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

(2020/C 172/06)

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

‘OLIO LUCANO’

EU No: PGI-IT-02458 – 26.4.2019

PDO () PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

‘Olio lucano’

2. Member State or Third Country

Italy

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

‘Olio lucano’ PGI must comply with the following characteristics at the time of packaging:

a. Chemical/physical analysis — Acidity (expressed as oleic acid): maximum 0,6 %; Peroxide value: max.12 mEq O2/kg;

b. Sensory analysis Descriptor Median Olive fruitiness 2– Bitterness 2–7 Pungency 2– Grass and/or tomato and/or artichoke and/or almond and/or apple 0–6 ‘Olio lucano’ PGI has the following characteristics: colour ranging between green and yellow, medium fruitiness, medium bitterness and medium pungency, with possible aromatic notes of fresh grass, artichoke, tomato, almond and apple. The balance between the nuances of its aroma and taste is one of the specific hallmarks of this oil.

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

‘Olio lucano’ extra virgin olive oil must be obtained from the following olive cultivars or synonyms thereof, alone or in combination:

Acerenza, Ogliarola del Vulture (synonyms: Ripolese or Rapollese, Ogliarola di Melfi, Nostrale), Ogliarola del Bradano (synonyms: Comune, Ogliarola), Maiatica (synonyms: oliva di Ferrandina, Pasola), Nociara, Ghiannara, Augellina, Justa, Cornacchiola, Romanella, Carpinegna, Faresana, Sammartinengna, Spinoso, Cannellina, Cima di Melfi, Fasolina, Fasolona, Lardaia, Olivo da mensa, Orazio, Palmarola, Provenzale, Racioppa, Roma, Rotondella, Russulella, Scarpetta, Tarantina, Coratina, Frantoio, Leccino. The total of other varieties present may not exceed 20 %.

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

All stages of the production process, i.e. cultivation, harvesting and oil extraction, must take place within the identified geographical area.

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

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

Names, business names and brand names may be used truthfully, provided they have no laudatory purport and are not such as to mislead the consumer. Reference to packaging at an olive holding, an association of olive holdings or a firm located in the production area is permitted only if the oil is packaged at the holding or firm in question.

The use of other geographical indications is forbidden. The ‘Olio lucano’ designation must feature on the label in distinct and indelible lettering so that it can be distinguished from all the other information provided.

The label must contain the ‘Olio lucano’ PGI logo indicated below, which consists of a stylised amphora adorned by four oblique curved lines. The amphora is the earthenware container used to transport the oil in ancient times. The curved lines adorning the amphora are helical, evoking the characteristically contorted trunks of age-old olive trees. There are four curves like the four lines in the emblem of Basilicata, which represent the four main rivers that traverse the region: the Bradano, Basento, Agri and Sinni rivers.

U.tifnderneath the graphic sign appears the wording ‘olio lucano’ in lower case Mockup Bold followed by ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ (‘Protected Geographical Indication’]. The logo can also be embossed on the packaging.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area of ‘Olio lucano’ PGI is the entire administrative territory of the Basilicata region.

5. Link with the geographical area

The application for recognition is based on the reputation which ‘Olio lucano’ enjoys on account of its specific characteristics.

The link between ‘Olio lucano’ and the environment is based on geographical, soil and climate, agronomic, technological and historical-social factors which are both common and specific to the identified geographical region and which combine to determine the chemico-physical and organoleptic characteristics described in point 3.2.

The name ‘Olio lucano’ by which the product is known both in trade and in everyday language is derived from the history of the name of the identified geographical area. In fact, the territory of the present-day region of Basilicata overlaps with the larger territory known as Lucania in Roman times (around the 5th–4th century B.C.), a land inhabited by the Lucanians, an Italic people. The two names for the region, Basilicata and Lucania, are now used interchangeably in everyday language and this is why the adjective ‘lucano’ [Lucanian] is used to identify something or someone that belongs or comes from the Basilicata region.

Olive trees are widespread in the regional territory, which has the Pollino massif, the Murge hills, the Ofanto river and the Ionian and Tyrhennian seas as its natural boundaries. The area is distinctive for its various rivers and the presence of olive plantations on the hillsides sloping down to them. In the many small municipalities in Basilicata, perched on hilltops for historical reasons, the olive groves are concentrated mostly in the immediate vicinity of the villages and the high number of mills (about 150 in operation in the 131 municipalities in the region) mean that the olives can be pressed without delay.

A structural feature of the olive-growing sector in Basilicata is that the trees are grown on hillsides by small enterprises: 83 % are planted on hillsides and mountains and the average UAA of the olive holdings is less than a hectare. In these inland areas, olives are grown according to dry farming techniques on sloping land subject to erosion. In the past, it was traditional in all growing areas for olives to be grown on the least fertile, most marginal land. In such environments, olives are often the only feasible tree crop and therefore, as well as being a predominant feature of the landscape, they also play a very important role in social and environmental terms.

Basilicata belongs to the Central Mediterranean meteorological region, with annual isotherms of between 16°°C and 17 °C and a typically Mediterranean climate of hot summers and rain concentrated in the winter. One characteristic of the climate throughout the entire territory is the drought that is always a feature of the late spring and summer, albeit with a certain degree of variability in the drought index (annual rainfall/mean annual temperature) depending on the altitude and the temperature at the time.

Olive trees have been present in Basilicata since antiquity. Pieces of wood, olives, leaves and seeds dating from the 6th century BC were found in Pantanello di Metaponto during archaeological digs coordinated by Professor Carter from the University of Texas at Austin. Greek settlers to the Lucania region in ancient times brought with them varieties which have adapted to the environment, such as Maiatica, which cannot be found anywhere else. The range of varieties has also been broadened over the centuries as a result of the work of and exchanges between the various monastic communities to be found throughout the region (Matera, Monticchio, Banzi, Acerenza, Montescaglioso). One example of this is the genetic similarity between the Frantoio variety and the Ogliarola cultivar group described in Basilicata. Nowadays the range of varieties in the identified geographical area includes a uniform distribution of specific varieties such as Coratina, Leccino, Frantoio and Ogliarole in all growing areas. Together with the many local cultivars, these conditions help determine the specific characteristics which are shared by ‘Olio lucano’.

Given the combined effect of the human and geographical factors described above, in particular the soil and climate characteristics of the hillside growing environment, as well as the composition and distribution of the range of varieties in the identified geographical area, the distinctive hallmark of ‘Olio lucano’ PGI’ is the medium intensity of its organoleptic parameters and the balance between the nuances of its aroma and taste.

The oil produced in Basilicata with this peculiarity is known as ‘Olio lucano’, as confirmed by several prizes in competitions in Italy and elsewhere in the world and by the inclusion of various ‘Olio lucano’ oils with the above-mentioned characteristics in guides on the sector.

In the last three decades (since the late 1980s) there have been multiple records of the name ‘Olio lucano’ being used in trade, everyday language and scientific publications (Lupoli, 1989).

In trade, as well as the name ‘Olio lucano’ being used to identify the product directly (e.g. on labels issued by the ‘Lettieri’ undertaking from the municipality of Laurenzana in Potenza province, 1993), there are also many documentary records of the adjective ‘lucano’ or the name ‘Lucania’ being used on labels (e.g. ‘Colli lucani’ [Lucanian hills] ‘Bontà della Lucania’, [Goodness of Lucania] ‘Dalle colline lucane’ [From the Lucanian hills], etc.) and as part of the trade names of undertakings in the sector (e.g. ‘Podere Lucano’ [Lucanian farmstead] from the municipality of Ripacandida in Potenza province, ‘Oroverde Lucano srl’ [Lucanian Green Gold srl] from Ferrandina in Matera province, which clearly uses the adjective form ‘lucano’ to refer to the oil known as ‘green gold’.

However, the European legislation on PDOs and PGIs banning the use of geographical references on labels has prevented the name being used by unaccredited producers.

From the year 2000 onwards, the ‘OLIVARUM’ regional competition held for extra virgin olive oil produced in Basilicata has helped raise the profile of olive-growing and encouraged producers to continue improving quality.

The fact that operators have been taking part in the main national and international events in the sector has attracted the attention of consumers and operators from outside the region, thus boosting the reputation of ‘Olio lucano’.

The following is a list of the main prizes and acknowledgements received at various national and international competitions up to 2016:

— ‘ERCOLE OLIVARIO’ national competition, 2011, Winner – 2nd prize

— ‘ERCOLE OLIVARIO’ national competition, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2017, Finalist Oils

— ‘L’ORCIOLO D’ORO’ national competition, 2014, Winner – 3rd prize

— ‘L’ORCIOLO D’ORO’ national competition, from 2006 to 2017, Grand Mention

— ‘LEON D’ORO’ national competition, 2007, 2009, 2013, Grand Mention

— ‘MONTIFERRU’ national competition, 2013, Winner – 3rd prize

— ‘MONTIFERRU’ national competition, 2014, Winner – 2nd prize

— ‘MONTIFERRU’ national competition, 2016, Winner – 1st prize

— ‘SOL D’ORO’ national competition, 2009, 2013, Grand Mention

— ‘SOL D’ORO’ national competition, 2016, Winner – 3rd prize

— ‘BIOL’ international competition, 2013, 1 Gold medal, 3 Silver medals

— ‘BIOL’ international competition, 2014, 3 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals

— ‘BIOL’ international competition, 2016, 1 Extra gold medal, 1 Gold medal, 2 Silver medals

— ‘JOOP’ (Japan Olive Oil Prize) international competition, 2014, Winner 1st Prize Medium category

— ‘JOOP’ (Japan Olive Oil Prize) international competition, 2016, Mention

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

The full text of the product specification can be consulted at http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or alternatively:

by going directly to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità’ (at the top right of the screen), then on ‘Prodotti DOP IGP STG’ (on the left-hand side of the screen) and finally on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

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