EN Official Journal of the European Union C 151/23

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

2010/C 151/10

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.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Amendment application in accordance with Article 9

‘CEREZAS DE LA MONTAÑA DE ALICANTE’

EC No: ES-PGI-0117-0099-12.04.2005

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Heading in the specification affected by the amendment:

 Name of product Description Geographical area  Proof of origin  Method of production  Link to geographical area  Labelling  National requirements  Others

2. Type of amendment(s):

 Amendment to single document or summary sheet Amendment to specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the single document nor 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. Amendments:

3.1. Description:

The significant improvements in techniques for growing the cherries in the areas protected by the PGI have led to an improvement in size. Studies have been carried out to consider the possibility of providing for an additional class for sizes above 28 mm at grower level and to investigate the commercial consequences of this new class. The results have been extraordinary since the cherries obtained are more voluminous and fleshy, which favours a better economic result with a considerable price difference enabling growers to obtain around EUR 1,50 or more per kg. As a result, the Regulatory Council hopes to include this new category, called Extra Valls 28, in the protected product range.

3.2. Geographical area:

The production area has increased to include five additional municipalities (Alcoy, Biar, Castalla, Confrides and Jijona). These municipalities have similar characteristics to the current area with respect to the lie of the land, soil, climate, varieties, cultural techniques, social and economic impact and history.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘CEREZAS DE LA MONTAÑA DE ALICANTE’

EC No: ES-PGI-0117-0099-12.04.2005

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. Dirección General de Industrias y Mercados Alimentarios. Subdirección General de Calidad Diferenciada y Agricultura Ecológica Address: Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, 1 28071 Madrid ESPAÑA Tel. +34 913475361 / 84774 Fax +34 913475770 E-mail: —

2. Group:

Name: Cerezas Montaña Alicante, Coop. V. Address: Crta. Albaida-Denia, s/n. 2 03788 Alpatro-La Vall de Gallinera (Alicante) ESPAÑA Tel. +34 966406700 Fax +34 966406611 E-mail: infocoop@cerezas.org Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class: 1.6 — Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Product name:

‘Cerezas de la Montaña de Alicante’

4.2. Description:

Fruit of the varieties ‘Burlat’, ‘Tilagua’, ‘Planera’, ‘Nadal’, ‘Picota’ and ‘Picota Ambrunesa’ (main varieties), ‘Stark Hardy Geant’, ‘Bing’ and ‘Van’ (pollinating varieties), derived from ‘Prunus avium, L.’, ‘Prunus cerasum, L.’ or hybrids thereof destined for human consumption fresh.

The protected cherry categories are the following: ‘Extra’ and ‘Primera’ and for marketing purposes they are classified as follows:

— Extra Valls 28,

— Extra Valls,

— Extra Normal,

— Primera.

The size for each variety is as follows:

For the Burlat and Stark Hardy Geant varieties:

— Extra Valls 28 and +: 28 mm or more,

— Extra Valls: 26 mm or more,

— Extra Normal: 24 mm or more,

— Primera: 22 mm or more.

For the Tilagua, Planera, Nadal, Picota and Picota Ambrunesa varieties:

— Extra Valls 28 and +: 28 mm or more,

— Extra Valls: 25 mm or more,

— Extra Normal: 23 mm or more,

— Primera: 21 mm or more.

4.3. Geographical area:

The production zone is located in the north of the province of Alicante and the south of the province of Valencia. The production zone comprises the districts made up of the municipalities of Agres, Alcocer de Planes, Alcoy, Alfafara, Almudaina, Beneixama, Beniarrés, Benillup, Benimarfull, Biar, Castalla, Cocentaina, Confrides, Cuatretondeta, Gaianes, Gorga, Ibi, Jijona, Lorcha, Millena, Muro de Alcoy, Penáguila, Planes, Tollos, Vall d’Alcalá, Vall de Ebo, Vall de Gallinera, Vall de Laguart, and Villena in the province of Alicante and Bocairent and Ontinyent in the province of Valencia.

4.4. Proof of origin:

The elements that guarantee that the product originates in the area are as follows:

— The characteristics of the product: Cherries from this area have specific characteristics that are listed in the product description section and which link them to their natural environment and to the growing conditions and the production conditions. These characteristics are not enough to guarantee the cherries’ origin as only consumers from the area or those most used to buying them would identify the product and recognise the origin as such, so the origin has to be guaranteed by:

— Checks and certification.

It is the basic elements that guarantee the origin of the product. These are as follows:

1. the cherries are of authorised varieties from registered plantations in the production area;

2. growing practices on registered plantations are authorised by the Regulatory Council;

3. the cherries are packed in registered plants under the supervision of inspectors authorised by the Council.

The Regulatory Council maintains a monitoring programme which defines the activities for checking that the established requirements are met during the growing and development of the product. Also, the organoleptic properties of the product are analysed to check its quality.

Only cherries that have successfully passed all the checks throughout the process are packed and placed on the market bearing the numbered secondary label of the Regulatory Council.

Immediate traceability in the process from the field to the final destination provides the consumer with a guarantee of the product’s origin.

The number given on the secondary labels by the Regulatory Council to the packing industry depends on the product the grower has given to the packing industry and on the capacity of the containers in which the product is going to be marketed.

4.5. Method of production:

Cherries of the authorised varieties come from registered parcels of land. They are harvested and transported with care and are dealt with in accordance with instructions from the Regulatory Council for the relevant marketing year.

The packaging processes are as follows:

Reception in the factory and pre-storage: the product can be stored in a covered, well-aired place for a suitable length of time with the aim of improving the colour of the fruit.

Selection: to remove fruit that is imperfect, damaged, squashed, lacking in colour, etc.

Classification: the cherries are classified according to their colour and size to achieve uniformity.

Packing: the product is placed in the container. The content of each container is homogenous and contains only fruit of the same origin, variety and quality and with a more or less uniform size. The visible part of the contents of the package must be representative of the entire contents.

Packaging: the cherries must be packaged in such as way as to protect the product adequately. The materials used inside the packaging, and in particular the paper, are new, clean and made so that they do not damage the fruit.

4.6. Link:

The link to cherry growing in the production area of the Protected Geographical Indication can be established in different ways: history, topography, agroclimate and the growing and handling techniques used.

(a) History:

Cherries are, together with other fruit and vegetables, one of the traditional crops in the regions of Alicante and Valencia. They are very often grown on family-run farms which have supplied the packing industries of the area with this product for marketing from time immemorial.

The cherry tree was introduced by the Romans who improved its cultivation by means of selection. It reached the peak of its development in this area during the Arab era.

The Order of 16 December 1986 issued by the Conselleria de Agricultura y Pesca de la Generalidad Valenciana provisionally established the name ‘Cerezas de la Montaña de Alicante’.

(b) Natural environment

— The lie of the land:

The production area is one of the most mountainous of the Autonomous Community of Valencia and lies within the foothills of the Prebética sub-chain, with a typically structural relief alternating between anticlines and synclines.

— Soil:

Cretaceous limestone is prominent in the mountains whilst the valleys are predominantly marlstone.

The soil in this region is characterised by its high calcium carbonate content and the lack of organic material.

It is also worth pointing out that there are soils with clay illuvium, in some cases very marked.

— Climate:

It is a temperate Mediterranean climate with cooler temperatures and more frequent precipitation than the rest of the province.

The mean annual temperature varies between 13 and 15,5 °C with mean annual precipitation of 350-650 mm.

— Hydrography:

The main rivers that cross the region are the Serpis, the Alcoy and the Girona. The source of the former is in the confluence of various springs from the mountains of Mariola and Carrascal. Tributaries flow in from the right from the rivers Gorga and Penáguila and from the left from the river Agres. The latter finds its source in the mountains of Llombay, crosses the valleys of Alcalá, Ebo and Laguart, and flows into the Mediterranean.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Protected Geographical Origin ‘Cerezas de la Montaña de Alicante’ The inspection body meets the criteria set out in Article 11(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 Address: Crta. Albaida-Denia, s/n. 2 03788 Alpatro-La Vall de Gallinera (Alicante) ESPAÑA Tel. +34 966406640 Fax +34 966406640 E-mail: crigpcerezas@hotmail.com

4.8. Labelling:

Labels are authorised by the Regulatory Council. They must show the wording Protected Geographical Origin ‘Cerezas de la Montaña de Alicante’. Secondary labels are numbered and issued by the Regulatory Council.

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