EN Official Journal of the European Union C 187/14

Publication of an application 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

2013/C 187/12

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).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

‘OBST AUS DEM ALTEN LAND’

EC No: DE-PGI-0005-0877-04.05.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Obst aus dem Alten Land’

2. Member State or third country

Germany

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 point 1 applies

Fresh pome and stone fruit, specifically apples, pears, cherries, plums and damsons suitable for fresh consumption.

All the stated varieties are characterised by an especially thin skin and a harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio. All the fruit varieties are very sweet but are simultaneously slightly tart.

The products comprise the following apple varieties:

Braeburn: slightly sweet and refreshing. Its firm and juicy flesh is very high in vitamin C.

Delbarestivale: sweet and fruity. The whitish flesh of this early apple is crunchy and very juicy.

Elstar: refreshingly spicy flavour. Its flesh ranges in colour from white to pale yellow and has a very fruity flavour.

Gala: firm to the bite and juicy with a fruity, aromatic flavour. Its skin is usually slightly waxy.

Golden Delicious: sweet and aromatic. Its pale green to yellowish speckled skin is very distinctive.

Gravensteiner: juicy with slightly spicy flavour. Pale yellow flesh with yellow and red marbled skin.

Holsteiner Cox: spicy, sweet and highly aromatic. White to yellow flesh, crunchy texture.

Jonagold: crunchy after harvesting, develops a crumbly texture later. Its yellow flesh is particularly sweet and juicy.

Red Jonagold: related to the Jonagold, this apple is predominantly dark red. Its yellow flesh is equally sweet and juicy.

The products comprise the following pear varieties:

Alexander Lucas: table pear. Sweet, juicy, yellow fruit.

Bürgermeister: autumn pear with reddish cheek. Juicy and intensely sweet.

Clapps Liebling: juicy, spicy early pear. Yellow fruit with red cheek.

Condo: medium-sized autumn pear. Buttery, juicy, sweet, good quality fruit.

Williams Christ: medium-sized table pear, can be consumed fresh or used in cookery. A juicy, sweet, golden yellow and speckled fruit.

The products comprise the following cherry varieties:

Octavia: resistant to splitting. Sweet, firm, aromatic flesh.

Regina: sweet and aromatic late cherry, firm flesh.

Viola: tasty fruit with high juice content.

The plums and damsons belonging to the product group have a distinctive flavour and also have a unique sweetness to tartness ratio. They comprise the following varieties:

Fellenberger: a medium to firm freestone plum with an average to high juice content. Pleasantly sweet and tart and highly aromatic.

Ortenauer: relatively sweet, but with a marked tartness.

Schönberger Zwetsche: very large, sweet, juicy freestone damson.

Zimmers Frühzwetsche: large, sweet and particularly aromatic fruit.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)

—

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)

—

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

The fruit is cultivated in the defined geographical area.

3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

—

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

—

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The majority of the ‘Obst aus dem Alten Land’ growing area is situated in Lower Saxony and Hamburg. It is bordered by the river Elbe to the north, between Wehldorf bei Cuxhaven to the west and Geesthacht to the east. The remaining borders are defined by the boundaries of the following municipalities, with the restrictions stated:

the municipality of Jork,

the Lühe municipalities group,

the municipalities of Nottensdorf and Bliedersdorf belonging to the Horneburg municipalities group, and its municipality areas situated to the north of the Cuxhaven-Hamburg railway line,

the municipality of Apensen within the Apensen municipalities group,

Schölisch, Götzdorf Bützfleth and Abbenfleeth within the municipality of Stade alongside the Stader Moor road, up to the Himmelpforten municipalities group,

the Himmelpforten municipalities group,

the municipality of Drochtersen,

the Nordkehdingen municipalities group,

the areas of Hechthausen and Osten situated to the north of the B73 within the Hemmoor municipalities group,

the areas lying to the east of the B73 and to the north of Bahnhofstraße (linking Oberndorf an der Oste to the B73 in Höhe Wassermühle) within the Dobrock municipalities group,

the municipality of Cadenberge,

the areas lying to the north of the Zollbaum/Landmark-Mühlenweg road within the municipality of Bülkau,

the municipality of Ihlienworth within the Sietland municipalities group,

Neuenkirchen and Otterndorf within the Hadeln municipalities group,

the areas to the north of the Osterende road and to the east of the road running alongside the canal within the municipality of Cuxhaven,

the areas to the north of the Hamburg-Cuxhaven railway line in the town of Buxtehude,

within the municipality of Neu Wulmsdorf, the areas to the north of the Hamburg-Cuxhaven railway line,

the areas of Hamburg to the south of the of the Elbe and to the north of the Hamburg-Lüneburg railway line,

the town of Winsen (Luhe),

the areas to the north of the Hamburg-Lüneburg railway line within the municipality of Winsen,

The municipality of Drage within the Elbmarsch municipalities group.

A small section of the ‘Altes Land’ fruit growing area is situated to the north of the Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein and comprises:

the municipalities of Haseldorf, Haselau, Hetlingen and Seestermühe.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The application for PGI registration is based on the reputation of the fruit. Owing to the long tradition of fruit cultivation in this region and the fact that this results in brightly-coloured, thin-skinned fruit with a harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio, ‘Obst aus dem Alten Land’ is held in high esteem by consumers and enjoys a good reputation far beyond the region.

The climate of the Altes Land region is determined by its proximity to the North Sea. There are no extreme fluctuations in temperature and in the summer the sun is not as hot. Cold nights are followed by sunny days. The air contains salt from the North Sea.

The Altes Land has heavy, marshy soils.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The apples are thin-skinned and have an especially harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio. This means that although the fruit is very sweet, it always has a particular tartness, which the same varieties of fruit grown elsewhere do not exhibit. The skin of the apples is brightly coloured.

The pears are thin-skinned with an especially harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio. This means that although the fruit is very sweet, it always has a particular tartness, which the same varieties of fruit grown elsewhere do not exhibit.

The cherries are thin-skinned with an especially harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio. This means that although the fruit is very sweet, it always has a particular tartness, which the same varieties of fruit grown elsewhere do not exhibit.

The plums and damsons are thin-skinned and have an especially harmonious sweetness to tartness ratio. This means that although the fruit is very sweet, it always has a particular tartness, which the same varieties of fruit grown elsewhere do not exhibit.

5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The geographical area, described in detail above, is characterised by the weather and soil conditions outlined below.

The cherries are naturally free from cherry fruit fly larvae as these are not found in orchards with heavy soils.

Pome and stone fruit from this area (apples, pears, cherries, plums and damsons) do not have to endure intense sunshine in the summer and thus do not have to develop thick, protective skins. Their skins are therefore thin.

The alternation between cold nights and sunny days intensifies the colour of fruit and gives it the typically well-balanced sweetness to tartness ratio.

Cultivation takes place on small areas of land measuring about 16 m in width and enclosed by ditches. Main ditches running at right angles to those channel the water to the Elbe. Water is therefore always available to the fruit farmers for irrigation purposes and for sprinkling the trees to provide frost protection. Over the centuries, this geographical feature has enabled the development of expertise in the optimal cultivation of pome and stone fruit. In the 1990s this culminated in the development of the concept of integrated production.

In a dedicated centre for training, experimentation and consulting (the Esteburg Fruit-Growing Centre, Jork), aspiring fruit farmers are trained as horticulturists specialised in fruit cultivation. Varieties are tested for compatibility with the conditions described above and the fruit farmers receive comprehensive advice on all aspects of cultivating and tending to the individual fruit varieties with a view to optimising fruit quality.

The Fruit Growing Trials Group (OVR), an association of all producers in the area established as long as 75 years ago, was a joint founder of the Jork centre.

It is precisely these specific qualities which have helped to create the excellent reputation that ‘Obst aus dem Alten Land’ enjoys among consumers.

Owing to the long tradition of fruit cultivation in this region, ‘Obst aus dem Alten Land’ is held in high esteem by consumers and enjoys a good reputation far beyond the region itself. With regard to the growing area, the term ‘Altes Land’ refers to the alluvial plains and sandy moorlands along the Lower Elbe. There is evidence that fruit has been cultivated in this area for over 600 years. For example, in record No 376 dated 25 May 1359 in the files of the Scharnebeck monastery, the name ‘Heyno Bůmgharde’ appears. In modern German this would be translated as ‘Heino Baumgarten’ (‘Baumgarten’ meaning ‘orchard’ in English) (see Urkunden — Regesten — Nachrichten Über das Alte Land und Horneburg, Volume 2, by Carl Röper published in Jork in 1986, for record 1398). In the 14th century, surnames were derived solely from an individual’s property or professional status. Heino Baumgarten must therefore have been an orchard owner. Confirmation of the existence of orchards in the Altes Land region is provided by a sales declaration from the year 1374 (see Urkunden — Regesten — Nachrichten Über das Alte Land und Horneburg, Volume 3, by Carl Röper published in Jork in 1990, for record 1672), according to which Johann Cok sold his farm and orchard in Bassenfleth to Peter vam Berghe. These two records demonstrate the development of fruit cultivation in the area over a very long period. Altes Land is the largest self-contained fruit-growing area in northern Europe.

The encyclopaedia Bertelsmann Lexikon (Gütersloh, Berlin, Munich and Vienna, 1970 A, No 8911/087) provides the following definition under ‘Altes Land’: ‘fertile, heavily populated alluvial plain on the lower section of the river Elbe between Hamburg and Stade; agriculture, fruit and vegetable cultivation; principal town: Jork’. There is evidence that fruit has been grown in this region for over 600 years and, as explained above, Altes Land is the largest self-contained fruit-cultivation area in northern Europe.

Reference to publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

Markenblatt Vol. 14 of 9 April 2010, Part 7a-aa/c, p. 5753

http://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/geo/detail.pdfdownload/13301

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3) See footnote 2.