EN Official Journal of the European Union C 70/27

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

(2009/C 70/09)

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 from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘MAKÓI VÖRÖSHAGYMA’ or ‘MAKÓI HAGYMA’

EC No: HU-PDO-005-0387-21.10.2004

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: Földművelésügyi és Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium – Élelmiszerlánc-elemzési Főosztály Address: 1055 Budapest Kossuth Lajos tér 11. MAGYARORSZÁG Tel.: +36 13014419 Fax: +36 13014808 E-mail: zobore@fvm.hu

2. Group:

Name: Magyarországi Hagymatermesztők, Feldolgozók, Forgalmazók Szakmaközi Szervezete, Szövetsége és Terméktanácsa Address: 6900 Makó Návay Lajos tér 5-7. MAGYARORSZÁG Tel.: +36 62/212865, +36 62/213676 Fax: +36 62/213676, +36 62/212865 E-mail: hagymatanacs@vnet.hu Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( X )

3. Type of product:

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

4. Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name:

‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’

4.2. Description:

The ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ (Allium cepa L.) belongs to the family Alliaceae, which has adapted well to the local conditions of the Makó region. The typical characteristics of the ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ attributable to the geographical environment are high dry-matter content, strong taste and good shelf-life. Only the ‘Makói CR’ (climate resistant), the ‘Csanád’ and the ‘Makói Bronz’ cultivars are permitted to be used.

The onion has a spherical body, slightly elongated along the longitudinal axis; it has a diameter of 35-80 mm. Bronze red, shiny, with closed skin, the firm multi-layered external tunics completely protecting the internal tunics. Firm, dense flesh, bone-white colour. The production technology typical of the region of Makó and the dry weather at the end of the summer result in a high dry-matter content over 16 %, which is well above the average. It can be stored for a long time, it germinates late and retains its content values throughout the entire winter. Its low moisture content does not favour deterioration. Its typical strong and spicy taste is the result of its high allyl sulphide content.

4.3. Geographical area:

The ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ designation of origin may only be applied to onions originating in the production region, which includes the administrative areas of the settlements listed below, which overlap the borders of the two adjacent counties of Csongrád and Békés.

The settlements belonging to the region:

— Csongrád county: Makó, Királyhegyes, Apátfalva, Kövegy, Pitvaros, Magyarcsanád, Csanádpalota, Csanádalberti, Ambrózfalva, Nagyér, Földeák, Maroslele, Klárafalva, Ferencszállás, Kiszombor, Nagylak,

— Békés county: Tótkomlós, Békéssámson.

4.4. Proof of origin:

The ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ designation of origin may only be used for those onions whose production and traceability are documented in the Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications authenticated by the Hagyma Terméktanács (Onion Product Board).

The Spraying Log, updated according to the requirements, is an indispensable part of the Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications.

The Hagyma Terméktanács, upon the initiation of the producer or distributor, controls the whole technological process of production, and if the requirements are fulfilled, the product can be labelled ‘Hagyma Terméktanács által ellenőrzött minőség’ (‘Quality approved by the Onion Product Board’) by the Product Board.

The Product Board helps to inspect compliance with the regulations on geographical indication and the legal use of the designations of origin.

4.5. Method of production:

Two-year production method:

In the case of the two-year production method, from the tiny flower seeds (so-called black seed) the small onions, the so-called onion sets, which are produced by being densely sowed, serve as the base material (propagation material) for producing developed table onions the following year.

For the purposes of producing onion sets, flat, medium hard, friable, non-clodding soil with high humus and nutrient content and neutral pH is suitable (these are the so-called Makó soil conditions).

In case of crop rotation, one of the prerequisites is that onions should not be planted again within five years.

Onion set production:

Soil preparation: deep ploughing in the autumn, in October of the previous year, finishing-off in the spring. Sowing takes place in the even-surfaced sowing bed with fine crumbly soil at the end of February, beginning of March, in single lines (20 cm spacing) or twin lines (5-30 cm spacing), with 100-120 kg/ha of seed (25-28 million seeds/ha), at a depth of 3-3,5 cm. The dried stem is removed from the onion sets, which have matured by the middle of August. This is followed by picking, removing soil, post-maturing, transporting and classifying by size.

The classified onion sets must be stored in a loose fabric bag during the autumn, and the special Makó production procedure starts with the heat treatment in November. The heat treatment in fact prevents the formation of flower buds and thus the development of the seedstalk in the second year, which would make the onion body valueless. During the heat treatment, the onion sets are gradually heated up over 12 days from the 3-5 °C storage temperature to 30-32 °C and, depending on size, are kept at this temperature for 30-60 days (during which time they are heated up to 32-35 °C for 10 days) and then gradually cooled to 10-14 °C for planting.

Table onion production:

When producing the ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’, the table onion (eating onion) is produced in the second year. In the spring, the onion sets, which have been removed from the heat treatment installation, are cleaned, the seeds are treated against pests, then they are sown in the gradually warming soil up to the middle of April. The soil requirements and the crop rotation are the same as with onion sets. Depending on the quantity, 15-25 are sown per running metre at a depth of 3-5 cm.

It is important to provide the onions with an adequate supply of nutrients and to keep them free of weeds, as well as ensuring integrated plant protection properly documented in the Spraying Log. Harvesting takes place in the second half of August (picking, drying in windrows, loading, delivering), after which the onions are put into storage or sent to market.

One-year (seed sown) production method:

In the one-year form, production begins in March by sowing 5-7 kg/ha of seeds (900 thousand-1,1 million seeds/ha) of the ‘one-year old onions’ propagated with the use of the genetic stock of the ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ onion sets.

In the propagation period, the production and harvesting operations are the same as with onions grown from onion sets, but the propagation season is longer, harvest takes place in mid-September and this type of production is only assured in irrigated conditions.

The harvested onions must be stored in a cool, dry, well ventilated place, as they can be stored longer than the other cultivars under such conditions without any significant reduction in quality until the following April-May.

‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ are classified, packaged and labelled by the producer or elsewhere under the direct supervision of the producer or the producer's representative within the defined geographical area in 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 kg raschel bags or in bulk in 15, 20, 25 and 50 kg crates or in packages of 3, 5 or 10 pieces. However, other amounts and types of packages are also feasible. The product can be repackaged outside the defined geographical area.

4.6. Link:

Natural factors:

The onion, which is of Central Asian origin, adapted to the conditions of the Makó region exceedingly well. The soils of the region were formed by the deposit of the river Maros changing its bed; the loess and alluvial soil have high nutrient content. They are rich in trace elements, medium dense, friable, flat-surfaced, and have good air and water retention, characteristics that have a favourable impact on the quality of the onion.

The most characteristic climatic feature of the Makó region is the dry and hot summer. In the propagation period there is a lot of sunshine (2 100 hours of sunshine per year), with prolonged high temperatures. (30 hot days, average temperature 18,1 °C and accumulated radiation 3 340 °C), and the combined effect of these characteristics (85-90 summer days) results in the development of the favourable content values of ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’. The development of the long-day ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ requires 15 hours of light a day, which condition is satisfied by the characteristic climatic features of the Makó region described above. The formation of the onion head slows down in the warm, dry weather low in precipitation in July-August. The foliage and the roots dry out, the content values become richer, the dry-matter content increases, the outer leaves of the onion body become thin, and the closed, strong (‘armoured’) skin and bronze red colour develop.

Thanks to its high dry-matter content thus developed and the multilayered, closed, strong skin (well-closed at the ‘neck’) ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’ can be stored for a long time.

Human factors:

Onions have been produced in the Makó region for several centuries. Following Turkish rule, the countryside was resettled and the population quickly increased, which led to the division of the available land into small parcels and the onset of land scarcity. In the middle of the 19th century, three quarters of the population consisted of peasant tenant farmers, who were compelled to produce intensive plant cultures in their small fields. For this purpose, the onion was chosen, whose skin and flesh have been extensively used in folk medicine for centuries.

Taking advantage of the geography and the favourable market boom at the end of the last century, the producers of the Makó onion developed high quality regional cultivars with hard work, care, individual selection and high quality soil. In order to achieve this, they developed a unique technology designed specifically for the biology of the onion and the given region (two-year production method). Selling to faraway markets is typical of the entrepreneurial spirit of the local onion growers and their willingness to take risks.

The local onion growers were able to rely on their inbred onion culture to avoid the pressure to emigrate at the turn of the century. They created a truly sound and permanent reputation for this onion, whose excellence was already recognised at the Grand Concours International des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Brussels in 1888 and was followed by further recognition over the years. The cultivation experience passed on from each generation to the next guarantees future onion production in the region.

Written evidence of onion cultivation can be traced to a description by Miklós Szirbik in 1835, which was followed by the books of Imre Palugyai and János Reizman. The region's onion producers — the Makó onion producers — had their own weekly magazine, entitled ‘Onion Gardener’, soon after the turn of the century. In the 1930s Ferenc Erdei did much for the onion grown in the Makó region and the onion producers.

4.7. Inspection body:

Mezőgazdasági Szakigazgatási Hivatal, as designated inspection body for fruits and vegetables

Name: Csongrád Megyei Mezőgazdasági Szakigazgatási Hivatal Növény- és Talajvédelmi Igazgatóság Address: 6800 Hódmezővásárhely Rárósi út 110. MAGYARORSZÁG Tel.: +36 62/535741 Fax: +36 62/246036 E-mail: Hodi.Laszlo@csongrad.ontsz.hu Name: Békés Megyei Mezőgazdasági Szakigazgatási Hivatal, Növény- és Talajvédelmi Igazgatóság Address: 5602 Békéscsaba Szarvasi út 79/1. MAGYARORSZÁG Tel.: +36 66/529-257 Fax: +36 66/529-265 E-mail: Mike.Zsolt@bekes.ontsz.hu

4.8. Labelling:

In addition to the content specified by the legal regulations, the protected designation of origin ‘Makói vöröshagyma’ or ‘Makói hagyma’, as well as (after entering in the Community register) the Community logo, must be indicated on the product packaging.

If approved on the basis of an internal control carried out by the Onion Product Board, ‘Hagyma Terméktanács által ellenőrzött minőség’ (‘Quality approved by the Onion Product Board’) may be indicated on the product packaging.

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