EN Official Journal of the European Union C 108/20

Publication of an application 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

(2017/C 108/18)

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).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘ΠΕΥΚOΘΥΜΑΡΟΜΕΛΟ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ’ (PEFKOTHYMAROMELO KRITIS)

EU No: PDO-EL-02142 — 17.5.2016

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1. Name(s)

‘Πευφκοθυμαρόμελο Κρήτης’ (Pefkothymaromelo Kritis)

2. Member State or Third Country

Greece

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.4. Other products of animal origin (eggs, honey, various dairy products except butter, etc.)

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ is a natural blend of thyme and pine honeys. It is produced in Crete as a result of specific hive management and/or the natural coexistence of late-flowering thyme and the honeydew secreted by Marchalina hellenica L., an insect that lives mainly on the Turkish pine (Pinus brutes Ten.) and the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.).

Physico-chemical characteristics:

Conductivity: ≥ 0,600 mS/cm; sum of glucose and fructose ≥ 50 %; percentage of sucrose ≤ 3 %; relative moisture ≤ 17 %, diastase activity ≥ 8 DN, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) ≤ 25 mg/kg; free acidity 20-50 meq/kg; water-insoluble content ≤ 0,1 g/100 g. The colour is stable and ranges from 70 to 130 mm on the Pfund scale. The product contains no detectable acaricide or plant protection product residues, with a detection limit of 10 mg/kg.

Microscopic characteristics:

While ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ has characteristics that define it as a honeydew honey (forest honey), its sediment also contains pollen grains from a number of nectariferous plants, which vary and may number up to 20 different species in each honey sample. The most important species is Mediterranean or conehead thyme (Coridothymus capitatus L.), which is found in all samples in a quantity of ≥ 10 % of total pollen grains of nectariferous species.

The ratio of honeydew elements to total pollen grains (HDE/P ratio) is from 0,5 to 6,5. The honeydew elements consist of spores of Cladosporium and Fumago and more rarely Altenaria and Stemphylium. The characteristic sharp-ended spores of the genus Coleosporium found in other honey blends containing pine honey are not present.

Organoleptic characteristics:

The product has a characteristic aroma that is primarily due to aromatic substances in the thyme honey. The pine honey gives it a mild, lingering flavour and it has medium clarity and sweetness. The aroma has floral notes and a faint scent of wood and resin. The smell is of medium intensity with slight sensations of fruit and wax, and the honey remains fluid for at least 12 months from the day of harvest.

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

The bees are fed only in order to ensure the survival of the colony and feeding stops at least one month before the flowers bloom or honeydew is available. The beekeepers give the bees sugar syrup made from sugar beet, bee fondant and protein foods (pollen patties), when there is no food for them to forage (nectar, pollen). The bee food may come from outside the defined geographical area. In any event, the characteristics and quality of the honey are not affected by supplementary feeding of the bees.

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

All the stages of production must take place within the defined geographical area. To assure the quality and unique character of the product the hives are moved to the pine forests after the bees have foraged on thyme or to areas where the late-flowering thyme blooms when there is honeydew on the pine trees. The combs are harvested with as little smoking of the bees as possible and when at least 3/4 of the cells are capped. The honey is extracted using a honey extractor, transferred to settling tanks to clear and is not heated above 45 °C. Diseases are prevented and treated by appropriate hygiene measures and where necessary the use of safe, approved substances.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product to which the registered name refers

Packaging must take place within the geographical area defined in point 4. This requirement is necessary in order to facilitate the monitoring and verification of the origin of the honey, reduce the risk of blending with other honeys, prevent misuse of the name when selling honeys from elsewhere and ensure the application of the specific rules referred to in paragraph 3.6. The aim of the requirement is also to prevent the risk of alteration of the honey's physico-chemical (HMF, diastase activity) and organoleptic characteristics due to exposure to high temperatures, particularly in the summer months, when it is transported by sea from the island of Crete.

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product to which the registered name refers

In order to safeguard the quality and traceability of the product, any beekeeper or operator who sells the product must use a logo showing the island of Crete and the Malia bee pendant and the words ‘Πευφκοθυμαρόμελο Κρήτης ΠΟΠ’ (‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis PDO’) (Figure 1). The logo will be distributed by the applicant beekeeper bodies. In addition, producers will be given a code number to denote each batch of honey produced, the place of production and the beekeepers' registration number. The label will bear the logo, the code number and all the requisite indications. The beekeepers' associations inform the inspection body regarding the detailed rules governing distribution of the labels. However, these rules must not lead to discrimination against producers who produce ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ in accordance with the specification but are not members of the said bodies.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The entire island of Crete, comprising the Prefectures of Heraklion, Lasithi, Rethymno and Chania.

5. Link with the geographical area

Natural factors

Crete's tremendous morphological diversity, in conjunction with its specific climate (it straddles the Mediterranean and North African climatic zones) and isolated geographical position, have fostered the development of many different plant species. According to recent figures the island is home to around 1 800 plant species, 180 of which are endemic. The abundance of melliferous plants has enabled beekeeping to thrive and today the island has one of the highest beehive densities in the world, with 33 hives per square kilometre.

This abundance of plants includes many aromatic species that flower in June-July, and in some areas the flowering season extends to August. The most important one is Mediterranean or conehead thyme (Coridothymus capitatus). During these months there is little rainfall because of the hot dry climate, so nectar is scant and the honey produced is thick and very aromatic. This and the honeydew secreted by Marchalina hellenica gives beekeepers a special opportunity to produce a blend of the two different types of honey (thyme and pine), which is a distinct product with intermediate characteristics. The honeydew-producing insect lives as a parasite on the Turkish pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) and the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) and is found only in Greece and Turkey.

The human factor

With their knowledge of bee behaviour and the specific conditions that prevail on the island in the autumn, the beekeepers use the following special production technique: when the thyme is being foraged, they leave the brood to expand uncontrolled and the bees to store honey in circles above it. At this stage, the beekeepers selectively harvest the combs, removing only those that contain clearly sealed thyme honey. Later, when the bees collect the pine honeydew there is no pollen and they instinctively shrink the brood. The beekeepers do not intervene, leaving the brood to shrink so that the bees will store honey in its place. They can afford do this because temperatures in the autumn are still high so the bees can then collect nectar from autumn-flowering plants such as carob (Ceratonia siliqua), ivy (Hedera helix), wild asparagus (Αsparagus officinalis), sea squill (Urginea maritima) and others to renew their population. If the bees were not able to renew their population in the autumn the colony would not survive the winter. The beekeepers are aided by the island's specific climatic conditions, the flowers that provide plenty of pollen and nectar and the instinctive behaviour of the bees, which enable them to manage the hives in this distinctive way. ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ is also a product of the natural coexistence of late-flowering thyme and pine honeydew, which is a common phenomenon in Crete.

Specificity of the product

The specificity of ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ is due to its physico-chemical, microscopic and organoleptic characteristics:

— physico-chemical characteristics: conductivity (≥ 0,600 mS/cm), moisture (≤ 17 %), sum of glucose and fructose (≥ 50 %) and colour (70-130 mm Pfund),

— microscopic characteristics: thyme pollen grains ≥ 10 %, absence of Coleosporium spores,

— organoleptic characteristics: distinctive aroma and a pleasant, less intensely sweet flavour.

The low HMF concentration (≤ 25 mg/kg), low sucrose concentration (≤ 3 %) and non-detectable levels of acaricides and plant protection products (≤ 10 μg/kg) are the basis of the product's quality and specificity.

Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product

Since time immemorial Crete has been covered with aromatic plants and thyme and the honeydew secreted by the pine parasite Marchalina hellenica L. has been known since at least the 18th century (Gennadius, 1883). Μarchalina hellenica L. secretes honeydew on the pine trees after the thyme plants have produced nectar or in some areas nectar and honeydew production coincide, resulting in a unique natural blend of thyme and pine honeys that is closely linked to its area of origin. The conductivity, the sum of glucose and fructose, the mild flavour and its slow crystallisation are due to the pine honeydew, while the aromatic substances and thyme pollen grains are due to a variety of aromatic native and endemic flowers, which in the island's hot, dry climate produce small quantities of concentrated, aromatic nectar. As a result, ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’ is thick (i.e. it has a low moisture content), aromatic, contains pollen grains from a large number of Cretan plants and has the specific characteristics described above.

The Cretan beekeepers developed specific ways of taking advantage of the combination of soil and climatic conditions, the distinctive vegetation, the presence of pine honeydew and the instinctive behaviour of the bees to produce ‘Pefkothymaromelo Kritis’. This technique was based on knowledge was built up from one generation to the next, as they had to adapt their activity to the environment, the behaviour of the bees and climatic conditions. While carefully conducted correct hive management is a key factor, the final product is also distinctive because of its quality characteristics, as confirmed by the HMF index, sucrose content and the absence of acaricide and plant protection product residues.

Publication reference of the specification

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

http://www.minagric.gr/images/stories/docs/agrotis/POP-PGE/prod_pefkothimaromelo_kriti.pdf

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