EN Official Journal of the European Union C 140/4

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 140/04

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.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘MELA ROSSA CUNEO’

EC No: IT-PGI-0005-0915-16.12.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’

2. Member State or third country:

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Product type:

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

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

‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ PGI apples are produced only from the following varieties and their clones:

(a) Red Delicious (b) Gala (c) Fuji (d) Braeburn

Moreover, they must have the following characteristics:

Red Delicious Epicarp: deep wine red, covering ≥ 90 % of the skin surface, with no greasiness or russeting except inside the stem cavity Size: diameter ≥ 75 mm or weight ≥ 180 g Sugar content: ≥ 11 °Brix Firmness of the flesh: ≥ 5 kg

Gala Epicarp: deep brilliant red, covering ≥ 80 % of the skin surface, mostly streaked and sometimes nuanced Size: diameter ≥ 70 mm or weight ≥ 160 g Sugar content: ≥ 12 °Brix Firmness of the flesh: ≥ 5 kg

Fuji Epicarp: pale to deep red, covering ≥ 60 % of the skin surface Size: diameter ≥ 75 mm or weight ≥ 180 g Sugar content: ≥ 12 °Brix Firmness of the flesh: ≥ 6 kg

Braeburn Epicarp: orange red to deep red, mostly streaked, covering ≥ 80 % of the skin surface Size: diameter ≥ 70 mm or weight ≥ 160 g Sugar content: ≥ 11,5 °Brix Firmness of the flesh: ≥ 6 kg

When released for consumption, the fruit must be whole with a fresh and healthy aspect, clean and free of foreign matter or odours; it must meet the standards of marketing classes Extra and I.

The minimum quality standards for the different varieties and classes are those laid down by Regulation (EU) No 543/2011.

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:

All stages in the growing and harvesting of the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ PGI must take place in the identified geographical area.

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

Conservation of the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ PGI should be by refrigeration in cold stores in line with traditional methods, where the temperature, humidity and atmospheric composition are such as to preserve its specific quality characteristics.

The ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ may only be marketed during the periods indicated below:

Gala Beginning of August to end of May Red Delicious Beginning of September to end of June Braeburn End of September to end of July Fuji Beginning of October to end of July

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ apples must be packed in packaging permitting clear identification of the product. The words ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ PGI must appear, clearly and perfectly legibly in letters larger than those of any other wording present, on the packaging or on the individual fruit to allow the product to be identified.

Where individual stickers are used, these must be present on at least 70 % of the fruit.

Together with the protected geographical indication, indications and/or images referring to company names, trade names or logos of consortia or individual companies may be used provided they do not have promotional content and are not likely to mislead the consumer.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The production area of the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ comprises municipalities in the provinces of Cuneo and Torino located at an altitude of 280-650 m above sea level, as follows:

municipalities in the province of Cuneo: Bagnolo Piemonte, Barge, Borgo San Dalmazzo, Boves, Brondello, Busca, Caraglio, Castellar, Castelletto Stura, Centallo, Cervasca, Cervere, Costigliole Saluzzo, Cuneo, Dronero, Envie, Fossano, Lagnasco, Manta, Martiniana Po, Pagno, Piasco, Revello, Rossana, Sant’Albano Stura, Salmour, Saluzzo, Sanfront, Savigliano, Scarnafigi, Tarantasca, Valgrana, Venasca, Verzuolo, Villafalletto, Villar San Costanzo;

municipalities in the province of Torino: Bibiana, Bricherasio, Campiglione Fenile, Cavour, Garzigliana, Luserna S. Giovanni, Lusernetta, Osasco, S. Secondo di Pinerolo, Pinerolo.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The part of the region of Piedmont concerned is a plateau that runs along the Western Alps, more precisely the Maritime and Cozie Alps; it constitutes a unique topographic feature in the form of a balcony on a narrow plateau between the Western Alps and the Po Valley.

The defined geographical area is the principal production area for apples in the region of Piedmont. This is where the growing of red-skinned apples began and developed, eventually becoming part of the local fabric.

The areas where the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ is grown straddle the Piedmont provinces of Cuneo and Torino. For reasons of history and geography, they have played an important role in developing the anthocyanic colouring of the apples grown there. The territorial characteristics of the geographical area include its altitude, latitude, topography, climate and a particularly intense solar radiation.

The temperature range between day-time highs and night-time lows in the area is determined by its location between the Alps and the Po Valley; in the period from late summer through autumn, which corresponds to the pre-harvest ripening season of the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ varieties, the median temperature is 13,8 °C. Such temperature variations are exceptional compared to those generally recorded in most apple-growing regions in Europe, whether they are located on plains or in mountainous terrain, where temperature changes are mainly determined by the rapid passage of meteorological disturbances.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The characteristics that have earned the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ its reputation are the characteristic deep red colour of its skin and the resulting aspect of the fruit in terms of coverage (percentage of the skin presenting this dominant colour) and the brilliance of the epicarp. This makes the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ easily identifiable in local, regional, national and international markets.

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 particularly pleasing aspect of the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ is the result of a propitious interaction between the geographical area of production and the varieties and clones of apples that have traditionally been grown there.

The characteristic red colour owes its quality to the following three physical and climatic factors associated with the geographical area:

— the exceptionally wide temperature range during the pre-harvest period,

— the moistening of the fruit skin from dewdrops forming during the coolest hours of the night, with the result that the skin undergoes a characteristic cycle of alternate wetting and drying,

— morning and evening mountain breezes which have the effect of reinforcing the temperature and moisture cycles.

These physical phenomena, combined with exposure to sunlight, influence the formation and development of anthocyanins, the antioxidant pigments responsible for the colour of the epicarp. The formation of pigments is closely linked to the temperature range. The colour coverage, as perceived by the human eye, depends on the percentage of cells containing pigments and the degree of anthocyanin dilution in the cells. The development of anthocyanins is influenced by the wetting and drying cycle combined with the quality of sunlight exposure.

A document drawn up by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (CN) gives a thorough account of the growing of red-skinned apples in the geographical area. In the 18th century, as the ideas of the Enlightenment took hold, several agricultural academies and associations were founded in Piedmont to which we owe extensive varietal research, the spread of new cultivars and the development of growing techniques on a scientific basis. Thus conditions were created that were conducive to the spread of red-skinned apple varieties, particularly appreciated for the intensity and brilliance of the colour they develop in the Cuneo environment.

The development of modern apple-growing in Cuneo dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, and among the range of varieties grown, red-skinned apples steadily gained ground until they reached the predominance they enjoy today. The term ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ took hold in the 1960s and 1970s, when it started to appear in accounting records and in the journey forms accompanying products intended for the internal market. The first promotional campaign referring to the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ also dates back to this period, and in the 1980s the name appeared on the invoices of exported products. Over the same period, the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ was shown at fruit-growing fairs intended not only for professional growers but also for consumers, and in the first decade of the 21st century its commercial identity was increasingly consolidated through projects promoting its sale at large retail outlets in the north-west of Italy.

Reference to publication of the specification:

The Ministry launched the national procedure to allow objections to the proposed amendment to the ‘Mela Rossa Cuneo’ Protected Geographical Indication in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 265 of 14 November 2011.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following web page:

http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or

by going direct to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (http://www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (at the top right of the screen) and then on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

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