EN Official Journal of the European Union C 286/7

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

2013/C 286/04

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).

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

AMENDMENT APPLICATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 9

‘NOCCIOLA DI GIFFONI’

EC No: IT-PGI-0217-0999-15.05.2012

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment

—  Name of product — ☒ Product description —  Geographical area — ☒ Proof of origin — ☒ Method of production —  Link — ☒ Labelling —  National requirements —  Other

2. Type of change

— ☒ Amendment to Single Document or Summary Sheet —  Amendment to Specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the Single Document nor the Summary has been published —  Amendment to Specification that requires no amendment to the published Single Document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006) —  Temporary amendment to Specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

3. Amendment(s)

3.1. Product description

— Article 1 of the production specification has been amended. The new wording specifies that the name also applies to shelled hazelnuts and hazelnuts that have been roasted (shelled and unshelled) and peeled. It has been made clear that the name ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ also applies to shelled hazelnuts. This was not made explicit in the current specification, even though Article 7 thereof lays down specific standards for the packaging of the shelled product. The inclusion of roasted and peeled hazelnuts is justified by market demand, which calls for ready-to-use type products in the confectionery sector. As well as enhancing the flavour of the hazelnut, the roasting process enables the perisperm to be detached, ensuring the peel is removed from the shelled hazelnut. Indeed, the fact that ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ is characteristically easy to peel is what prompts the sector's demand for the hazelnut to be roasted (in its shelled and unshelled forms).

— Article 6 of the production specification stipulates the commercial characteristics of ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ in the various forms entitled to use the registered name following the above amendment.

— The specification states that kernels less than 13 mm across resulting from the shelling of hazelnuts with a nut size not less than 18 mm, may be used solely for the manufacture of composite, prepared or processed products for which whole nuts are not required.

— The degree of peeling is specified as the average for the sample in question.

3.2. Proof of origin

— Article 5 has been amended. The requirement for the existence of a professional trade organisation duly registered with the municipalities of the production area has been replaced by a more specific requirement for the existence of a register in which all producers and hazel growers contributing to the production of Nocciola di Giffoni are listed. Rather than being filed with the municipal authorities, this list is managed and kept up to date by the supervisory authority which, under the pertinent regulations, also monitors compliance with the production specification. The details of the supervisory authority have therefore been included in the production specification.

3.3. Method of production

— Two new paragraphs have been introduced in Article 4. The first paragraph provides for the inclusion of certain hazel groves with higher growing density of up to a maximum 2 000 plants per hectare, being located on terraced land or slopes with a gradient of more than 15 %. In these areas, already included in the geographical area, hazel cultivation also plays an important role in soil protection and conservation: there is an interaction between the greater planting densities found in more steeply sloping hilly areas and protection and conservation of the soil, which the dense planting of fruit trees by humans over the centuries has helped to maintain. The second paragraph makes provision for a maximum density of 1 800 plants per hectare exclusively for plantations established prior to the registration of the ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ name. These are end-of-cycle plantations temporarily authorised to have an increased density of plants per hectare since compliance with the conditions generally laid down will come about naturally as the plants die off.

3.4. Labelling

— Article 7 now stipulates that only during the transfer phase from the grower or from the cooperative collection centres to the initial purchaser/owner of the processing and/or packaging unit may hazelnuts be sold in bulk in suitable containers so as to allow the traceability of the product.

— Article 8 of the production specification now stipulates that the shelled product may be packaged simply in this form or roasted and peeled as per the argument set out above at point 1 — Product description.

— The distinctive product logo has been amended to remove the European logo inappropriately contained within it.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (3)

‘NOCCIOLA DI GIFFONI’

EC No: IT-PGI-0217-0999-15.05.2012

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name

‘Nocciola di Giffoni’

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 the product to which the name in (1) applies

The indication ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ refers only to the fruit of biotypes corresponding to the hazelnut cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, which is produced in the geographical area defined in point 4.

‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ must meet the following commercial standards

— Whole, unshelled hazelnuts: hazelnuts collected at the hazel grove and subjected to a process of cleaning and processing with a view to removing foreign bodies and empty shells, dried as necessary to ensure extended conservation.

— Shelled hazelnuts: hazelnuts with shells removed but retaining the perisperm intact.

Both categories may be roasted in order to remove the perisperm and enhance the aroma and organoleptic characteristics.

‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ may therefore take the following forms:

— whole, unshelled hazelnuts,

— whole, unshelled and roasted hazelnuts,

— shelled hazelnuts,

— shelled, roasted and peeled hazelnuts.

When placed on the market, ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ must have the following characteristics:

shape of the nut: subspherical;

nut dimensions: medium, not less than 18 mm across;

shell average thickness (1,11-1,25 mm) of a more or less intense hazel colour with darker brown striations;

kernel: subspherical in form, very occasionally with fibres, no less than 13 mm across; kernels less than 13 mm across resulting from the shelling of with compliant shell, shape and nut size may not be placed directly on the market but used solely for the manufacture of composite, prepared or processed products for which whole nuts are not required;

ease of peeling: excellent, not less than 85 % (average of the sample in question);

flesh: white, of good consistency, aromatic;

yield after shelling: not less than 43 %;

relative humidity of the kernel after drying: not more than 6 %.

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

‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ must be grown and harvested in the geographical area of production. Sorting must be carried out immediately after collection with a view to removing soil, stones and other foreign bodies, followed by drying of the hazelnuts.

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

The product may be packaged in the following forms:

(a) unshelled: in cloth bags or bags of similar material;

(b) shelled, or shelled, roasted and peeled: in paper or cloth bags, in cardboard boxes or other similar materials.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling

The container must be marked, in letters of the same size, with the words ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ followed by ‘Protected Geographical Indication’ and/or the EU logo.

The distinctive logo of the protected geographical indication must be used on the label.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The productoin area comprises the territories of the following municipalities in the Province of Salerno: Giffoni Valle Piana, Giffoni Sei Casali, San Cipriano Picentino, Fisciano, Calvanico, Castiglione del Genovesi, Montecorvino Rovella and also the medium and high altitude hill areas of the following municipalities: Baronissi, Montecorvino Pugliano, Olevano Sul Tusciano, San Mango Piemonte, Acerno.

5. Link with the geographical area

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area

The municipal territories involved in growing ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ form a continuous belt located in the hills at medium and high altitudes where hazelnuts are the most widespread crop. The Picentino and Irno valleys are identified with growing of the ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ variety, which finds its optimal soil and climate conditions in this area.

The climate conditions and geological make-up of the soils are associated with the presence of the Monte Picentini massif and a number of higher peaks such as Monte Polveracchio, Acellica and Monte Mai. The soil is of volcanic origin, thus affording optimum fertility conditions by yielding mineral elements. In terms of climate, the area is characterised by good rainfall levels (over 1 000 mm a year), falling predominantly in autumn and spring, which is generally sufficient for hazel growing without irrigation works. Minimum winter temperatures rarely fall below zero, while in summer the cooling action of onshore breezes generally keeps temperatures below 30 degrees Centigrade. The mildness of the winter months is extremely important since this is the period when the delicate phase of the hazel flowering takes place.

5.2. Specificity of the product

‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ is the fruit of the local variety ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ which, over time, has come to be uniquely characteristic of the hazel groves of the Picentino and Irno valleys. ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ is characterised by the presence of a thin perisperm which is easy to detach after roasting. This feature means that ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ is particularly prized by the confectionery industries of Campania.

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)

There is evidence in historic sources for the excellent reputation which ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ enjoys, not only in the production area but also throughout Italy and abroad, as the product is closely associated with the production environment, inasmuch as it is based on a native variety. The ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ variety produced in the Picentino and Irmo valleys has special characteristics which have long contributed to ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ being highly valued on the market and acknowledged as commanding a price higher than other hazelnuts.

The 19th century saw a boom in the growth of the product in response to demand from the confectionery industry, which prized ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ for its characteristic of being easy to peel thanks to the thinness of the perisperm. Nowadays, ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ is still supplied in response to a high demand from processing industries which use it as a raw material for prestigious refined confectionery lines.

The growing of ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ in this area brings out the best of its characteristics, as was already pointed out towards the end of the 17th century by Vincenzo de Caro, a historian from Salerno, who, speaking of the development of the crop in the Giffoni areas, highlighted the productive potential of the land in the area for growing hazel. The Picentini area and the Irno valley, meanwhile, naturally lend themselves to the cultivation of hazel, given that the plant has always spontaneously grown there. Furthermore, the volcanic soil provides optimum conditions for fertility and, in general, the qualities of ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ may be attributed specifically to the fortunate mix of environmental, natural and human factors typical of the production area.

Reference to the publication of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (4))

The Ministry launched the national objection procedure with the publication of the proposal for recognising ‘Nocciola di Giffoni’ as a protected geographical indication in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 75 of 29 March 2012.

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

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 (http://www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (in the top right-hand corner of the screen) and then on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3) See footnote 2.

(4) See footnote 2.