Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin
Date: 2001-01-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Navarre, designation of origin, location of production, perennial vegetable, producer organisation

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EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

13.1.2001

Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2001/C 11/02)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of the abovementioned
Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in the
Member State concerned within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The
arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under 4.6, and are considered to justify the
application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO (

)

PGI (x)

National application No 65

1. Responsible department in the Member State

Name:

Subdirecci(cid:243)n General de Denominaciones de Calidad, Direcci(cid:243)n General de Alimentaci(cid:243)n,
Secretar(cid:237)a General de Agricultura y Alimentaci(cid:243)n del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y
Alimentaci(cid:243)n, Espaæa.

Address: Paseo Infanta Isabel, 1, E-28071 Madrid.

Tel.

Fax

(34) 913 47 53 94

(34) 913 47 54 10

2. Applicant group

2.1. Name: Asociaci(cid:243)n de Cultivadores de Alcachofa de Tudela e industrias pertenecientes a las

asociaciones Agrucon y Consebro.

2.2. Address: Camino Caritat, 2, 1o, E-31500 Tudela.

Tel.

Fax

(34) 948 82 00 24

(34) 948 82 02 00

2.3. Composition: producer/processor (x)

other (

)

3. Type of product: Artichokes for consumption fresh or preserved. Category 1.6 (cid:151) Fresh and processed

vegetables.

4. Specification

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name: (cid:145)Alcachofa de Tudela(cid:146).

4.2. Description: The geographical indication will protect artichoke flowers or (cid:145)heads(cid:146) of the cultivar

Blanca de Tudela grown from Cynara scolymus L, marketed fresh or preserved.

Artichokes marketed fresh will be of
to
Commission Regulation (EC) No 963/98 of 7 May 1998 which lays down marketing standards
for fresh artichokes. The artichokes may be presented with the stalk (with a stem 18 cm long and
one or two whole leaves) and sold in the traditional way in bunches of 12 without stalks (with a
stem only 10 cm long) and sold by weight.

(cid:145)Extra Class(cid:146) or (cid:145)Class I(cid:146), as described in Annex II

Preserved artichokes, marketed in the form of whole or halved hearts, are produced without
acidification, the finished product having a pH value of not less than 5,0.

4.3. Geographical area: The production zone comprises 33 areas in the south and south-west of
Navarre, 32 of which are in agricultural district V (Ribera) and one in agricultural district IV
(Navarra Media). Preservation may be carried out anywhere in Navarre, although 95 % of the
processing industry is located in the production zone itself.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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4.4. Proof of origin: Ribera has traditionally produced vegetables, whose quality and special charac-
teristics have made them justly renowned and appreciated throughout the northern half of Spain.

The artichoke, which has been grown on the irrigated land of Tudela since medieval times, is
highly prized throughout Ribera and, along with white asparagus,
is Navarre’s best-known
vegetable product.

The zone’s farmers, through a continous process of selective growing since the beginning of the
century, have produced a registered cultivar, the Blanca de Tudela, that is the basis for production in
most of Spain.

4.5. Method of production: The protected artichoke is an annual crop, although artichokes for

preserving may be biennial.

By annual crop it is meant that the plant is pulled after one year in the ground, from August of
one year to July of the following year. The crop is biennial when it is pulled two years after
planting.

Planting is carried out using the cultivar Blanca de Tudela obtained from a nursery entered in the
Official Register of Seed and Plant Producers, Traders and Importers. The crop must always be
irrigated. Harvesting is by hand and on a continuous basis, selecting the heads ready for
consumption.

Preserving is carried out without the use of acidifiers, the product being sterilised by heat. The pH
value of the preserved product is similar to that of the fresh artichoke and is never less than 5,0.
The look and, above all, the organoleptic qualities of the preserved product are remarkably close to
those of the fresh product in its traditional culinary preparation.

4.6. Links: Artichokes are grown in the alluvial plains and particularly on the lower terraces of the
Rivers Ebro, Ega and Arag(cid:243)n and its tributary the Arga, the most suitable soils being of medium
texture, without stones, rich in lime, cool and well drained.

A great effort is put into irrigation as a means of overcoming the natural shortage of rainfall in the
zone and of managing the crop, rather than with the aim of obtaining high yields.

The zone’s climate, with cold winters and mild springs, allows for much slower production than in
zones producing earlier crops, allowing for a production system that gives a better quality product.
Artichokes, production of which began in Navarre under the Arab occupation, has for centuries
been one of the main irrigated crops in Tudela and is one of the characteristic ingredients of
menestra, a typical stew that is highly appreciated during the spring months and perhaps the
leading representative of Ribera de Navarre cuisine.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name:

Consejo Regulador de la Indicaci(cid:243)n GeogrÆfica Protegida (cid:145)Alcachofa de Tudela(cid:146).

Address: Carretera del Sadar, s/n, Edificio (cid:145)El Sario(cid:146), E-31006 Pamplona.

Tel.

Fax

(34) 948 23 85 12

(34) 948 23 20 70

The Regulatory Council is able to fulfil the requirements of EN 45011.

4.8. Labelling: All packaging used for the protected product, both fresh and preserved, must carry in a
prominent position the numbered label bearing the PGI logo, to be supplied exclusively by the
inspection body, the Regulatory Council.

4.9. National requirements:

(cid:151) Law No 25/1970 of 2 December 1970 and the Regulation implementing that Law, approved by
Royal Decree 835/1972 of 23 March 1972. Royal Decree 728/1998 of 8 July 1998 and Royal
Decree 2654/1985 of 18 December 1985 transferring powers from the Central Government to
the Autonomous Community of Navarre.

(cid:151) Royal Decree No 1643/1999 of 22 October 1999 laying down rules on the processing of
applications for entry in the Community register of protected designations of origin and
protected geographical indications.

EC No: G/E/00139/2000.07.03.

Date of receipt of the full application: 3 July 2000.