EN Official Journal of the European Union C 353/9

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 353/07

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 from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘FENLAND CELERY’

EC No: UK-PGI-0005-0887-22.08.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Fenland Celery’

2. Member State or Third Country:

United Kingdom

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 product to which the name in point 1 applies:

‘Fenland Celery’ (Apium graveolens) is the name given to celery which has been planted, grown and harvested using traditional methods on the Adventurers 1 and 2 type deep peat soils in specific parts of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

The method by which ‘Fenland Celery’ is grown, and the varieties that are used, result in a product with notable characteristics, these are:

Appearance — ‘Fenland Celery’ has a wide butt which ranges from 8-12 cm in diameter, and splayed sticks (or petioles). It is deeper in shape with a pronounced root. ‘Fenland Celery’ grows between 60 cm and 80 cm in length from the butt to top of the leaves. The colour of the butt ranges from lime white to lime green. The base of the stick is always the whitest part, moving up to lighter green stick and gradually into light green leaves. ‘Fenland Celery’ appears robust, knobbly and with pronounced veins.

Texture — ‘Fenland Celery’ has a slightly more brittle yet more tender, crisper and crunchier texture that its modern day counterparts.

Taste — ‘Fenland Celery’ possesses a deep evenly balanced sweet/salty/bitter flavour. This is paired with a characteristic refreshing delicate nuttiness, and subtle aromatic conifer fragrances and mild aniseed notes.

‘Fenland Celery’ is planted in June or July and harvested between September and December.

The only varieties that can be used to produce ‘Fenland Celery’ are as follows:

Hopkins Fenlander;

New Dwarf White;

Ely White.

These three varieties are the only ones used due to their good yields, taste, resistance to disease and adaptability to the soil type.

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 identified geographical area:

— Seed preparation and sowing: Between April and May, the ‘Fenland Celery’ variety seeds are bought and delivered to an approved plant raiser for germination. At the plant raiser, they are sown into peat blocks and moved to the germination room where they will remain for seven days at 18 °C. They are then moved to the main greenhouse where they remain for approximately three weeks until they are young seedlings (about 4 inches high) and are ready for planting. They are then transported to the field containing the specific Adventurers 1 and 2 type soil where they are transplanted into the ground, into Adventurers 1 and 2 type deep peat soil within 24 hours. The transplanting of the small plants takes place between June and July — this allows for staggered crop and reduced risk of crop failure.

— Harvesting the crop: Harvesting ‘Fenland Celery’ takes place between September and December and is a complex operation whereby the banked earth is first loosened by a specialised wide row tractor and hoe mechanism, though it can be done by hand with a spade. The celery is harvested by hand using a knife. The roots may be trimmed completely or left with a small amount known as ‘Pencil-pointed’ celery.

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

Not applicable.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

Not applicable.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

‘Fenland Celery’ must be grown on Adventurers 1 and 2 soil series that is defined by the Soil Survey of England and Wales. This soil type is found specifically in the following parishes of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk:

Cambridgeshire: Littleport, Ely St Mary and Trinity, Ely Trinity (Detached), Thetford, Stretham, Willingham, Haddenham, Sutton, Colne, Coveney, Chatteris, Welches Dam, Manea, Wimblington, March, Thorney, Wisbech St Mary, Waterbeach, Horningsea, Bottisham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Swaffham Prior, Wicken, Burwell, Soham, Fordham, Isleham, Chippenham, Snailwell, Ramsey;

Norfolk: Leziate, East Winch, Bawsey, Middleton, Wimbotsham, Crimplesham, West Dereham, Wereham, Wretton, Stoke Ferry, Northwold, Ryston, Downham Market, Denver, Fordham, Nordelph, Welney, Feltwell, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Redmere, Wormegay, East Winch, Leziate, Roydon;

Suffolk: Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Barton Mills, Worlington, Freckenham.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

The specific characteristics and quality of the geographical area — namely the peat soil and climate — allow for the production of a specific celery. The consistency of the soil allows trenching to take place which results in a specific celery which is white in colour, crisper in texture and having a distinctly refreshing delicate nutty taste.

The combination of soil, varieties and production method that are used only in the Fenlands have provided the area with the reputation of producing the highest quality, best tasting celery.

The Fenlands are a naturally marshy region in eastern England of which the majority, up until 16th century, was underwater. The land first started being drained during the 1630s. It was during this time, that two cuts were made in the Cambridgeshire Fens to join the River Great Ouse to the sea at King's Lynn — the Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River. However, once drained of water, the peat shrank, and the fields lowered further, until the land was again under water by the end of the 17th century.

After several attempts on draining the area, final success came in the 1820s with the introduction of coal-powered steam engines. The Fenlands were drained by 286 small electrical pumping stations, 3 800 miles of watercourses, 60 miles of sea embanked defences and 96 miles of fluvial river embankments. Consequently, in most places the Fenland lies no more than 10 m above sea level. Many parts now lie below mean sea level.

With the support of the drainage system, the Fenland, which borders Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, became a major arable agricultural region in Britain for grains and vegetables. The environmental and geographic advantages both now and in the past have provided the perfect soil — namely the Adventurers 1 and 2 deep peat type — and climate conditions in which to grow ‘Fenland Celery’.

The Fenland region has a lower rainfall average than other key arable areas in the United Kingdom (365 mm last year — Weather Commerce Ltd). Low rainfall is an important factor in the production of ‘Fenland Celery’ because excess rain would impede growth by damaging the soil trenches and encourage disease.

Adventurers 1 and 2 soil type native to the geographical area benefit the celery in two ways: firstly, due to its naturally fertile composition, it will provide the plant with many of the nutrients it needs. Secondly, its consistency means that it can be banked up around the plant protecting it from the sun, which ensures that the skin of the celery remains white, protecting it from the frost towards the end of the year which enables farmers to extend the British season and achieve a higher price at the local markets.

The traditional method of production is not only a land-intensive way to grow this vegetable, but is also more labour-intensive. The techniques have been passed down through generations of Fenland farmers for over 50 years and require skill. Growers must ensure sufficient protection against frost without smothering the plant and making the growing conditions too warm (which would result in disease and rot).

The standard plant population of ‘Fenland Celery’ is considerably reduced with 50 % less plants per hectare compared to a conventional celery crop (modern farming sees 50 K plants/ha, ‘Fenland Celery’ — 25 K plants/ha). Lower planting intensity is due to the need to plant in wide rows.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

The method used to grow ‘Fenland Celery’ dictates that the plants are grown in wide rows separated with deep trenches. These wide rows are essential to the overall quality of the final product due to the need to bank up the soil, which acts to retain the white colour of the celery. This method is compulsory to the production of ‘Fenland Celery’ and without it the product could not be classed as ‘Fenland Celery’.

The only varieties that can be used to produce ‘Fenland Celery’ are:

Hopkins Fenlander;

New Dwarf White;

Ely White.

These three varieties are the only ones used due to their good yields, taste, resistance to disease and adaptability to the soil type.

‘Fenland Celery’ is smaller in size compared to conventionally produced celery as a result of the production method and variety used. This traditional production method, coupled with the ‘Fenland Celery’ seed varieties and the black peat Adventurers 1 and 2 soil types all contribute to its distinctive nutty, sweet, aniseed flavour and its light green to white colouring which are key characteristics of ‘Fenland Celery’.

‘Fenland Celery’ is characterised by a wider butt and more splayed sticks (or petioles). The butt ranges from 8-12 cm in diameter, and is deeper in shape and often less uniform that its counterparts. ‘Fenland Celery’ will often appear with a more pronounced root due to its growing and harvesting techniques. It also grows notoriously slowly due to the time of the year and production technique used as compared to other more commercial celery. This slowing growing product contributes to its distinctive nutty and bitter/sweet flavour and its more tender, crisper and crunchier texture.

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):

Historically, farmers in this area planted ‘Fenland Celery’ through from July with first harvests in September through until December. The banking up of the earth protected the celery from the winter frosts, and enabled producers to prolong the season and achieve a better price.

The ‘Fenland Celery’ varieties are selected due to their yield, taste, resistance to disease and adaptability — Hopkins Fenlander and New Dwarf White are now the most commonly grown varieties. Both were developed in the Fens and have been the varieties of choice for the past 50 years.

‘Fenland Celery’ grows in the deep peat Adventurers 1 and 2 type soils of the Fenland area, which is naturally very fertile, deriving from undecayed dead vegetation that grew in the Fen and bog. It takes the name from the various 17th-century drainage adventurers who, headed by the Earl of Bedford, set about draining the Fenlands — in particular, it refers to ‘Gentlemen Adventurers’, or venture capitalists, who funded the construction and were awarded with large plots of drained land.

This type of soil is naturally flat which in part is caused by the very nature of the deep peat and also by the way the land is drained. The water levels created by drains and ditches mean that the celery plant receives the optimum water levels.

The Adventurers 1 and 2 deep black peat soil is naturally fertile and has the nutrients necessary for the successful production of high quality celery — grown both in the modern way or in the traditional way which produces ‘Fenland Celery’. The nature of the black peat also means that the celery plant benefits from extra warmth. In the Principles of Horticulture, by C. R. Adams, M. P. Early, K. M. Bamford, it states that this soil will warm up quicker than others because, due to its colour and consistency, the sun’s energy is easily absorbed by the soil and then retained. The method of production is best suited to this type of soil as it provides it with the necessary nutrients as well as the right consistency for banking up the soil. ‘Fenland Celery’ grows notoriously slowly due to the time of the year and production technique — the black peat soil ‘speeds up’ this process. Planting on any other type of soil would slow growth even further.

It is the largest area of this specific soil available in the United Kingdom for farming and it is the most productive. The unique properties of the soil coupled with the cooler, drier climate of the Fenlands provide the perfect conditions to make it possible to plant grow and harvest celery through from July until December.

Traditional methods remain a labour-intensive way of producing celery using techniques which have been passed down through generations of Fenland farmers for over 50 years, and have been honed and developed in order to produce high-quality celery. The Fens became a place that was, and remains, synonymous with high-quality celery.

Food critics have made these comments regarding the uniqueness of ‘Fenland Celery’: ‘Other forced vegetables turn up on shelves, such as traditional celery from Fenland, dug from Cambridgeshire soil. Forced rhubarb from Yorkshire, strictly speaking a vegetable, is very good eaten with grilled fresh mackerel and red chilli.’, Rose Prince, New English Cook, February 2009.

‘Celery is as English as the Stilton cheese. Originally, the older varieties of so-called “dirty” celery from the flat black-earthed Fenlands of East Anglia had a short season — from October to January. If you’re lucky enough to eat some, there is much washing to do, but the flavour is exceptional, particularly after a light frost, when it’s sweetest of all.’, Delia Smith, Delia Online.

‘It’s not very often that we crave something cold, damp and dirty, but when the earthy Fenland Celery first appears on the shelves in late Autumn it is a real treat!’, Sally Bendall, Season Magazine, November 2008.

Reference to publication of the specification:

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

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/industry/regional/foodname/products/documents/fenlandcelery-pgi-110711.pdf

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