EN Official Journal of the European Union C 122/12

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

2010/C 122/07

This publication confers the right to object to the application in accordance with Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘CAROTA NOVELLA DI ISPICA’

EC No: IT-PGI-0005-0522-26.01.2006

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentri e Forestali Address: Via XX Settembre 20 00187 Roma RM ITALIA Tel. +39 0646655106 Fax +39 0646655306 E-mail: saco7@politicheagricole.gov.it

2. Group:

Name: Associazione per la Tutela e la Valorizzazione della «Carota Novella di Ispica» Address: c/o Agriconsult — Viale dei Platani 34/b 97100 Ragusa RG ITALIA Tel. +39 093243569 Fax +39 0932254479 E-mail: info@studioagriconsult.it Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Others ( )

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:

‘Carota Novella di Ispica’

4.2. Description:

‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ PGI (protected geographical indication) is the product obtained by growing species Daucus carota L. (the cultivated carrot). The varieties used are based on the Nantes half-long carrot variety and appropriate hybrids such as Exelso, Dordogne, Nancò, Concerto, Romance, Naval, Chambor, Selene. Other hybrids may be used provided that they belong to the Nantes half-long variety and provided that the producers have proven through tests that they comply with the quality parameters for ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’. The use of new hybrids to produce ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is permitted subject to favourable evaluation of the tests by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies which may request for that purpose the technical opinion of the inspection body or another body.

When placed on the market, the ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is cylindrical/conical in shape, with a diameter of between 15 and 40 mm and a weight of between 50 and 150 g, and does not have secondary roots, a root at the tip or cracking of the stem.

‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ reaches commercial maturity from as early as the end of February (20 February) up to the beginning of June (15 June). It is consequently available on the market in the winter-spring period, when it has the organoleptic properties typical of the fresh product. It adheres to the following specific chemical and nutritional parameters:

— high glucide content: > 5 % fresh product (by weight),

— beta-carotene content (depending on the production period): > 4 mg/100 g of fresh product,

— mineral salt content: between 0,5 % and 0,9 %.

Organoleptic properties are assessed using the UNI 10957 (2003) method. The descriptors are quantified on a five-point scale in line with the UNI ISO 4121 system (1989) with 1 as the least intense and 5 as the most intense value.

The minimum values awarded by judges for each of the main descriptors are as follows:

— intensity of colour 2,5,

— crunchiness 2,5,

— typical carrot smell 2,5,

— herbaceous aroma 2,5.

In addition, the skin is clear, the flesh tender and the core not too fibrous.

Only ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ in the commercial categories Extra and I, as defined by the UN/ECE standard concerning the marketing and commercial quality control of carrots, may obtain recognition.

‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is packaged in packs sealed in such a way that opening the packaging will tear the seal. Only the following packaging combinations are permitted:

— tray of up to 2 kg covered with protective film,

— polyethylene or polypropylene bag containing between 1 and 6 kg in weight,

— ‘stay fresh’ bag containing between 6 and 12 kg in weight.

4.3. Geographical area:

The ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ production area includes municipalities in the following provinces up to an altitude of 550 m above sea level:

— Province of Ragusa: the municipalities of Acate, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Comiso, Ispica, Modica, Pozzallo, Ragusa, Santa Croce Camerina, Scicli, Vittoria,

— Province of Siracusa: the municipalities of Noto, Pachino, Portopalo di Capo Passero, Rosolini,

— Province of Catania: municipality of Caltagirone,

— Province of Caltanissetta: municipality of Niscemi.

4.4. Proof of origin:

Each stage in the production process is monitored, with all inputs and outputs being documented. In this way and by entering the cadastral parcels on which cultivation takes place — and the details of growers and packers — on lists managed by the inspection body and by declaring in due time by the month of December the volumes produced to the inspection body, product traceability is guaranteed. Every producer should possess appropriate record books in which all growing operations are entered, ascribing to each batch sowed a code, which will follow the batch throughout all the phases of growing, harvesting, warehousing, processing and sale, so as to guarantee at all times traceability and total transparency for consumer protection.

All operators, whether legal or natural persons, registered in the relevant lists will be subject to checks by the inspection body.

4.5. Method of production:

The production method calls for ploughing to a depth of 40 to 50 cm before sowing.

Crop rotation should be carried out every three years and, consequently, carrots cannot be grown on the same land until after an interval of two agricultural years. Carrots may be grown on the same land for two consecutive years only when carrots have not previously been grown there. Crop rotation may be of the ‘open’ kind, i.e. carrots may be cultivated in rotation with field vegetables, cereals and pulses. Crop combination of any kind is not permitted.

Sowing is carried out in autumn with the help of pneumatic precision seed drills, spaced at preset intervals at a depth of approximately 1 cm, followed by rolling. Seeding density varies, according to the growing system used, between 1,5 and 2 million seeds per hectare surface area.

The fertilisers applied must not exceed the following unit values per hectare: N — 150, P2O5 — 80, K2O — 240, MgO — 40, giving priority at all times to mixed organic fertilisers. Fertilisers containing meso and micro elements may be used. Hoeing to remove weed infestation, to make the soil more friable and spread the fertiliser applied to the surface. Plant health protection is based on integrated pest control principles and is achieved through agronomic and biological action. Chemical protection is used only in cases where the infestation reaches the intervention threshold or in the event that optimum conditions for the development of certain pathogens are detected.

The carrots are harvested on a daily basis from 20 February to 15 June. Harvesting is carried out with the aid of multi-functional machines capable of performing the entire harvesting phase in a single pass in the field.

The fresh product which has been harvested is processed on a daily basis on the processing lines available on holdings. The chief phases which are typical of the carrot processing process are washing, removal of waste, sorting by size and packaging. The final date when they may be released for sale is 15 June.

Processing and initial packaging must be carried out within the production area identified in point 4.3 in order to guarantee product quality, control and traceability. Subsequent repackaging outside the geographical area is permitted.

4.6. Link:

Recognition of the ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ protected geographical indication is justified on the grounds of its early harvesting.

The ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ growing is characterised by favourable soil and climate conditions. The Ispica carrot is a ‘new carrot’ which reaches commercial maturity from as early as the end of February (20 February) up to the beginning of June (15 June). It is thus a novel, typically Sicilian product very closely linked to the territory on which it is grown. It should be added that ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is sold on the market during the winter-spring period, taking advantage of the organoleptic properties that are typical of the fresh product, such as crunchiness, intense flavour and herbaceous aroma.

The ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ growing area is characterised by high average winter temperatures, long hours of sunlight and fertile soil. The quality parameters and the specific growing cycle are thus intimately linked to interacting physical and biochemical characteristics which make the Iblea area (SE Sicily) an essential harmonic system capable of maximising and characterising such properties.

The local geography facilitates cultivation as the optimal environmental conditions and, in particular, the temperate, dry climate of the coastal strip enable optimum general plant health to be maintained.

In the area in which ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is grown is generally free from excessive temperature drops, excessive rain and aridity. It has been shown that the temperatures recorded in the area favour very intense colouring, which is also to some extent a result of the amount of light from which the territory benefits between September and March, the very regular conformation and the optimisation of levels of sugar, beta carotene and mineral salt content which, considering the time of harvest, are a further characteristic feature of the ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’. The land further complies with the requirements for growing, which ideally calls for medium soils tending towards loose, a non-coarse soil skeleton, well provided with nutritive elements, good depth and freshness characteristics, but is also feasible in soils tending towards sandy as long as they are supported by adequate fertilisation and irrigation.

These are the conditions that have led to the success of the ‘Carota di Ispica’. Indeed, old producers remember that European importers claimed to be able to recognise a load of ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ immediately upon opening the transport wagon thanks to the specific and intense aroma which developed.

The first documents recording Ispica carrot cultivation date back to 1955, followed a few years later by the first records of its being exported. Since the 1950s, Ispica carrot growing has extended gradually to cover the area defined in point 4, due on the one hand to the agricultural phenomenon of soil fatigue but, on the other, to the product’s great commercial success on national and foreign markets. Important evidence is provided by Pina Avveduto’s 1972 publication ‘La Coltivazione della Carota ad Ispica’ (Cultivation of the Ispica carrot). On the subject of the rapid expansion of Ispica carrot growing, the author writes, ‘Obviously, the rapid spread in cultivation of the new product was favoured by the ease of marketing it, since it was accepted and sought after by all national and international markets for its intrinsic merits […]. Our carrot was preferred on account of its early availability, quality in terms of shape (size), organoleptic properties (colour, flavour), chemical properties (carotene and glucose rich).’

4.7. Inspection body:

The inspection body complies with standard EN 45011.

Name: Suolo e Salute s.r.l Address: Via Paolo Borsellino 12/B 61032 Fano PU ITALIA Tel. +39 0721860543 Fax +39 0721860543 E-mail: info@suoloesalute.it

4.8. Labelling:

In addition to the Community graphic symbol and the information required by law, the packaging must carry on the label the following indications in clear and legible print:

— the ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ PGI logo,

— the name, business name and address of the producer and packager,

— the commercial category (‘Extra’ or ‘I’).

It is forbidden to add any description that is not expressly provided for. However, references to brand names may be used, on condition that they have no laudatory purport and are not such as to mislead the purchaser.

The ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ logo is made up of a graphic image representing a carrot, topped by an irregular triangle pointing downwards. The graphic image sits to the left of the wording ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’. The initial capital N of the word ‘Novella’ intersects the carrot image about halfway up, with the words ‘di Ispica’ placed beneath ‘Novella’, all the text being green in colour. The ends of the characters are rounded.

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