshine than in the plains, while the highest temperatures are moderate. The combination of cold nights and hot, sunny days on the plateaus of the geographical area favours the development of a good sweetness/acidity balance and the pink skin pigmentation resulting from the anthocyanins that are characteristic of the ‘Pomme du Limousin’.

Because they are grown at higher altitude at contrasting temperatures between night and day, the apples have a more elongated shape and are firmer and juicier.

Apple growing in the Limousin draws on specific cultivation practices. Moderate irrigation, for instance, allows the fruit to develop and keep its qualities better, and makes for better flower induction the following year. In addition, harvesting is done by hand to ensure that the fruit keeps all its qualities.

The area also has local expertise in storage which is geared towards the ‘Pomme du Limousin’ variety's long shelf life. After harvesting the fruit is cooled to the core as quickly as possible. The rooms are filled in the shortest time possible and immediately put in a controlled atmosphere to preserve the quality of the fruit.

The ‘Pomme du Limousin’ represents a dynamic sector, employing some 1 500 permanent and 2 500 seasonal workers (2016 figures).

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-80e22731-2551-4b7e-bb17-1d5897a5ab50/telechargement

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

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