EN Official Journal of the European Union C 212/6

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

2012/C 212/05

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘AIL FUMÉ D’ARLEUX’

EC No: FR-PGI-0005-0820-02.08.2010

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’

2. Member State or Third Country:

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

1.6 — Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed

3.2. Description of product to which the name in point 1 applies:

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is a garlic that keeps for a considerable period of time owing to a traditional method and human know-how involving braiding the garlic and smoking it using local peat and/or lignite and/or short straw and/or sawdust.

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is made from pink spring garlic (Allium sativum, a member of the lily family), of the Ail du Nord type. It is characterised by a long dormant period, medium-size bulbs and the absence of a floral stalk and it is adapted to the climate and closely connected with the history of the Nord-Pas de Calais region. The absence of a floral stalk enables the garlic to be plaited into the typical braids, as the foliage is supple enough to allow this. The varieties used are Ail du Nord, Gayant and Arno. New varieties may be introduced, provided that they meet the abovementioned criteria. After each amendment, the list of varieties is distributed to producers and to the inspection body and the competent supervisory authorities. When harvested, the bulb is of medium size (varying between 40 mm and 80 mm depending on the way it is presented) and white in colour, while the external tunic of the cloves is dark pink.

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is traditionally presented in the form of a braid, with the number of heads ranging from 10 to 90 or even 120. It can also be presented as a braid with three heads. The braiding is based on a process where the garlic heads are dried with the foliage, either in the field or by forced ventilation in a shed. The garlic is braided by hand, just like hair is.

After it has been braided the garlic is smoked in a smokeroom for at least seven days. The colour of the garlic after smoking varies depending on the materials used. The shades range from a light reddish brown to dark brown. The smoked braids may be packaged in a net before marketing.

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ has the following characteristics:

— a pleasant smoky aroma,

— uniform colour over the surface of the braid, the intensity of which is validated according to a defined reference colour.

3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only):

Not applicable

3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only):

Not applicable

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

All the steps in cultivation, braiding, smoking and packaging must take place in the defined geographical area.

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

The garlic may be packaged in a net after smoking. This must be done in the defined geographical area in order to minimise handling of the product. ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is a fragile product (smoking renders the external tunics and the stems more fragile so that they break easily), and therefore handling and transport must be limited. Packaging in the defined geographical area makes it possible to preserve the physical integrity of the product and the braids.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

In addition to the regulatory requirements, the label must include:

— the name of the PGI,

— the batch number, so that the product can be traced,

— the European Union’s PGI logo and/or the words ‘Indication Géographique Protégée’.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The demarcated area is the area in the traditional region of Arleux where garlic is grown today, because the local climate and soil conditions and the presence of peatland make it particularly suitable.

The geographical area comprises 62 municipalities: 35 in the département du Nord and 27 in the département du Pas de Calais.

Département du Nord

Arleux, Aubencheul au Bac, Aubigny au Bac, Bruille lez Marchiennes, Brunemont, Bugnicourt, Cantin, Courchelettes, Cuincy, Dechy, Ecaillon, Erchin, Esquerchin, Estrées, Fechain, Ferin, Flers en Escrebieux, Fressain, Fressies, Goeulzin, Guesnain, Hamel, Haynecourt, Hem Lenglet, Lambres lez Douai, Lauwin Planque, Lecluse, Lewarde, Loffre, Marcq en Ostrevant, Marquette en Ostrevant, Masny, Monchecourt, Roucourt, Villers au tertre.

Département du Pas de Calais

Baralle, Bellonne, Brebières, Buissy, Cagnicourt, Corbehem, Dury, Ecourt Saint Quentin, Epinoy, Gouy sous Bellonne, Hendecourt les Cagnicourt, Marquion, Noyelles sous Bellonne, Oisy le Verger, Palluel, Quiery La Motte, Recourt, Riencourt les Cagnicourt, Rumaucourt, Sailly en Ostrevent, Sains les Marquion, Sauchy Cauchy, Sauchy Lestrée, Saudemont, Tortequesne, Villers les Cagnicourt, Vitry en Artois.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The soil

The most representative soils of the Cambrésis region are issued from a variety of parent materials: loess silts, Tertiary clays and, to a lesser extent, mainly sandy materials issued from Tertiary formations, chalk and riverwash.

‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is grown in the geographical area in where the soil type ranges from loamy to loamy-clayey with a maximum clay content of 30 %.

The climate

The area has a temperate climate, with temperatures that are relatively stable from one year to the next. The minimum temperatures are temperate (there are but few days where temperatures fall below zero) and the maximum temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C. Also, the difference between night-time and daytime temperatures is small.

Rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year and the total annual rainfall is around 650 mm (average over the past 30 years).

The presence of peat

Arleux is located in a valley surrounded by meadows, rivers and swamps.

The Sensée Valley ‘traces a long green path’ between the two bare plateaus of Douaisis and Cambrésis.

The Sensée is fed by secondary tributaries, including the Agache and the Hirondelle, and passes through swamps and ponds before flowing into the Canal du Nord.

The swamps of the Sensée Valley cover nearly 800 hectares, where alluvia and peat have been deposited.

The many windmills and locks that used to exist in the valley have helped maintain the water level of the swamps, while the extraction of peat, used as a fuel before coal was introduced on a massive scale, gave rise to the ponds.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The specificity of the product derives from specific expertise: the smoking, and on the distinctive quality conferred by the smoking and the presentation in the form of braids and, finally, on a long-standing reputation that lives on to this day.

Traditional know-how: smoking

Traditional smoking is carried out by burning a mixture of peat, sawdust and short straw. Nowadays lignite is added to this mixture, as peat can no longer be used sustainably and these two substances have the same combustion properties. Garlic cultivation developed in the heart of the Arleux region because of the presence of peat and the method of smoking. Arleux is a region where garlic is smoked in the traditional way.

A distinctive quality

Smoking gives ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ a uniform colour over the surface of the braid, ranging from a light reddish brown to dark brown, and a pleasant smoky aroma. It also enhances preservation. The use of varieties such as Ail du Nord, which have no floral stalk, means that the garlic can be braided. Originally the garlic was braided so that it could be hung in the smokeroom and sold more easily. Nowadays this form of presentation is appreciated because it is practical and attractive.

A lasting reputation

The production of ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ is included in the departement's statistics for the first time in 1804. In the 19th century the product won first prize on a number of occasions at agricultural competitions and fairs. In the 20th century cultivation intensified and farmers promoted the product through door-to-door sales. The reputation of ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ spread beyond its production area.

Today the Garlic Fair held in Arleux is the main event for reinforcing the product’s reputation. The fair was organised for the first time in 1962, and in recent years the event has attracted a growing number of visitors and has helped to enhance the product's reputation in the press and among visitors.

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):

In a region where the climatic and soil conditions are suitable for growing garlic (light, low-humus soils that dry and warm easily and have little gravel as well as a temperate climate with small differences of temperature and evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year), the tradition of smoking it arose because of the presence of peat.

Peat was used as fuel for heating but also, very early on, for smoking garlic. Indeed, the area's climate is such that the garlic cannot be dried satisfactorily. Smoking the garlic will dry it and, consequently, preserve it by preventing the development of mould. Smoking also gives the product a reddish colour and a very characteristic aroma. Garlic producers also smoke garlic using other materials that are typical of the region.

The garlic is braided so that it is easier to hang in the smokerooms. The braiding and smoking are closely linked and constitute the expertise required to produce ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’. With the arrival of draught horses (ploughing) and, in particular, mechanisation, garlic could no longer be cultivated in these swampy areas. Consequently, garlic started being grown on land located farther and farther away from peatland.

Short straw is collected when wheat is threshed on farms that use old-fashioned threshers. However, such farms are increasingly scarce, and they thresh small areas. Nowadays only a few farms can provide short straw to garlic producers, because modern farm machinery discharges it into the fields during harvesting. A number of these traditional farms can be found in Béthunois. They produce straw for the Haras Nationaux stud farms and the big racing stables in the Paris region (Vincennes, Chantilly), which require a specific quality of straw for their horses. As for sawdust, producers prefer to be supplied regionally. The forest in Nord-Pas de Calais is mainly composed of non-coniferous species (93 %), in particular oak, beech and ash. Wood from these species is particularly suitable for smoking garlic.

The producers of ‘Ail fumé d’Arleux’ have thus, through the practice of braiding the garlic and through a specific smoking method (originally using peat and more recently with one or several other types of fuel), been able to build up a solid reputation for their product, as still attested today by the success of the Garlic Fair.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCIGPAilfumedArleux06122011.pdf

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.