Publication of an application for registration of a name 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

(2019/C 271/07)

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) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘ΚΡΙΤΣΑ’ (KRITSA)

EU No: PGI-GR-02317 – 6.7.2017

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s)

‘Κριτσά’ (Kritsa)

2. Member State or Third Country

Greece

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.5. Oils and fats (butter, margarine, oil, etc.)

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

‘Kritsa’ olive oil is produced solely from olives of the Koroneiki variety. It is green to golden-green in colour.

Physico-chemical characteristics:

— acidity (% by weight of oleic acid): ≤ 0,5

— extinction coefficient K270: ≤ 0,15

— extinction coefficient K232: ≤ 1,90

— extinction coefficient variation Delta-Κ: ≤ 0

Sensory evaluation:

— fruitiness: ≥ 2,5

— defect: 0,0

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

‘Kritsa’ olive oil is produced from Koroneiki olives only.

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

Cultivation of the olives and all stages in the production of ‘Kritsa’ extra virgin olive oil must take place in the defined geographical area.

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

‘Kritsa’ olive oil is renowned both in Greece and internationally, and its reputation is due to its exceptional quality (low acidity, low extinction coefficients) and its fruity flavour. These characteristics are adversely affected by temperature, light and oxygen, to which the oil is more likely to be exposed when being transferred from a storage tank to a tanker lorry and vice versa, or between tanker lorries, or when inside a tanker lorry. In addition, high temperatures and the presence of oxygen cause rapid deterioration of the oil’s characteristic fruitiness. For these reasons ‘Kritsa’ olive oil should be stored in stainless steel tanks within the defined area, to ensure that the characteristics upon which its reputation is founded remain unimpaired. ‘Kritsa’ olive oil is also packaged within the defined area, and more specifically in the place where it is produced. This ensures that the oil’s quality characteristics are not affected or altered, facilitates checks and assures traceability.

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

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

‘Kritsa’ olive oil is produced solely within the boundaries of the municipal district of Kritsá and the neighbouring communities of Mesa and Exo Lakkonia and Kroustas, in the municipality of Agios Nikolaos. In addition to the large village of Kritsá, the said municipal district includes the following settlements: Ammoudara, Vathy, Theologos, Katharó, Kalyvos, Mardati, Rousa Limni and Tapes.

5. Link with the geographical area

‘Kritsa’ is one of Crete’s most famous olive oils, which has also become well known outside Greece. Its reputation derives purely from its quality, organoleptic and chemical characteristics, which in turn are linked with the geographical area, but also with the human factor that contributes significantly to the quality of the oil produced.

This very extensive reputation is the basis for the application for registration of ‘Kritsa’ olive oil as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

‘Kritsa’ olive oil is produced in a relatively small area, where soil and climatic conditions are roughly the same throughout, which means the final product has uniform characteristics. Moreover, Koroneiki is the only variety of olive grown in this area.

The area has a mild Mediterranean climate, with no major fluctuations in temperature. Sunshine is plentiful, owing to the exposure and configuration of the land, exceeding 2 900 hours a year. The olive groves are planted on dry, limestone soil with good water retention capacity. The soil’s clay content makes it suitable for non-irrigated olive groves. Furthermore, conditions are not especially favourable for olive fruit fly, so infestations are usually limited.

Most of the area’s olives are collectively milled, and milling takes place within 48 hours of harvesting, which minimises post-harvest deterioration. Thanks to the producers’ expertise, built up over many years, the fruit are harvested at just the right stage of ripeness, when they are turning colour from yellowish green to dark purple, a factor linked with the organoleptic characteristics of the oil produced.

Thus, both natural and human factors have helped determine the specific characteristics of ‘Kritsa’ olive oil, which are low acidity, not exceeding 0,5, low extinction coefficient values (K270: ≤ 0,15, K232: ≤ 1,90, Delta-K: ≤ 0) and fruitiness greater than 2,5.

The abundance of light, the dry limestone soil, and harvesting at the right time produce oil with many aromatic constituents, which give it its characteristic fruity flavour. The low extinction coefficient values (Κ270, Κ232 and Delta-K), are linked with altitude, but also with the fact the olives are milled directly after they are picked.

‘Kritsa’ olive oil has been extensively referred to in Norwegian, Slovenian and Japanese magazines, where particular emphasis has been given to its quality characteristics.

‘Kritsa’ olive oil also features on travel and agri-tourism websites, where visitors are advised not to leave the village of Kritsá without some of the local olive oil.

As well as on travel websites, ‘Kritsa’ olive oil is mentioned on the website of a well-known restaurant in Athens, which uses only this oil in its dishes. ‘Kritsa’ olive oil is also one of the basic ingredients used at the famous Valrhona patisserie school in France.

The product’s reputation and the link with the local people and the surrounding environment is evidenced by the fact that it features at local events, on local and national radio and television and in the press.

The link between ‘Kritsa’ olive oil and the local people and their history is explained by writer/journalist Tom Mueller in his book ‘Extra Virginity, the sublime and scandalous world of olive oil’ (2014).

‘Kritsa’ olive oil has also featured in the international press, specifically CNN and The Times, as mentioned in the Olive Oil Times online.

In addition, the product’s reputation and the fact that Kritsá was recognised as an important olive oil producing area is attested to in travel accounts from the 19th century.

Specifically, in Bulletin de la Société de Géographie (1835) M.A. Fabreguettes mentions ‘…Kritsá … a village rich in all manner of produce, olive oil, almonds, carob, cheese and so forth…’, and in Kritika iti Topografia kai Odoiporika tis Nisou Kritis (1894) Ν. Kalomenopoulos writes ‘…The fertile Kritsá valley, a small plain crossed by a small stream and densely planted with olive trees…’ and ‘The Lakkonia valley… is covered with olive and cherry trees …’.

Since 2006, ‘Kritsa’ olive oil has won a total of 24 awards – 16 in national competitions and eight in international competitions, notably in the medium and intensely fruity categories. The top achievement was the gold award in the medium fruity category in the international ‘Mario Solinas’ competition in 2008, organised by the International Olive Council. Other important achievements were winning 3rd prize at the same competition in 2006, gold awards at the Los Angeles Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition (2010) and Great Taste, London (2012) and silver awards at Prodexpo, Moscow (2012), Olive Japan (2013) and Cat Cora’s Kitchen (2013). In Greece, the oil has won gold awards at the following competitions: Panhellenic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Producers’ Competition (2007), 1st Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition (2008) and Eleotechnia (2008 and 2011).

In addition to the above awards, more recently ‘Kritsa’ olive oil won the bronze award for extra virgin olive oil at the London International Quality Olive Oil Competition (2017). That same year it also won bronze for taste in the medium fruity category at the 5th Greek extra virgin olive oil competition. Both these awards were reported in the Greek online press. In both 2016 and 2017 the Kritsá Agricultural Cooperative’s olive mill received two awards from the Association of Cretan olive-growing municipalities: the silver Minoan Olive in the ‘good olive oil marketing practices’ category and the gold Minoan Olive in the ‘good olive milling practices’ category.

Finally, the area’s historical link with olives and olive oil production is evidenced by the oil presses (at least two) in the area of the ancient city of Lato, whose ruins date back to the Dorian period (5th and 4th centuries B.C.). Inside the city, which is approximately three kilometres from the village of Kritsá, evidence of olive oil storage has been found. Old oil mills scattered across the wider region also attest to the strong link between olive growing and the daily lives of the local people, while travellers’ references abound, appearing in books from the 19th century onwards.

Publication reference of the specification

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

http://www.minagric.gr/images/stories/docs/agrotis/POP-PGE/prod_ladi_kritsa070119.pdf

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