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: 2005-06-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, designation of origin, labelling, pip fruit, product designation

7.6.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 138/7

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 138/04)

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

‘MELANNURCA CAMPANA’

EC No: IT/00193/27.4.2001

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

This note is a summary produced for information. For full details, interested parties and in particular the
producers of the products covered by the PDO and the PGI in question are invited to consult the full
version of the specifications at national services or associations or at the competent services of the Euro-
pean Commission (1).

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policies

Address: Via XX Settembre, 20 — I-00187 ROME

Tel.

Fax

(39-06) 481 99 68

(39-06) 42 01 31 26

e-mail:

qtc3@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant:

2.1 Name:

a) Associazione Produttori Ortofrutticoli e Mela Annurca (A.P.O.M.A.)
b) Associazione Produttori Ortofrutticoli Irpino-Sanniti (A.P.O.I.S.)

2.2 Address:

a) Via G. Pica, 62 — I-80142 Napoli — tel. (081) 26 62 44
b) Via XXIV Maggio, 22 — I-84100 Benevento — tel. (0824) 31 65 56

2.3 Composition: producers/processors (x) other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 1.6: Natural and processed fruit, vegetables and cereals.

4. Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1 N a me :

‘Melannurca Campana’

(1) European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Products Quality

Policy Unit, B-1049 Brussels.

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4.2 De scr i p ti on :

When ready for consumption, the fresh product should have the following characteristics:

— For the Annurca variety:

— shape: the fruit may be flattened and roundish or a short, truncated cone shape, symmetrical

or slightly asymmetrical;

— dimensions: 60 mm in diameter, weighing 100 g per fruit (minimum permitted values); in
the case of apples from Franco stock, the fruit may be 55 mm in diameter, weighing 80 g
(minimum permitted values);

— skin: moderately thick or thick; colour at the time of harvest should be greenish yellow
with red streaks on 50-80 % of the surface and a red additional colour on 90-100 % of the
surface after the period of reddening on the ground; if it is grown from Franco stock,
moderately thick or thick skin is permitted, colour at the time of harvest should be greenish
yellow with red streaks on 40-70 % of the surface and a red additional colour on 85-95 %
of the surface after reddening on the ground;

— surface: smooth, waxy, with numerous little lenticels (not very noticeable), moderately rusty,

particularly in the stalk cavity;

— flesh: white, very compact, crunchy, not too sweet and not too sharp, quite juicy, scented

and with an excellent taste;

— resistance to alteration: excellent;

— firmness: (measured by 11 mm-pointed tip penetrometer) at the time of harvest no less than
8.5 kg, and at the end of storage no less than 5 kg; in the case of Franco stock, firmness at
the time of harvest as measured by penetrometer of 9 kg and at the end of storage 5 kg
(minimum permitted values);

— refractometer residue: at the time of harvest, 11.5o Bx, at the end of storage, 12o Bx

(minimum values);

— titratable acidity: at the time of harvest no less than 9.0 meq/100 ml of juice; at the end of

storage no less than 5.6 meq/100 ml of juice.

— For the Rossa del sud variety:

— shape: the fruit may be flattened and roundish or a short, truncated cone shape, symmetrical

or slightly asymmetrical;

— dimensions: no less than 60 mm in diameter, weighing 100 g per fruit;

— skin: moderately thick, yellow in colour with an additional colour of red on 90-100 % of

the surface;

— surface: smooth, waxy, with numerous little lenticels (not very noticeable), and traces of

rustiness, particularly in the stalk cavity;

— flesh: white, compact, crunchy, not too sweet and not too sharp, juicy, scented and with a

good taste;

— resistance to alteration: excellent;

— firmness: (measured by 11 mm-pointed tip penetrometer) at the time of harvest no less than

8.5 kg, at the end of storage no less than 5 kg;

— refractometer residue: at the time of harvest 12o Bx, at the end of storage 12.5o Bx (minimum

values);

— titratable acidity: at the time of harvest no less than 7.7 meq/100 ml of juice, at the end of

storage no less than 5.0 meq/100 ml of juice.

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4.3 G e og r a p h i c a l a r e a :

The production area of Melannurca Campana PGI comprises municipalities within the provinces of
Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples and Salerno, as detailed in the product specification.

4.4 Pr oof of or i g i n:

Every phase of production should be monitored, in each case documenting the inputs and outputs.
In this way, and through registration of producers, plots of cultivation land, processors and packa-
gers on special lists maintained by the regulatory body, the traceability of the product (from one
end of the production chain to the other in both directions) is guaranteed.

All persons, both individuals and legal entities, on the relevant lists will be regulated by the regula-
tory body as established in the product specification and the relevant regulation plan. Whenever
the regulatory body establishes non-conformity, even if it is only in one phase of the production
chain, the product may not be sold under the protected geographical
indication Melannurca
Campana.

4.5 M e t h od of p r odu ct i on:

The product specification provides amongst other things that in the cultivation phase, the trees are
grown in the standard way, branching only at the top, although new pruning methods are accep-
table provided that they do not alter the unique characteristics of the product. The most wide-
spread stock remains Franco, but cloned stocks are also considered suitable. The number of trees
per hectare may vary up to a maximum of 1 200 trees/ha. The maximum permitted production,
even allowing for seasonal climatic variations, is set at 35 t/ha. Irrigation water should have a salt
content no greater than 1.1 Ecw. The fruits must be harvested by hand. From time immemorial,
the fruit has traditionally been reddened on the ground in what are known as ‘melai’. The apples
are placed on layers of various soft materials on small plots of ground, lined up on ridges to avoid
water collecting around them. The fruits are arranged in one or two lines, exposing the least
coloured areas in particular to the light by periodically turning them.

Cultivation, processing and packaging must take place within the territory defined above at point
4.3 in order to guarantee that the product can be traced and regulated.

4.6 L i nk:

Cultivation of the Annurca apple has always characterised the countryside of Campania thanks to
the favourable soil and weather conditions which have allowed it to spread wherever the land,
whether due to the soil composition or to the rainfall (6 000 — 7 000 m3/ha from spring to
autumn), has a depth suitable for the roots i.e. greater than 80 cm, has limestone values of less
than 10 and a salt content expressed in mS/cm of less than 2. The Annurca apple starts to flower
and to germinate late, thus escaping the negative consequences of low temperatures coinciding
with flowering and germination. The area involved in production of the PGI is characterised by
good drainage and the ground is notable for its mixed composition (light loam), and for a pH
between 6.5 and 7.5. The human factor which closely accompanies the entire production cycle of
the Annurca apple is fundamental, from cultivation to harvest and ultimately to the construction of
melai and the techniques for reddening. The relationship between the Annurca and Campania is
very ancient, a link which began in the Roman era in the Phlegraean Fields (Pozzuoli area), became
firmly established over the centuries and has progressively grown to involve many other areas
within the region, areas — chosen for their environmental suitability — which have required
centuries of patient toil on the part of the local agricultural workers. From time immemorial and
in every text on the subject, the Annurca apple has been synonymous with Campania.

In Campania, known as Campania felix by the Romans for its exceptional geographical situation,
there has been a rich and varied tradition of fruit cultivation for millennia; the Annurca apple takes
pride of place in this and it is called, for good reason, the ‘queen of apples’. Uncovering the roots
of the Annurca means returning to elements of the glorious ancient past since it is recognisable in
paintings at Pompeii, and in particular those inside the Casa dei Cervi at Herculaneum. This suggests
that the ancient inhabitants of those areas were eating these apples even then. Pliny the Elder first
describes them in his monumental encyclopaedia Naturalis Historia.

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4.7 Inspe c ti on body:

Name:

IS.ME.CERT.

Address: via G. Porzio centro Direzionale Isola G1 scala C- I-80143 Napoli

4.8 L a b e lli ng :

The following items must appear on the labels in clear, indelible print:

— the mark ‘I.G.P. MELANNURCA CAMPANA’, followed by the name of the variety ‘ANNURCA’

or ‘ROSSA del SUD’;

— the name, business name and address of the producer;

— the quantity of the product contained within the packaging;

— the PGI logo, a stylised apple against a white background, whose lower edge and upper left

edge are red while the upper right edge is green.

Products prepared using Melannurca PGI, even after development and processing, may be sold in
packaging making reference to the designation without the addition of the Community logo,
provided that:

— only fruits that conform with this specification are used, apart from in terms of size and
refractometer residue which may be less than those at Article 6 but never below 50 mm in
diameter and 10.5o Bx residue;

— the weight relationship between the amount of Melannurca Campana PGI used and the amount

of derived product is precisely stated;

— the use of Melannurca Campana PGI is attested by production certificates issued by the compe-

tent bodies;

— users of the Melannurca Campana PGI are authorised by the holders of the intellectual property
right conferred by registration of the PGI, organised in an association for the protection of the
PGI recognised by the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies. This association will also
enter the users in special registers and monitor the correct use of the protected geographical
indication. In the absence of a recognised association, the above tasks will be carried out by
the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies as the national authority responsible for
implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

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