EN Official Journal of the European Union C 264/40

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

(2015/C 264/05)

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

‘GRANADA MOLLAR DE ELCHE’/‘GRANADA DE ELCHE’

EU No: ES-PDO-0005-01230-19.5.2014

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name

‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’

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 and cereals, fresh or processed

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’ is the fruit of the Mollar de Elche variety of the species Punica granatum L., classes Extra and I as defined in the Codex Standard for pomegranates. The product is characterised by its acid-sugar balance, creamy yellow to red outer skin and the anthocyanin content of the arils, which gives them a deep pink to red colour.

The ripe fruit has the following characteristics:

1. Morphological — Shape of the fruit: round; the inside is divided into lobes and within these are the seeds (arils). The outer skin is of fine to medium thickness, smooth and shiny. — Colour: from cream to deep red on the outside. The seeds are covered with a juicy pulp ranging from deep pink to red in colour.

2. Physical and chemical: — Degrees Brix: minimum 14° — Acidity (% citric acid): minimum 0,18 and maximum 0,24 — Maturity index (Brix/acidity ratio): minimum 60 and maximum 90

3. Organoleptic The pulp is moderately astringent and tastes very sweet, while the seeds are mild.

The fruit must have the following characteristics:

(a) They must be whole, clean and healthy; fruit showing signs of any kind of rotting or other impairment are excluded. They must look fresh and be free of foreign odours and/or tastes and free of abnormal external moisture.

(b) The size of ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’/‘Granada de Elche’ is judged by the weight of each fruit and fruit weighing less than 125 g are excluded.

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

—

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

All steps in production must take place in the defined geographical area.

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

The product must be prepared and packaged within the defined geographical area to prevent deterioration that may result from excessive handling or transportation of fruit that is not properly prepared and packed.

This is also important with regard to the fruit’s characteristic shape, as at the end opposite to the stalk, the pomegranate has a calyx shaped like a crown, closed and with a short neck. If it is not handled properly the skin and crown may be damaged. In order to prevent the fruit being knocked, grazed or bruised as a result of incorrect transport and/or excessive handling, which would impair the characteristics of the skin and/or the quality of the pulp or damage the crown, the product must be packaged at source.

Once the pomegranates have been picked, they are taken to the packhouses. They may be brushed with soft pig bristles, so that the crown does not get broken. The fruit must be kept at a temperature of 4-8 °C.

Preparation and packaging at source also guarantees traceability, as the packaging in which the pomegranates are dispatched must bear the particulars that are mandatory for the Protected Designation of Origin, together with the origin of the product, as prescribed by the single control system in operation up until dispatch to the final consumer. Two types of packaging may be used: up to a maximum weight of 5 kg and up to a maximum weight of 10 kg.

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

The wording or labels identifying ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’ intended for consumption must be accompanied by a conformity mark known as a secondary label, identified by an alphanumeric code, to be affixed by the packhouse in such a way that it cannot be reused and ensuring that traceability is guaranteed. These secondary labels are issued by the Regulatory Board on a non-discriminatory basis to all operators complying with the specification.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area is situated in the province of Alicante in the south-east of the Autonomous Community of Valencia and comprises all the municipalities that make up the comarcas of Bajo Vinalopó, Alacantí and Bajo Segura.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors:

Climate

As regards climate, the south of the Autonomous Community of Valencia has features that distinguish it from other parts of the Spanish Mediterranean. In particular: low precipitation, around 263 mm per year, high levels of sunshine, not much cloud and a high number of days with no cloud at all, with an especially dry period when the pomegranates are ripening, from June to September. The defined geographical area lies mostly within the BSh or hot semi-arid climate zone and to a lesser extent in the BSk zone or cold semi-arid zone (Köppen-Geiger climate classification.

Soil

Most of the parcels planted with pomegranates in the production area have clay loam soils. These soils have a pH (8-9) and levels of carbonates (around 45,76 %) and active lime (around 10 %) that are much higher than those found in other regions and production areas. These salts in the soil, those in the water used to irrigate the trees and irrigation management (Intrigliolo et al, 2011) are a specific parameter in the production of the Mollar variety.

Human factors:

Cultivation practices

In Spain, pomegranates are grown mainly in the south-east of the country. According to the Anuario de Estadística Agraria in 2008 there were 2 387 hectares planted with pomegranates, of which 84,4 % were in the province of Alicante, in the comarcas which make up the defined geographical area.

Of the different varieties grown in the area (Mollar, Valenciana and Wonderful), Mollar was a local exclusive until recent years. It was obtained by the local farmers selecting over decades those plants which gave the best quality fruit and which best adapted to the area’s climate and soil conditions, which were propagated by grafting or cuttings.

As it has been established there for so long, the local growers have developed cultivation techniques to produce the best possible results. Every year the trees are shaped and/or maintained by pruning; sucker control (mainly by mechanical means) and manual thinning of developing fruit (in several stages) to obtain fruit less damaged by pests and of a more uniform colour and size.

Long years of experience in growing ‘Granada Mollar de Elche’ have led producers to establish specific irrigation management as a means for improving fruit set and preventing fruit splitting.

5.2. Specificity of the product

The Granada Mollar grown in the defined area has characteristics that distinguish it from pomegranates grown elsewhere. The environmental conditions affect the physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the fruit and also the date of harvest.

The date of commercial maturity of the Mollar variety is determined by two factors: the sugar (soluble solids) content of the juice must be higher than 14° Brix and the colour of the skin must have changed from green to cream, with no green tones. In the defined area the fruit reaches commercial maturity in the first week of October, though the first batches may be harvested a week earlier or later depending on maximum day and night-time temperatures in the period when the colour changes. The fruit is harvested earlier than in areas further north or at a higher altitude.

The titratable acidity of the juice is between 0,18 and 0,24 (expressed as percentage of citric acid). The acid-sugar balance gives the product its characteristic sweet taste.

On the outside the colour of the fruit is cream to red, with a shiny appearance. The colour of the juice is typical of pomegranates grown in the area, due to the anthocyanin content.

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 environmental conditions (semi-arid climate with mild temperatures in winter and low rainfall, and scarcely any rain in summer), the strong sunshine and high temperatures in the period when the fruit is developing and ripening, affect the outer colour, the taste and anthocyanin content of the Granada Mollar grown in the area.

The dry weather that occurs in the months before the harvesting season begins (from June to September) turns the juice a deeper red.

The range of maximum temperatures that prevail in the area when the fruit is developing (July-August), over 30 °C, but under 40 °C produces fruit whose acidity, due to organic acids, is between 0,18 and 0,24 expressed as percentage of citric acid. The acid-sugar balance gives the product its characteristic sweet taste.

These conditions also affect flowering and the date of harvesting, which is in the first week of October, but may be a week earlier or later depending on maximum day and night-time temperatures in the period when the colour changes.

Publication reference of the specification

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

http://www.agricultura.gva.es/pc_granadamollarelche

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