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: 2005-03-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Abruzzi, Italy, Marches, designation of origin, labelling, olive, preparation for market, product designation, salted product

9.3.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 59/33

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

(2005/C 59/07)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Articles 7 and 12d of the above-
mentioned Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in
a Member State, in a WTO member country or in a third country recognized in accordance with Article
12(3) 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.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

‘OLIVA ASCOLANA DEL PICENO’

EC No: IT/00331/04.12.2003

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary has been drawn up for information purposes only. For full details, in particular the produ-
cers of the PDO or PGI concerned, please consult the complete version of the product specification obtain-
able at national level or from the European Commission (1).

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali

Address: Via XX Settembre n. 20, 00187 Roma

Tel.:

Fax:

(06) 481 99 68

(06) 42 01 31 26

E-mail:

qualita@politicheagricole.it

2.

Group:

2.1. Name:

Associazione di Produttori di Oliva Ascolana tenera

2.2. Address:

Via delle Zeppelle 113, 63100 Ascoli Piceno

2.3. 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))

4.1. N a me :

‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’

(1) European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, Agricultural product quality policy, B-1049 Brussels.

C 59/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

9.3.2005

4.2. De scr i p ti on: The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ denotes the

‘ascolana tenera’ variety of olive, either in brine or stuffed.

Upon sale to the public, the product must present the following characteristics and maintain these up
until the shown expiry date:

(a) Olives in brine:

Uniform colour ranging from green to pale yellow with a characteristic yeast aroma. The taste is
somewhat tart, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, fragrant and crunchy with a thick, smooth and
compact flesh.

(b) Stuffed olives:

Sensory profile

Visible: slightly elongated, irregular shape (elliptical); visible patches of green; when broken, the
bread coating remains stuck to the olive and appears compact.

Aroma: medium intensity aroma with notes of green olive and spices.

Taste: the ascolana tenera variety of olive gives the product its crunchy and delicate taste with a
medium to intensely bitter aftertaste.

Microbiological characteristics:

Consonant with the applicable rules on food safety.

Physical characteristics:

1 kg of stuffed olives should comprise a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 95 units.

4.3. G e og r a p h i ca l a r e a : The PDO area of production covers certain municipalities in the Provinces of
Ascoli Piceno and Teramo, as indicated in the production specification, located in the Marche and
Abruzzi Regions. The production area is defined by the relevant map.

4.4. Pr oof of or i g i n: Olive growing in the Piceno area goes back to the very beginning of its introduc-
tion into the Italian peninsula by the Phoenicians and Greeks. The table olive variety, now known as
‘ascolana tenera,’ evolved over time as a result of selection techniques. As far back as in Ancient
Roman times, the variety was enjoyed and recognised, being named ‘picenae’, and subsequently ‘asco-
lana’. Martial wrote a satirical epigram criticising a certain Mancino for hosting unworthy banquets
which lacked various delicacies, in particular picenae olives. In another of his epigrams, he virtually
classifies the Piceno olive as an appetite stimulant. In antiquity, the Piceno area was believed to have
been thickly covered with olive groves, according to a lesser-known Latin author in his epic poem
entitled ‘la Puniche’. At that time, the term ‘picenae olive’ sufficed to identify the olives that were sent
from the area to Rome. Pliny considered them the best olives in Italy. The name ‘picenae’ olive would
not have been used to refer to other varieties of table olives since specific references exist in Columel-
la's volumes ‘On Agriculture’, which highlight ten varieties of table olive, including the Piceno olive.
Subsequently, the Benedictine Olivetan monks were responsible for rationalising olive growing prac-
tices and were the first to pickle olives by using ‘lye’, an alkaline liquid obtained by dissolving one
part of quicklime to 4-5 parts of wood ash in water. Unpublished documents from the Benedictine
monastery archives provide information on growing, harvesting and using table olives in the Ascoli
area dating to before 1500. Documents from this era described the methods employed to prepare the
olives using a lime and potassium-based preparation before conserving the olives in salt. Various
writers described the harvest and processing of ascolane olives and of the stoned olives which were
referred to as ‘Judas’ because they had no soul. These olives can be considered the precursors of the
stuffed olives.

9.3.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 59/35

The ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ PDO therefore denotes a complex process born of a chain of labour
practices handed down over the ages and elevated to the dignified rank of tradition. Safeguarding
such typical production and protecting it from powerful economic interests as a cultural identity with
strong ties to the land requires a traceability system to guarantee the origin of the product. For this
reason, the phases of production will be regulated by creating specific registers of olive growers, iden-
tifying the areas where the olives are grown, the processors and packagers, including the location of
plants for these purposes; beef, pigmeat and poultry producers; stuffed olive producers and the loca-
tion of olive processing plants. The same entity, authorised by the Ministry for Agricultural and
Forestry Policy, will verify that the product protected by the PDO meets the specified requirements.

4.5. M e th od of p r odu ct i on: The method of production must fully comply with the description set
out in the production specification available from the EU. Growing, processing and packaging must
all be carried out within the area of production defined under point 4.3 in order to guarantee trace-
ability and control.

4.6. L i nk: The Piceno area is an ancient region stretching from the Province of Ancona to Atri

in
Abruzzi. At present, the area lies within two different administrative Regions, Marche and Abruzzi,
more specifically, parts of municipalities in the Ascoli Piceno and Teramo provinces. The historical
centre and birthplace of the tradition and culture lies in the city of Ascoli Piceno and its surroundings.
The area of production is particularly mountainous, with the Apennines to the west and the Sibylline
range sloping east down to the Adriatic coast. The climate is affected by the morphology of the area
and the length of coastline where the warm and humid Sirocco winds blow in. Precipitation gradually
increases from the coast to the inland hilly areas where recorded rainfall levels fluctuate due to the
concentration of rainfall during the autumn and towards the end of winter/beginning of spring. The
sea affects the climate of the whole area devoted to ascolana table olives, which grow best with an
average annual rainfall of no less than 900 mm and in calcium-rich soil. The combination of produc-
tion factors in the small and specific area defined above gives rise to the optimal conditions needed
to give the product its characteristic features of soft flesh and the typical scents and aromas that
make this method of production unique in its field. The original distribution centre is the munici-
pality of Ascoli Piceno and its surroundings where ascolana olive growing is still governed by cultural
rather than economic factors. This variety typically produces robust, large trees with dense foliage
and an ellipsoidal drupe weighing on average 8 grams, 1/9th of which is the stone, weighing less
than 1 gram. The distinctive qualities of the ascolana olive have been recognised and enjoyed by
numerous historical figures, including Pope Sixtus V — who brought it to the tables of the Vatican
—, Rossini, Garibaldi and Puccini. Some bibliographical studies trace the origins of the tradition of
stuffing and frying table olives back to the 19th century according to methods and recipes that are
still in use today. Popular tradition holds that the practice of stuffing and frying olives was born of
the need to use up the various types of meat left over at the banquets and lunch spreads of pros-
perous families. The original recipe for the stuffing can be traced back to the time of the unification
of the Kingdom of Italy (1859/61). The Oliva Ascolana del Piceno is a product underpinned by quality
and a natural reputation due to its age-old history and deeply-rooted tradition.

4.7.

Insp e c ti on b ody :

Name:

ASSAM — Agenzia Servizi Settore Agroalimentare delle Marche

Address: Via Alpi 21, 60100 Ancona.

4.8. L a b e lli n g : Products bearing the name ‘Oliva Ascolana del Piceno’ presented either in brine or stuffed
are packaged in special containers or wrappers in accordance with the current rules on food safety. It
is forbidden to include any description that is not specifically set out in the production specification.
The name must appear on the label in clear, indelible script, at least twice the size of the name of the
producer, company etc. In addition, it must include the words ‘in brine’, ‘in natural juices’ or ‘stuffed’,
according to the type of product it contains, and the graphics portraying the image must be used
strictly in conjunction with the Protected Designation of Origin.

C 59/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

9.3.2005

The logo takes the form of a flat cube seen in perspective from below. It shows three faces of
different sizes. The front face, a perfect square, depicts two stylised olive leaves, the outer edges
forming a circle within the square and the inner edges forming an oval, which in turn represents an
olive sliced horizontally by three wavy lines, separating the olive into four parts. The central part of
the olive (the oval) and the leaves are set at a 30° angle to the right of the base. The olive is joined to
the leaves by a twig that is cut off in the bottom left-hand corner of the square. The medium-sized
face of the cube below the central face depicts the design of a castle sculpted in perspective on traver-
tine textured stone, at a 30° angle to the central face. The smaller third face on the left, at a 60° angle
to the central face, only depicts the travertine texture. Colour: the logo is in black and white, but may
be reproduced in any colour or combination of colours.

4.9. N a ti ona l r e q u i r e me nt s: —