EN Official Journal of the European Union C 27/17

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

2012/C 27/08

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 of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PIMIENTO DE FRESNO-BENAVENTE’

EC No: ES-PGI-0005-0705-19.06.2008

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’

2. Member State or third country:

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

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

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in point 1 applies:

Fruit of the capsicum plant Capsicum annuum L. intended for fresh consumption (non-processed), selected sweet peppers of the types ‘morro de vaca’ or ‘morrón’.

The mature fruit has the following characteristics:

Morphological: — : shape of fruit : rectangular, nearly square, length greater than width, — : minimum width : 10 centimetres, — : colour of fruit : red, — : shape of apex : deeply depressed, — : thickness of flesh : more than 8 millimetres, — : number of lobes : 3, 4 or 5.

Physical/chemical: — : moisture : more than 90 %, — : potassium : less than 3 g/100 g, — : unit weight : more than 300 g.

Organoleptic: Cutting the fruit reveals its thick red flesh. The juiciness of the fruit and softness of its skin can be readily appreciated in the mouth. It is mildly sweet, not bitter and not spicy. Little skin remains in the mouth after chewing and swallowing.

All of the fruit must comply with the FFV-28 UN-ECE Standard applicable to sweet peppers.

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 identified geographical area:

The sweet pepper must be produced solely in the identified geographical area, since it has been shown that there are natural factors affecting the qualities of the product.

The soils of the registered parcels are composed of more than 15 % clay, less than 33 % alluvium and less than 2,1 % organic matter. The supervisory body authorises the application of soil conditioners where the amount of organic matter in the soil is less than 1 %.

Maximum planting density is 85 000 plants per hectare.

Sweet peppers cannot be grown on the same parcel in two consecutive years.

The peppers are harvested in various stages, with the fruit meeting the requisite quality standards being selected.

The peppers may not be stacked in piles greater than one metre in height.

From the time of harvest the peppers must be sheltered from the sun in cool or well-ventilated places and kept strictly away from any materials likely to contaminate them.

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

Not applicable.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

The wording or labels on packages identifying ‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’ intended for consumption must include the terms ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida’ (‘Protected Geographical Indication’) and ‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’.

The product must also carry a conformity mark known as a secondary label, identified by an alphanumeric code, to be affixed by the packing plant in such a way that it cannot be reused and permitting guaranteed traceability.

The secondary labels must include the words ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’ (‘ “Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente” Protected Geographical Indication’) and its logo. The designation's logo is:

In packages of fruit intended for consumption containing more than six fresh sweet peppers a sticker with the logo on it must be affixed to each pepper.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The sweet peppers are grown in the north-west of the Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon, in 33 municipalities in the south-east of the province of León, 55 municipalities in the north of the province of Zamora and one municipality in the province of Valladolid.

This is an area of broad irrigated valleys covering 2 769 km2.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The topography of the area in which the sweet peppers are produced has been shaped by the watercourses of the rivers Esla and Tera flowing through it. The peppers are grown in the sedimentary material deposited on the floodplains of these rivers.

The area is at an average altitude of 756 metres above sea level, varying from 700 m in the south and south-east to 900 metres in the north-east.

The area's climate is fundamentally different from that of the adjacent sub-area to the west of the Esla, especially in terms of humidity and temperature.

The area is characterised by the predominance of alluvial soils composed of calcaric fluvisols. As regards texture, the soil is noteworthy for its remarkably high average sand content (55,78 %) and contains moderate amounts of alluvium (25,02 %) and clay (19,15 %).

The average pH of the soils is 7,16, and they are rich in organic matter (comprising 1,42 % of the soils on average).

It is these particular soil characteristics which give the sweet peppers certain distinctive organoleptic, physical and chemical characteristics.

Certain human factors linked to the tradition of sweet pepper cultivation in the area persist. These ensure the careful selection of the best plants and fruit for obtaining seed, identification of the best parcels of land for growing high-quality sweet peppers and the requisite experience in cultivating and care in handling the fruit.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The ‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’ is of the ‘morrón’ type, large, of a unit weight exceeding 300 grams, rectangular in shape, of length greater than width, of a minimum width of 10 cm, with flesh thicker than 8 mm and having from 3 to 5 lobes.

It is very juicy, with a soft skin. The mature fruit is red in colour. It is mildly sweet, not bitter and not spicy.

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 physical characteristics of the geographical area of production, linked to the characteristics of its soils, give these sweet peppers particular characteristics:

— in the production zone the peppers have thicker flesh, are juicier, less bitter, softer and leave fewer pieces of skin in the mouth. These qualities are related to the low levels of organic matter in the soil and the texture of the soils in the production area,

— the link between the product and the geographical area stems from, among other things, the product's reputation, as attested to by various historical and literary sources,

— the Historical Archives of the Province of Léon have preserved minutes of meetings of the town council of Fresno de la Vega dating from the 18th century referring to the tithes of vegetables given by the town, which included sweet peppers,

— in Fray Gerundio de Campazas, written in the middle of the 18th century by a celebrated writer going by the name of Padre Isla, sweet peppers feature as the culmination of a typical banquet taking place in Campazas, a town located within the production area of the ‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’,

— in his book Comer en León — Un siglo de historia: 1700-1800 (‘Eating in Léon — A century of history: 1700-1800’), Roberto Cubillo de la Puente affirms that at the end of the 18th century sweet peppers became seasonally available on the market of Léon and were highly regarded in the town, at least by certain sectors of the population. The documentary evidence consulted shows that sweet peppers were present on the market in August, September, October and November, leading one to surmise that they originated from areas near to those in which the ‘Pimiento de Fresno-Benavente’ is produced,

— Avance estadístico de la riqueza que en España representa la producción media anual de las plantas hortícolas y plantas industriales (‘Statistical estimate of the value of the average annual production of horticultural plants and industrial crops in Spain’), published in 1914 by the Directorate-General for Agriculture, Mines and Forests of the Ministry of Development, contains a description of the province of Zamora, where the variety of sweet pepper known as the ‘morro de vaca’ is indicated as the most common,

— the agronomic treatise El cultivo de pimientos, chiles y ajíes (‘The cultivation of sweet and chilli peppers’), published by Mundi-Prensa in 1996, states that the ‘morro de vaca’ variety may be referred to by various names depending on the locality and selection, and that the designation ‘de Fresno’ is used especially when referring to this production area,

— Inventario de Productos Agroalimentarios de Calidad de Castilla y León (1999/2000) (‘Inventory of high-quality agri-food products of Castile-Leon’), published by the Government of Castile-Leon, lists the ‘Pimiento morrón de Fresno de la Vega’ (produced in Fresno and other centres on the river Esla) and the ‘Pimiento de Benavente’ (with scattered production across the counties of Benavente and Los Valles); this publication also mentions that the ‘Pimiento de Benavente’‘is produced in other parts of the region, such as Fresno de la Vega’,

— both the ‘Pimiento morrón de Fresno de la Vega’ and ‘Pimiento de Benavente’ appear in the catalogue of fruits and vegetables of the Castile-Leon section of the European initiative ‘Culinary Heritage’ (a project partially financed by the European Commission), compiled to promote local products and traditional cuisine,

— the coat of arms of Fresno de la Vega, which dates from 1984, includes a sweet pepper as one of the identifying motifs of the municipality.

The current reputation of the sweet pepper has been reinforced by the popularity of both the Ferias del Pimiento, which are celebrated annually on the last weekend of September in Fresno de la Vega and in Benavente (and have also been incorporated into the official festival calendar of Castile-Leon), and of the Cofradía del Pimiento de Fresno (‘Association of the “Pimiento de Fresno” ’).

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://www.itacyl.es/opencms_wf/opencms/system/modules/es.jcyl.ita.extranet/elements/galleries/galeria_downloads/calidad/pliegos_IGP/IGP_Pimiento_Fresno-Benavente.pdf

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