EN Official Journal of the European Union C 186/23

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

2009/C 186/11

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PATATA DI BOLOGNA’

EC No: IT-PDO-0005-0349-15.06.2004

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali Address: Via XX Settembre 20 00187 Roma RM ITALIA Tel. +39 0646655106 Fax +39 0646655306 E-mail: saco7@politicheagricole.it

2. Group:

Name: Consorzio Patata di Bologna D.O.P. Address: Via Bassa dei Sassi 1/2 40138 Bologna BO ITALIA Tel. +39 051532320 Fax +39 051532320 E-mail: cptb@libero.it Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 1.6.: Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed, listed in Annex II — potato

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name:

‘Patata di Bologna’

4.2. Description:

The product must be of the Primura variety and must be identifiable from its physical appearance, its chemical composition and its organoleptic characteristics as described below: shape of tubers: regular, elongated oval, mainly, with superficial, shallow eyes; skin: smooth and intact without any external defects that alter its characteristics; size of the tubers: homogeneous, between 40 mm and 75 mm; firm texture with a colour ranging from white to pale yellow; keeps well.

The average composition per 100 grams of edible potato is as follows: water from 70 % to 85 %; protein from 1,8 % to 2,2 %; fat from 0,09 % to 1,12 %; carbohydrates from 13,5 % to 17,0 %; fibre from 2,2 % to 2,7 %; minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, nickel, chrome, chlorine, phosphorus, fluorine, iodine, boron, selenium) from 1,0 % to 1,2 %; vitamins from 0,05 % to 0,1 %.

The Primura variety is the symbol of the ‘Patata di Bologna’, because of its appearance on the plate, average dry matter content (19 % to 20 %), firmness, typical but not over pronounced flavour and its good keeping qualities. These characteristics are the result of cultivation in suitable soils that have remained unchanged over the years and this potato is still today the one that meets the demands of the market.

4.3. Geographical area:

The Province of Bologna.

4.4. Proof of origin:

The fact that the ‘Patata di Bologna’ originates in the specified geographical area is certified by the designated inspection body on the basis of a range of requirements on growers during the whole of the production cycle. The keeping of registers of growers and packers by the designated inspection body and the declaration to the latter of the annual quantities produced are the principal means by which product traceability is ensured throughout each stage of production.

4.5. Method of production:

The specification lays down, among other things, that the first operation is preparing the soil by opening furrows in the autumn preceding sowing to allow the winter rain and frost, etc. to break down the biggest clods of earth and create a suitable soil texture for the seed potatoes.

Certified seed potatoes, either whole or cut, must be used. Their preparation for sowing includes presprouting, which makes the seed potatoes develop earlier once in the ground and gives them greater resistance. During this phase, the tubers are kept in frost-free premises with diffuse lighting until a stumpy, robust sprout a few millimetres long develops.

Continuous cropping is not allowed and potatoes may be grown again on the same plot only after other crops have been grown there for two years.

Fertilisation is carried out as required by the crop and must provide the most appropriate nutritional elements, such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, so as to produce the best possible crop in terms of both quantity and quality. Maximum production is 60 tonnes per hectare.

The cultivation techniques used are supplemented by fertilisation and protection measures, in accordance with the specifications of the Region of Emilia Romagna.

The potatoes are harvested when they reach full physical maturity, i.e. when the skin does not rip when rubbed with the fingers, as this permits the use of potato lifters that place the tubers in containers suitable for their transport to the delivery points.

The potatoes are stored in bins in cold rooms at a controlled temperature of between 4 °C and 7 °C, away from the light.

The post-harvest treatments provided for in the relevant legislation are permitted.

The potato is grown exclusively on agricultural holdings and packed by undertakings located in the Province of Bologna because correct packing is essential to preserve the excellent organoleptic and commercial qualities of ‘Patata di Bologna’ PDO. Local undertakings have acquired a store of knowledge regarding the correct handling and transport of the product, its management immediately following harvest and its cold storage to reduce moisture loss. This knowledge and the procedures followed on site preserve the qualities of the ‘Patata di Bologna’ PDO, while respecting its natural physiological processes.

4.6. Link:

The characteristics of the ‘Patata di Bologna’ PDO, such as its smell, flavour and the intense colour of the potato itself and of its skin, are the result not only of genetics but also of the environment in which it is grown (soil, climate, cultivation techniques, how it is stored), thus clearly showing the link between the ‘Patata di Bologna’ and the Province of Bologna.

The morphological characteristics of the soils, predominantly alluvial and stratified and therefore rich in oxygen, create very favourable conditions for the development of the potato.

Thanks to this special environment, a result of the interaction between the soil (pedology and hydrography) and the climate (rainy during the autumn-winter period, with moderate spring temperatures from as early as the end of February and optimal temperatures, i.e. around 25 °C, during the formation of the tubers), the potato that develops has physical (texture, grain size) and organoleptic (particular smell and flavour) characteristics that give it a particular quality.

As described in a work by Contri (1817), the soils of the Province of Bologna are suitable for potato-growing because potatoes prefer ‘low land, already drained and raised by alluvial deposits’, characteristic of the reclaimed land in the Province.

Changes to the land over time have produced lowland areas of alluvial deposits from rivers and streams originating in the Apennines and still active today. These soils have a medium to fine texture, a good depth and are well drained. They are alkaline, contain organic material and are rich in the nutritional elements essential to potatoes, viz. potassium, which is present in large quantities, phosphorus and nitrogen.

Such conditions are ideal for growing potatoes, which benefit in particular because of their bunched roots, lack of a taproot and their dense system of root hairs.

As regards water resources, thanks to its natural streams and rivers (the Idice, Reno, Gaiana, Fossatone, Quaderna, Rido, Sillaro, Samoggia and the Savena) and also its canals (viz. the Emiliano-Romagnolo Canal), the area is well equipped to provide water for cultivation in spring and summer, the period in which needs are greatest.

The Bologna plain enjoys moderate spring temperatures from the end of February/beginning of March, which are ideal to ensure that the seed potatoes sown during that period sprout properly. During the period of maximum plant growth (April to June), temperatures reach 25 °C to 28 °C, promoting the development and growth of the tubers and correct ripening. Rainfall, which is spread throughout the year, favours the crop during the period of initial plant growth and when tubers first begin to form. It also guarantees the replenishment of the groundwater aquifers and allows preparation of the soils before potatoes are sown.

Potatoes have been grown in the Province of Bologna for many years, underpinned by the area's particularly suitable soils, the excellent quality and organoleptic characteristics of certain varieties and the traditional cultivation techniques used by growers.

The link with the Province of Bologna arose from the need to feed the population, particularly when wheat harvests were poor (wheat invariably being seen as a staple food) and from the conviction that potato-growing would be of benefit to the Province in the sense that the latter would no longer have to rely on food purchased from other states. The link was gradually strengthened through the hard work of the growers, who developed step by step almost perfect cultivation techniques, increasingly efficient equipment adapted to the product, cutting-edge processes for storing the product, and marketing structures able to exploit fully the product’s commercial and quality characteristics, thanks in particular to the high level of specialisation in the area.

In the early nineteenth century, potato-growing spread in the Province of Bologna, promoted in particular by the agronomist Pietro Maria Bignami, who introduced the potato to farmers. Alongside its use as animal feed, it found its way onto the table.

Various studies carried out at the end of the eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth describe the positive and the negative points of the potato, but it is particularly as a result of the work of Contri, a circular of Cardinal Opizzoni the Papal Legate (1817), and a practical description of potato-growing by Benni that the area devoted to potato-growing saw a notable increase.

Mention should also be made of the works of Berti-Pichat and Bignardi on potato-growing in the Province of Bologna, published in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1900, cultivation of this crop had reached its maximum possible extent and had become for the whole Province, from the plain to the hills and mountains, an important source of revenue for the local rural economy. A whole branch of the economy grew up around the potato and modern storage and marketing structures adapted to the efficient management of the product were developed.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Check Fruit s.r.l. Address: Via Cesare Boldrini 24 40121 Bologna BO ITALIA Tel. — Fax — E-mail: —

4.8. Labelling:

When marketed for consumption, the ‘Patata di Bologna’ must be packed in: — bags of 4 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg and 25 kg with a central band or stamp of at least 10 cm, — nets of 0,5 kg, 1 kg, 1,5 kg, 2 kg and 2,5 kg, — vertbags, quickbags, girsacs and bags of 0,5 kg, 1 kg, 1,5 kg, 2 kg, 2,5 kg and 5 kg, — trays of 0,5 kg, 0,750 kg and 1 kg, — boxes and baskets of 10 kg, 12,5 kg, 15 kg, 20 kg and 25 kg.

Packaging must bear the words: ‘Patata di Bologna’ followed by ‘D.O.P.’ and the logo comprising a stylised image of a potato crossed by two diagonal red and blue bands. The specifications for the colours are as follows: — the yellow of the stylised potato is Pantone Yellow 116 C, quadricolour 0/20/100/0, — the red of the first diagonal band is Pantone Warm Red C, quadricolour 0/100/100/0, — the blue of the second diagonal band is Pantone Blue 286 C, quadricolour 100/70/0/0.

Any text must be in Avenir typeface, normal and bold.

The mark on packaging must not be less than 20 mm along its base and the PDO ‘Patata di Bologna’ must be in characters larger than any other text on the label.