EN Official Journal of the European Union C 185/17

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

2009/C 185/09

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

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘FARINE DE PETIT ÉPEAUTRE DE HAUTE PROVENCE’

EC No: FR-PGI-0005-0476-20.06.2005

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: Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité Address: 51 rue d’Anjou 75008 Paris FRANCE Tel. +33 153898000 Fax +33 142255797 E-mail: —

2. Group:

Name: Syndicat du Petit Épeautre de Haute-Provence Address: Quartier Aumage 26560 Mevouillon FRANCE Tel. +33 475285186 Fax +33 475285186 E-mail: petit.epeautre@orange.fr Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 1.6: Fruit, vegetables, cereals, whether or not processed.

4. Specification:

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

4.1. Name:

‘Farine de Petit Épeautre de Haute Provence’

4.2. Description:

Small spelt (‘Petit Épeautre’) ‘Triticum monococcum’ is a straw cereal belonging to the Gramineae family. It is characterised by its flat bearded ears which grow in two ranks. The unbroken grain in its husk must be husked (or possibly bleached) before being consumed. Bleached grain is grain which has been husked after an additional dehulling stage. A number of quality requirements have been laid down. The maximum total percentage of matter which is not basic cereal of unimpaired quality is 5 %, of which:

2 % may be broken grains

1,5 % grain impurities (shrivelled, other cereals, attacked, pest damage, discoloration, overheated, dry)

1 % sprouted grain

0,5 % miscellaneous impurities (extraneous seeds, damaged grain, husks, ergot, decayed grain, dead insects and fragments of insects)

The minimum specific weight is 77 kg/hl. The humidity of the bulk grain must not exceed 14 %.

Protein content of husked grain must be more than 10,5 %.

The small spelt is processed into ivory coloured, cream flour. ‘Petit Épeautre’ de Haute Provence flour does not rise as much as wheat flour because of its low gluten content.

The PGI relates to whole wheat flour, which is characterised by a mineral rate of more than 1,8 % and sifted flour, with a mineral rate of less than 1,8 %. For these two types of flour, humidity should be less than 14 % and protein rate more than 10,5 %.

Milling flour, which is obtained by milling (see section 4.5), can be packaged in bags of 500 g, 1, 10, 25 or 50 kg, but may also be delivered in bulk to any operator. The miller is not the only person able to package.

Traditional flour, obtained by traditional stone-milling (see section 4.5), may be packaged in bags of 500 g, 1, 10 and 25 kg.

The optimum date by which the flour may be used is nine months from the date of milling.

4.3. Geographical area:

The PGI area (production of grains and seeds, husking and stone-milling) includes 235 municipalities at an altitude of over 400 metres, spread across four départements (Alpes de Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Drôme and Vaucluse) in south-east France. This area is delimited as follows:

Department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: — all municipalities in the cantons of Banon, Forqualquier, Manosque, Noyers-sur-Jabron, Reillanne, Saint Etienne les Orgues, — the following municipalities in the canton of Château-Arnoux: Aubignosc, Château Arnoux, Chateauneuf Val St Donat, Montfort and Peipin, — the following municipalities in the canton of Peyruis: Ganagobie, La Brillanne, Lurs and Peyruis.

Department of Hautes-Alpes: — all the municipalities in the cantons of Aspres/Büech, Orpierre, Rosans, Ribiers and Serres, — the following municipalities in the canton of Laragne: Eyguians, Laragne-Montéglin, Lazer, Le Poët, Upaix, Ventavon.

Department of Drôme: — all the municipalities in the cantons of Buis les Baronnies, La Motte Chalencon, Rémuzat, Séderon, — the following municipalities in the canton of Luc en Diois: Beaumont en Diois, Beaurières, Charens, Jonchères, La Bâtie des Fonds, Les Près, Lesches en Diois, Luc en Diois, Miscon, Poyols, Val Maravel, Valdrôme, — the following municipalities in the canton of Nyons: Arpavon, Aubres, Chateauneuf de Bordette, Chaudebonne, Condorcet, Curnier, Eyrolles, Les Pilles, Montaulieu, Saint Ferréol Trente Pas, Sainte Jalle, Valouse.

Department of Vaucluse: — all the municipalities in the canton of Sault, — the following municipalities in the canton of Apt: Apt, Auribeau, Caseneuve, Castellet, Gignac, Lagarde d'Apt, — Rustrel, Saignon, Saint Martin de Castillon, Saint Saturnin d'Apt, Viens, Villars, — the following municipalities in the canton of Bonnieux: Buoux and Sivergues, — the following municipalities in the canton of Gordes: Lioux and Murs, — the following municipalities in the canton of Malaucène: Brantes, Savoillan, and Saint Léger du Ventoux, — the following municipalities in the canton of Mormoiron: Blauvac, Flassan, Méthamis and Villes sur Auzon, — the following municipalities in the canton of Pertuis: Beaumont de Pertuis, Cabrières d'Aygues, Grambois, La Bastide des Jourdans, La Motte d'Aygues, Peypin d'Aygues, Vitrolles.

4.4. Proof of origin:

For each farm, plots are identified on the basis of a plot map produced using the farm register. The origin of seeds is ascertained by checking sales invoices. The quantities harvested in each plot are recorded on the crop sheets in the farm register.

Each production and/or storage batch is identified on the storage units by batch identification sheets. The sheets also show the quantities harvested and husked, together with the husker's identity code and date of husking. Each stage — husking, milling and packaging — is subject to a stock-taking check and is recorded for each batch. Taken as a whole, these aspects of traceability mean that the process from sowing of the plot to sale to the consumer can be traced.

4.5. Method of production:

The small spelt covered by the PGI is grown in the geographical production area of Haute Provence at an altitude of more than 400 metres. It is grown according to traditional production methods: crops are rotated, the seed used comes from the geographical area, sowing takes place in summer and autumn, and the use of synthetic chemical products is prohibited. Fertilisation is limited to a maximum of 60 units of nitrogen (one unit of nitrogen being the equivalent of 1 kg of N), 60 units of potassium (one unit of potassium being the equivalent of 1 kg of potassium oxide or K2O) and 60 units of phosphorus (one unit of phosphorus being the equivalent of 1 kg of phosphorous pentoxide or P2O5) per hectare. Haute Provence small spelt makes best use of the rains in May, which allow the grain to swell. July, which is hot and dry, encourages healthy maturing without any diseases developing. The maximum grain yield, husk on, is 40 quintals per hectare.

After harvesting, small spelt, still in its husk, is stored in the geographical area to await husking. Husking is an essential stage prior to any use in cooking or milling; it is carried out by huskers within the geographical area and consists of removing the husk from the grain. Husking calls for genuine expertise, requiring great dedication and special tools. The grain must be neither spoilt nor badly husked, which requires very fine dexterity on the part of the husker. The various screening and husking stages result in grain of between 5 and 10 mm in length and 1,5 mm thick. Husking may take place up to 2 years after harvesting.

The milling is carried out without the addition of additives and without the grain being wet (this encourages the conservation of the grain by limiting oxidation), using husked grains and/or grains cut at the time of husking. The expertise resides in the ability to regulate the level of extraction enabling the flour required to be obtained. Processing into flour takes place within six months after husking. Batches have to be milled within three months of delivery to the mill. Two types of milling are possible: stone-milling or traditional milling.

Traditional stone-milling is carried out within the geographical area. It is only carried out by producers milling, on their own farm, grains that they have produced themselves.

Crushing and sifting are performed at a stone-mill. This milling allows the grain to be crushing without it being heated. The milling is carried out in a single process between two grooved stones (one static and another which turns). The grain poured into the central hole falls through a groove, is ground and then removed by centrifugal force to the outside of the millstones. The bags are packed, weighed and closed by hand.

Milling can take place outside of the geographical area. The processing takes place using several grinding and conversion procedures. Sifting (using a flour sifting device) takes place between each grinding and conversion operation. A plansifter ventilation system allows the finished product to be guided towards a flour chamber (storage of the end product) and intermediate products to be sent for grinding and conversion.

The flour obtained by the two types of milling is wholemeal, but can also be sifted using a sifting system.

4.6. Link:

The geographical area covered by the name ‘Haute Provence’ is a homogenous zone with a Mediterranean climate, mainly characterised by its altitude, which tempers its climate. The dry summers give way to intensely cold winters.

Haute Provence small spelt is suited to these harsh climatic conditions typical of the area because the fact that it is an early sowing variety means it can bear the hard winter conditions. The late rains in May benefit the quality of the grain, whereas they often arrive too late for the wheat and barley sown a month earlier.

The region has karstic calcareous subsoils riddled with faults, dating from the Tertiary period. ‘Petit Epeautre de Haute Provence’ enables best use to be made of the poorest soils (known locally as ‘spelt fields’), on which lavender is also grown. The fact that processing plants have been set up is a very clear sign of the link between small spelt and the geographical area. Husking takes place in artisanal workshops distributed throughout the area. A large number of mills, no longer in use, were built along rivers and streams and also produced flour; their millstones were put to a number of different purposes. In the wake of technical progress and using the know-how they have inherited, today’s huskers use special tools which vary according to the batch to be worked on and make it possible to obtain a greater yield by reducing the number of grains broken during the husking and screening stages. The condition of the husked grain is one of the best means of assessing the quality. The skill lies in dedicating just the right amount of time to husking. Previously, despite efforts made, small spelt flour (rich in lipids) was less expensive than wheat flour and many mills capable of processing small spelt could be found in large numbers in Haute Provence.

These mills were essential because they produced flour and were able to husk the grain. Small spelt flour, which is produced as and when required so as to avoid it going rancid, used to be used in Haute Provence as the wheat flour in the plains. Although its production is marginal compared to that of wheat flour, it has always been produced.

Historically, there is evidence that ‘Petit Epeautre de Haute Provence’ was already present in certain prehistoric sites in Provence. The Roman occupation of ‘Provincia’ (Provence) relegated cultivation of this crop to the unromanised saltus or garrigue of the interior. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Nordic peoples invaded Provence and caused an exodus of its population into the interior. The robust quality and storability of small spelt enabled the displaced population to survive. Small spelt was still present throughout the Middle Ages in Provence. The subsequent presence of this crop in various parts of Haute Provence is attested to in administrative acts (1338), surveys (1775) and agricultural statistics (1804-1874).

However, there is a genuine culinary tradition surrounding Petit Épeautre flour in Haute Provence and it is very well-known. Distributors and processors very often associate small spelt with Haute Provence because it is a typical product of this region. Haute Provence is recognised as being the ancestral production area for small spelt.

Small spelt flour from Haute Provence is well known because it is used to produce golden sandwich bread, with a delicate nutty flavour.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: ULASE, Organisme Certificateur Address: ZA Champgrand 26270 Loriol sur Drome FRANCE Tel. +33 475611300 Fax +33 475856212 E-mail: info@ulase.fr

4.8. Labelling:

The label must bear the sales name together with the protected geographical indication, the identification of the milling lot, the net weight, the optimal use-by-date, the name or company name and address of the packager.