Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2003/C 186/06)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the abovementioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in a Member State in a WTO member country or in a third country recognised in accordance with Article 12(3) within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO (X) PGI ( )

National application No: 94

1. Responsible department in the Member State Name: Subdirección General de Denominaciones de Calidad y Relaciones Interprofesionales y Contractuales - Dirección General de Alimentación - Subsecretaría de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación de España

Address: Infanta Isabel, 1, E-28071 Madrid

Tel. (34) 913 47 53 94

Fax (34) 913 47 54 10

2. Applicant group 2.1. Name: Asociación para la promoción de la Pera de Rincón de Soto

2.2. Address: Avenida Príncipe Felipe, 7 bajo. Rincón de Soto. E-26071 Logroño (La Rioja)

Tel. (34) 941 14 19 54

Fax (34) 941 14 19 55

2.3. Composition: producer/processor (x) Other ( )

3. Type of product: Pears - Class 1.6 fresh or processed fruit, vegetables and cereals

4. Specification

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name: Peras de Rincón de Soto

4.2. Description: Fruit of the species Pyrus Communis L, of the varieties Blanquilla and Conference, of the Extra Class and Class I, for consumption fresh.

Pears grown in the area of the protected geographical indication are larger, more elongated, sweeter, slightly harder and with a greener skin than those grown in neighbouring areas and thus command a higher price on the market. When harvested, the pears must meet the following criteria:

Hardness: 5,44-6,12 kg/cm2

Soluble solids: 13-19° Brix

Minimum size: the minimum size measured at the maximum diameter of the equatorial section is 58 mm for Blanquilla and 60 mm for Conference.

Natural russetting, without the use of abrasive chemical products.

Intact stalk, entire, round and undamaged thus posing no risk of damage to other fruits.

4.3. Geographical area: Geographical area: The defined geographical area covers four municipalities of the district of Rioja Baja: Aldeanueva de Ebro, Alfaro, Calahorra and Rincón de Soto, the latter lending its name to the designation.

Storage, preparation and packaging are all carried out in the production area.

4.4. Proof of origin: The pears must be from plantations and fruit collection centres in the defined geographical area producing pears of the varieties covered by the designation and entered in the relevant register of the Asociación para la promoción de la Pera de Rincón de Soto (/Association for the Promotion of Rincón de Soto Pears).

Those plantations and collection centres, in addition to having their own self-checking systems, will be subject to external checks carried out by an External Inspection and Certification Body employed by the Association and recognised by the competent authority (Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural del Gobierno de La Rioja - /Government of Rioja Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) as complying with standard UNE EN 45.011. That Body will verify impartially that pears covered by the designation fulfil the requirements of the Regulation.

Each farm or collection centre will apply to the Association for entry in the "Inspection Plan" and the Authorised External Inspection and Certification Body will carry out a special audit. Once that body establishes that the farm or centre fulfils the requirements, it will permit its entry in the relevant register of the Association, which will undertake to keep the register up to date. The External Inspection Body will then draw up an "Audit Plan", following the implementation of which it will issue a report that the Association will then evaluate and decide whether or not to grant Product Certification. These arrangements will ensure that only pears passing all the checks carried out throughout the process will be marketed with the guarantee of origin. There will also be a Coordination Council, composed of members of the Association, the Authorised External Inspection and Certification Body and the Ministry of Agriculture of La Rioja, that will ensure the impartiality of the Association and of the External Body.

Traceability of the product will be guaranteed by identification at each stage of production and marketing.

The product labels will be numbered and it will be possible to check that the number of labels used tallies with the number of certified products despatched so as to ensure that pears that are not eligible are not labelled with the logo of the designation.

4.5. Method of production: The specific, genuine, local practices employed in the production of the area's pears are those traditionally used since antiquity. The particular characteristics of the Pera de Rincón de Soto are the product of the geographical environment and the hard work, enthusiasm and care taken by the area's farmers and fruit-growers, which are essential to the fruit's well-deserved reputation for quality.

The approach is based on correct planting in accordance with suitable criteria and in the correct, balanced application of cultivation techniques.

- Thinning and pruning are carried out by hand.

- Trees are not irrigated during blossoming or just before harvest as this would cause the fruit to split, thus reducing its value, except where the Coordination Council gives prior authorisation because of adverse climatic conditions.

- It is essential that the fruit be allowed to ripen, not only to guarantee its quality but also to ensure that it can be stored for a long period without harm. It is therefore important to choose the right moment to harvest and specialists reach a decision on the basis of the size of the fruit, its colour, the colour of the pips, how easily the fruit can be removed from the stalk and the hardness of the flesh.

- Harvest is always by hand and involves a minimum of two runs.

- The fruit is separated from the tree at the point where the stalk joins the branch, holding the pear by the base and pulling upwards. This method ensures that the stalk remains entire, rounded and undamaged and that it will not damage other fruit during handling and storage. Only well-formed pears free of marks of a minimum size of 58 mm for Blanquilla and 60 mm for Conference are harvested.

- The fruit is transported quickly (no more than six hours between harvest and delivery into storage) and under good conditions.

- The collection centres provide the growers with disinfected wooden crates lined with padded, corrugated paper, well attached to the sides, in which to place the harvested pears. The growers collect the empty crates from the centre and return them full after weighing.

- The full crates are placed in storage and marked with the name of the grower, the date and the number of the farm. Those details remain on the crate during storage until packing. An initial selection is then made and the pears are again placed in the crates for subsequent storage and/or packing. All these operations are carried out very carefully by hand avoiding any damage to the product.

- All the collection centres have systems to ensure that pears covered by the designation are unloaded separately from other pears, preventing different qualities being mixed during subsequent handling. They also have a spacious, cool and well-ventilated area in which newly delivered pears can cool gradually before being placed in the storage rooms.

- After being stored for a suitable period in conventional cool rooms or rooms with a controlled environment, the fruit is again weighed. It is then packed by hand, the packers taking pears one at a time, rejecting any fruit showing anomalies after storage and placing them in the final packaging for shipping, according to size.

- The packaging is single ply and has a bubble wrap lining to protect the fruit from damage from knocks and rubbing.

4.6. Link: The earliest historical references to the production and marketing of fruit in the area date from 1747, when Blanquilla pears were described as "an exquisite fruit" eaten at the Court of Philip V, and then a number of manuscripts of 1752 refer to the growing and harvesting of pears in the Municipality of Rincón de Soto.

In the nineteenth century, Alfaro exported its excellent fruit, including its exceptional Blanquilla pears throughout Spain and abroad. The production of Conference pears also began to assume importance.

The quality and specific characteristics of Peras de Rincón de Soto are principally or even exclusively due to the geographical environment, shaped by natural and human factors, and the fact that the pears are grown, prepared and packed in the defined geographical area.

Natural factors: the location of the plantations on the lower terraces of the Rivers Ebro, Cidacos and Alhama is ideal for the production of pears of exceptional quality, the land being flat, open, clear of obstacles and well ventilated, with deep, moist, permeable, healthy soil, free of active lime, loam and clayey chert, ensuring a high level of irradiation, that prevents frost by evaporation. Russetting is natural, caused by mists, without any need for chemical products that burn the surface of the fruit.

However, the climate of the defined geographical area has a clear influence on Peras de Rincón de Soto, giving them their charismatic colour, aroma, size, acidity, consistency of flesh and high soluble-solids content.

The high average temperature (21,0 °C in June), which does not fall significantly at night, and the absence of spring frosts promote the rapid growth of the fruit. During ripening, however, the shortening of the days, the fall in night-time temperatures, the high number of hours of sunlight and high solar radiation are the direct cause of a higher soluble solid content (13-19° Brix) than in neighbouring areas, the sugar content being the principle measure of the quality of the flesh, since it is this, together with acidity, that determines flavour.

The contrast between the high daytime temperatures in summer and the cool night-time temperatures around harvest time give the fruit its characteristic hardness and texture. High temperatures during ripening cause the release of volatile substances, mainly ethylene and aromatic substances, that contribute to the characteristic aroma of Peras de Rincón de Soto.

Human factors: the area's special, traditional practices are part of the link between the specific characteristics of Peras de Rincón de Soto and the human and geographical environment.

The most common system used in the defined geographical area for maintaining the soil is a mixed method. This involves using herbicides to keep the areas around the trees (in freely planted orchards) or along the lines of trees (in orchards with trellises) free of weeds while keeping the remaining areas completely covered with vegetation. The inevitable problem of competition between the trees and the vegetation cover under these conditions is overcome by ensuring that both are given sufficient water and nutrients.

In order to ensure the correct relationship between tree growth and fruit production, farmers have for many years carried out manual thinning and pruning, ensuring an appropriate number of fruit per tree and increasing their size and sweetness without affecting their structure and balance. Similarly, harvesting by hand, taking the fruit by the base and pulling upwards, leaves the stalk entire, rounded and unsplintered so that it does not damage other fruit during subsequent handling and storage.

4.7. Inspection body: Name: Instituto de Calidad Agroalimentaria de La Rioja

Address: Avenida de La Paz, 8-10. E-26071 Logroño (La Rioja)

Tel. (34) 941 29 16 00

Fax (34) 941 29 16 02

The Instituto de Calidad Agroalimentaria de La Rioja (La Rioja Food-Quality Institute), as the La Rioja Government body competent for quality labels, will provisionally be responsible for inspection.

4.8. Labelling: Labels must carry the words Denominación de Origen Protegida "Peras de Rincón de Soto" and the emblem of the External Inspection Body.

4.9. National requirements: - Organic Law 3/1982 of 9 June 1982, Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja (as amended by Organic Laws 3/1994 of 24 March 1994 and 2/1999 of 7 January 1999),

- Law 3/1995 of 8 March 1995, Legal System applicable to the Government and Public Administration of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja,

- Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992. Legal System applicable to Public Administration and the Common Administrative Procedure,

- Order of 25 January 1994 specifying the correlation between Spanish legislation and Regulation (EEC) 2081/92 on designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs,

- Royal Decree 1643/1999 of 22 October 1999 on the procedure governing applications for entry into the Community register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications.

EC No: ES/00251/02.09.19.

Date of receipt of the full application: 14 April 2003.