EN Official Journal of the European Union C 78/5

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

2013/C 78/04

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

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2)

‘MACCHERONCINI DI CAMPOFILONE’

EC No: IT-PGI-0005-0886-27.07.2011

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1. Name:

‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’

2. Member State or Third Country:

Italy

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1. Type of product:

Class 2.7. Pasta

3.2. Description of the product to which the name in point 1 applies:

‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ is a dried pasta produced from eggs and common wheat flour or semolina. The characteristics of these raw materials are described in point 3.3. When released for consumption, the strands of pasta have the following physical and chemical characteristics per 100 g of finished product:

— length: between 35 cm and 60 cm,

— width: between 0,80 mm and 1,20 mm,

— thickness: between 0,3 mm and 0,7 mm,

— protein (nitrogen × 5,70): minimum 12,5 % of total dry matter.

3.3. Raw materials:

The raw materials used to produce ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ PGI must not contain GMOs and must have the following quality characteristics per 100 g of product:

— the eggs must be barn eggs from hens reared exclusively on non-GMO cereals and must not contain synthetic pigments. They must contain between 10 g and 12 g of protein, more than 9 g of fat and at most 33 ppm of beta-carotene and have a dry residue of at least 20 % expressed as dry matter,

— the protein (nitrogen × 5,70) content of the durum wheat semolina must be at least 12,5 % of the dry matter,

— the protein (nitrogen × 5,70) content of the common wheat flour must be at least 10 % of the dry matter.

3.4. Feed:

—

3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area:

All stages of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ production — kneading, rolling out the sheets of dough, cutting and drying — must take place in the geographical area identified in point 4.

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

After the dough has been kneaded, rolled out into sheets and cut, the strands of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ are laid out on sheets of white food packaging paper 22 cm to 26 cm wide and 32 cm to 35 cm long. Each sheet of paper and the fresh product it contains weighs between 155 g and 175 g. After the four sides of the paper have been folded upwards in the traditional manner to prevent the product falling off, the sheets are placed in an orderly manner on special racks for drying. After drying, the sheets are placed into packages.

Packaging takes place in the factory only and is necessary so as to ensure that the delicate, extremely fragile product is adequately protected during transport and storage.

Indeed, if ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ were to be transported without the appropriate protection offered by the box, it would be susceptible to being shaken around and broken. As a result, the pasta would lose the typical physical characteristics described in point 3.2 which help ensure that it can be recognised immediately on sight.

3.7. Specific rules concerning labelling:

Each box and the labels on the packaging must feature, in clear and legible print, not only the information required by law but also:

the EU's ‘protected geographical indication’ symbol laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1898/2006 alongside the words ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone indicazione geografica protetta’ (‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone protected geographical indication’). The name ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ must be written with characters at least 5 mm high.

It is forbidden to add any description that is not expressly provided for. However, references to brand names may be used, on condition that they have no laudatory meaning and are not such as to mislead the purchaser.

The name ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ is untranslatable.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area:

The production area for ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ PGI is the municipality of Campofilone in the province of Fermo in the region of Le Marche.

5. Link with the geographical area:

5.1. Specificity of the geographical area:

Campofilone is a medieval village located on a hill in the lower Valle dell'Aso valley at an altitude of 210 m above sea level. An agricultural centre, it is located amidst very picturesque scenery ranging from the white, snow-capped peaks of the Parco dei Monti Sibillini mountain park to the green hills to the azure Adriatic Sea. The area has a particularly good climate, as its proximity to the sea is such that the breeze makes the climate very pleasant by mitigating the coolness caused by altitude.

5.2. Specificity of the product:

‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ differs decidedly from other types of pasta owing to the thinness of the dough sheet and the very finely cut strands of pasta. These characteristics give the product a very short cooking time of one minute in boiling water or directly in the sauce without the need for pre-boiling. Another fundamental characteristic demonstrating the uniqueness of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ is the percentage of egg used in the dough, which is markedly higher than that used in other types of pasta. Between 7 and 10 eggs are used per kilogram of durum wheat semolina or common wheat flour, or at least 33 % if expressed in percentage terms.

This percentage and the slow drying process make for a very high-yielding product: while 250 g of generic pasta corresponds to two generous helpings, the same quantity of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ gives four helpings.

Because it is high yielding, ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ can absorb more sauce than other types of pasta.

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):

The application for PGI status is justified by the product's reputation and fame. ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ is synonymous with the culture of the Campofilone area in its most authentic form. The artisan production of this pasta is an expression of the popular tradition of the medieval village of Campofilone that has been handed down through the generations. Eggs in particular were not always available year round and were dependant on the biological cycle of the hens. This stimulated the ingenuity and imagination of the women of the village, who began making pasta at home, first as fresh pasta and then gradually developing what was to become a drying process. Dry pasta was more convenient than fresh pasta as it could be stored in bread chests and eaten throughout the year. However, the rough way the pasta was cut had a disadvantage, namely that on contact with air during the drying process the pasta would bend and break into several pieces, meaning that it could not be eaten in whole strands. The housewives then cleverly began cutting the dough into extremely fine strands that were not broken on contact with air and thus remained intact until being eaten. The art of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ was thus born in the kitchen before being taken up by small workshops. Since then, these extremely fine golden strands have played a particularly important role, moving away from ‘everyday’ meals and becoming the signature dish at festive dinners, a symbol of the prowess of the mistress of the house. Initially it was eaten only on the main feast days and was a prestigious offering to make to important friends.

Unchanged tradition and skill over 600 years gave rise to family-run businesses that have made Campofilone famous in the wider world. As early as the 15th century ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ was considered a delicacy and was mentioned in the correspondence of Campofilone Abbey, in some documents from the Council of Trent and in the recipe books of some noble houses. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, some housewives and innkeepers began serving ‘Maccheroncini’, with its typical long, fine strands, to visitors to the area. The Touring Club Italiano's first ‘Guida Gastronomica d'Italia’ (‘Gastronomic Guide to Italy’) (1931) referred to ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ and thus documented an existence of a strong link between that speciality and its home village. This association was bolstered after the Second World War and 1960 saw the opening of the ‘Nello Spinosi’ artisan workshop. In 1965, the artisan firm ‘Alimentari Valdaso’ entered the market with the result that the production and spread of Campofilone's traditional product increased further.

Campofilone's fair is an unmissable opportunity to taste the village's culinary speciality. The fair dates back to 1964 and has since been held every year over 3 of the first 10 days of August. For the occasion the village is visited by thousands of tourists and around 20 000 helpings of pasta are served. This testifies to the success of Campofilone's fair and thus the reputation of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’.

The pasta-makers of Campofilone have won prizes and awards of national and international profile, thus confirming that the village of Campofilone has inextricably associated its reputation and name with this true culinary delicacy. A production district has thus arisen with human resources that are highly specialised in pasta production.

Over time, ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ has reached the most important markets, those of Europe, the United States, Canada, the Arab world and Asia. The value of ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ lies in the fact that its production technique has remained unchanged over the course of the centuries, with no changes to its simple, distinctive composition and the particular type of drying. Moreover, it is a product whose production requires specific skills and experience. These characteristics make it a particularly high-quality product in terms of yield, taste, lightness and ease of cooking.

Reference to publication of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (3))

The Ministry launched the national procedure for opposing the proposal to recognise ‘Maccheroncini di Campofilone’ as a protected geographical indication in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 131 of 8 June 2011.

The full text of the product specification is available on the following website:

http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335

or by going directly to the home page of the Ministry (http://www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (on the top right of the screen) and finally on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all'esame dell'UE’.

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

(2) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

(3) See footnote 2.