Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin
Date: 2003-02-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Spain, designation of origin, labelling, location of production, perennial vegetable, product designation, product quality

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Official Journal of the European Union

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

(2003/C 40/04)

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 point 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 (x)

PGI (

)

National application No: 82

1. Responsible department in the Member State

Name:

Subdirección General de Denominaciones de Calidad y Relaciones Interprofesionales y
Contractuales

Dirección General de Alimentación

Subsecretaría de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación

Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación

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

Tel.

Fax

(34-91) 347 53 94

(34-91) 347 54 10

2. Applicant group

2.1. Name:

Consejo Rector Producto de Calidad ‘Alcachofa de Benicarló’

2.2. Address:

c/ Cesar Cataldo, 2 (Edificio Cámara Agraria)

E-12580 Benicarló (Castellón)

Tel. and fax (34) 96 46 16 74

2.3. Composition: producer/processor (x)

other (

)

3. Type of product: Globe artichoke. Class 1.6: fruit and vegetables

4. Specification

Summary of requirements under Article 4(2)

4.1. Name: ‘Alcachofa de Benicarló’ or ‘Carxofa de Benicarló’

4.2. Description: flower buds of the globe artichoke plant (Cynara scolymus L.) belonging to the variety
‘Blanca de Tudela’, to be eaten fresh, and to the categories Extra and I, provided they meet the
requirements in the specification and the other requirements under the relevant laws in force.

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4.3. Geographical area:

‘Alcachofa de Benicarló’ is grown in the municipalities of Benicarló, Cálig,
Peñíscola and Vinaroz, all of which are located close to the coast in the region of ‘Baix Maestrat’,
province of Castellón (Comunidad Valenciana). The production area covers a total of 25 129 ha,
of which proximately 16 000 ha is cultivated. Green vegetables are grown on 3 800 ha of this
area with 18 % given over to artichoke cultivation.

Packaging and wrapping take place in the production area.

4.4. Proof of origin: the Consejo Regulador (regulatory council) keeps the following records: (a) a
register of planting; (b) a register of storage facilities and packing plants. Only artichokes grown
on land included in the registers of plantings and handled by businesses included in the relevant
register may be sold with the protected designation of origin, identified by a numbered label.

Regular checks are carried out on the land in question and inspections are made on products
marketed with the DO label. Regular inspections are also undertaken to ensure that artichokes
meeting the requirements for a protected designation of origin are kept separately from those
which do not.

4.5. Method of production

Planting: plants selected by the farmer are propagated using cuttings. The cuttings are planted in
July and August.

irrigation by the furrow method is gradually giving way to localised
Cultivation: traditional
irrigation since this involves the more rational use of water and better control of fertiliser
inputs, which are applied throughout the year according to the plant's requirements.
In the
early stages of cultivation manual and chemical means of weed control are used and when the
plant has three or four leaves, earthing up is carried out at longer and longer intervals until the
shade created prevents the rapid spread of weeds.

Harvesting: artichokes are harvested from around October to April and are removed manually
using a knife, having first been very carefully selected.

Packaging and wrapping: on arrival at the packaging plant, the product is rigorously screened and
graded.

4.6. Link

Historical link: the artichoke has enjoyed a long tradition in the region, mainly in the city of
Benicarló. Its cultivation is very well adapted to the area and its importance to the city is reflected
in the fact that it appears on its escutcheon. The presence of the artichoke and the land on which
it is grown dates back a very long time, probably to the XIIIth century. The botanist Cabanilles
called it Scolimus hispanicus and said that it was abundant in his time (late XVIIIth century)
throughout the market gardening area of Valencia.

Current production and marketing of the artichoke started about 50 years ago, at the end of the
forties, when farmers who were accustomed to growing the plant moved to large-scale cultivation
with the expansion of trade and the nearness of markets brought about by the development of
transport.

Natural link: growing conditions in the area covered by the DO are ideal for the cultivation of
artichokes, which benefit from the combined effect of the special climate of the region and the
characteristics of the soil of the coastal plains of the northern part of the Comunidad Valenciana.

Relief: this comprises a gently sloping (2 % on average) narrow coastal region protected by a
mountain chain.

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Soil: the parent rock is carbonate type with a slightly basic pH and a smooth texture.

Climate: dry sub-humid, Mediterranean-maritime, with mild but cool winters and a slight risk of
frost. Average annual precipitation of 400 mm is distributed unevenly making irrigation
necessary.

In these conditions, as a result of rigorous care during cultivation, the white varieties develop
excellent quality flower buds with a compact and conical outside appearance. Artichokes from the
area are very resistant to blackening after harvesting, a characteristic much appreciated by the
trade.

Cultivation is labour intensive and requires great care, from the selection of the shoots by the
grower to the day-by-day harvesting of the artichokes when they attain optimum ripeness.
Growers undertake these different stages with great precision, the outcome of a professionalism
and tradition going back several generations.

4.7. Inspection body

Name:

Instituto de Calidad Alimentaria de la Comunidad Valenciana

Address: Plaza Polo de Bernabé, 8. bajo, E-46020 Valencia

Tel.

(34) 96 38 41 24; fax (34) 96 38 41 79

E-mail: instituto.calidad@agricultura.m400.gva.es

The Agri-foodstuffs Quality Institute, as the body responsible for designations of quality in the
Comunidad Valenciana, has been given the task temporarily of monitoring production until the
Consejo Regulador of the PDO ‘Alcachofa de Benicarló’ complies with standard EN 45011.

4.8. Labelling: artichokes qualifying for the protected designation of origin are sold only in packagings
bearing a numbered label issued and checked by the regulatory council on which the following
words must appear: protected designation of origin ‘Alcachofa de Benicarló’ or ‘Carxofa de
Benicarló’.

4.9. National requirements

— Law 25/1970 of 2 December 1970 laying down the rules governing vines, wine and alcohol

— Decree 835/1972 of 28 March 1972 regulating Law 25/1970 of 2 December 1970

— Order of 25 January 1994 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food incorporating
into Spanish law Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications
and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

— Royal Decree No 1643/99 of 22 October 1999 laying down the procedure for the
management of applications for entry in the Community register of protected designations
of origin and protected geographical indications.

EC No: G/ES/00202/01.07.31.

Date of receipt of the full application: 9 September 2002.