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

(2021/C 398/18)

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

’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’

EU No: PGI-MN-02143 – 2 June 2016

PDO ( ) PGI (X )

1. Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’

2. Member State or Third Country

Mongolia

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

’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’, the Seabuckthorn from Uvs, refers to berries of which the Latin name is Hippophae rhamnoides. It is a cultivated species of a flowering plant in the family Elaeagnaceae.

’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ can take different colours generally yellow or orange but can also sometimes be reddish, cream of maroon.

It is characterized by its smell and size and has an elliptical or bulb shape. The elliptical berries have a length of 11 to 13 mm and a width of 8 to 10 mm. The round ones (bulbs) have a diameter of 6 to 9 mm. According to their form they weigh between 0,3 and 0,8 g (50-96 g/100 fruits).

The fruit pulp is juicy, not acidic; it has also an aromatic smell and a sour taste.

The seed is of white, brown, black, or shiny brown colour with a length of 4-7 mm, and width of 2-3 mm and the weight is around 13 gr for 1 000 seeds.

Moreover, depending on the harvest time, either in autumn or in winter, the berry will either be juicy, and therefore dedicated to juice processing, or it will be full of fat and thus processed into oil, respectively. The physical and organoleptic characteristics of the product are shown below (Table 1).

Table 1.

The physical and organoleptic characteristics:

Types Taste Smell Weight (g) Elliptical yellow Sweet and sour Sour 0,6-0,8 Elliptical orange Oily Flavorous 0,6-0,8 Bulb yellow Sweet Sour 0,3-0,4 Bulb orange Sour oily Sour 0,3-0,4

Uvs Seabuckthorn brings together fruity, acidulous, and subtly sweet flavour pairings.

’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ is particularly rich and has a higher content of fat produced from all its parts (seed, flesh, skin), carotene, vitamin B1 and vitamin C as shown in the table below.

Table 2.

Nutritional components of berry pulp (fresh weight):

No. Nutritional components Scale Minimum amount of Uvs Seabuckthorn 1 Fat % 2,50 2 Protein % 1,4 3 Vitamin C mg/kg 128 4 Vitamin B1 mg/kg 0,84 5 Carbohydrate % 8,9 6 Acidic % 0,75 7 Moisture % 78,13 8 Carotene mg/100gr 2,32

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

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

All steps in production must take place in the defined geographical area: from the plantation to the harvest.

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

Packaged products must contain the following information: raw materials of product, product name, manufacturer’s name and address, product’s serial number, volume and parcel, production date, storage period and the end of period, storage condition, and nutrition facts.

The packets and containers of the product shall bear the name ‘УВС ЧАЦАРГАНА’ and the following logos (in English and Mongolian):

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area for the production of ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’, consists of 10 administrative divisions (soums) of Uvs Province located in north-western Mongolia. These are the soums of Davst, Sagil, Turgen, Ulaangom, Tarialan, Naranbulag, Malchin, Zuungovi, Khyargas and Tes. They are located in the surroundings with a distance of approximately 50 km of the Uvs Lake basin.

5. Link with the geographical area

A strong causal link exists between the quality of ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ and its geographical origin.

The geographical area is situated in the Uvs province. The geographical area is surrounded by the Altai Mountains with altitudes reaching 4 000 m and presents in its center a wide plain including the Uvs Lake which is salty as it is the remainder of a sea. Like the Dead Sea, the Uvs Lake is empty of fishes or of any kind of living form, but presents big concretions of salt apparent on its shores.

The Uvs lake basin presents soils which appear to have a particular composition with extremely high rates of exchangeable CaO, of MgO and K20.

The basin area enjoys a low pluviometry, which accentuates the calcium rate in the water and the soil. Indeed, the rain average is estimated to 161,5 mm by year and on average there are 7 months without any rain per year. This low pluviometry keeps the Calcium in the soils as it is not washed away. In contrast to the low precipitation, the number of sunshine hours is very high.

In winter, snow is covering the southern and western mountains and due to the high altitudes is melting only gradually in spring and summer. As a result, myriads of streams and rivers are carrying melt water to the cultivation areas and fill underground water basins. As the melting proceeds gradually the cultivation areas enjoy a relatively even inflow of water which benefits productivity of ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ growing and the quality of the berries.

The ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ grows in a natural environment that is extremely harsh with temperatures fluctuating between +36 °C in summer and -49.6°C in winter. In order to resist these exceptionally high temperature oscillations, ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ develops a higher content of oil to protect itself and also a high content of carotene and other substances. A study has observed that ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ contains 2,5 times more palmitic acid compared to seabuckthorns in other regions in Mongolia.

Plantations of ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ have positive environmental externalities in the region to prevent from sand movement and desertification.

The elements of the soil of the Uvs basin namely its content in Calcium and other subtances and the particular harsh climate conditions influence the local cultivations around the Uvs lake and they also have an impact on the qualities of ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’. Indeed the berries have a higher yield than in other Mongolian provinces (namely Tuv and Selenge provinces). The berries which produce oil from all its parts (seed, lash and shell) have also a particularly high content of oil, high rates of vitamins such as vitamins C, B1 and B6 and carotene. Thanks to the high number of sunshine hours, the berries also develop a rich aroma.

Originally, the seabuckthorn is a wild berry and historically, the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Mongolian people implied a specific diet. It consisted mainly of dairy product and meat. In consequence, several Mongolians suffered from dietary deficiencies, especially vitamins. It appeared that on the western part of Mongolia, in the region of Uvs where the seabuckthorn was endemic and the inhabitants were eating it, the inhabitants were in a better shape than the other inhabitants. That’s one of the reasons why wild seabuckthorn research started from 1960 and several selected varieties of the berry were planted in some parts of the Uvs province.

Thanks to its specific qualities and nutrients ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ also enjoys a reputation both nationally and internationally.

The specific characteristics are notably recognized by consumers locally but also internationally, especially in Japan and Korea where ’Увс чацаргана/Uvs chatsargana’ is used as a raw material for organic juices and cosmetic products (source: ‘Linking people, places and products’ Ts. Enkh-Amgalan, 2009).

Reference to publication of the specification

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

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