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: 2005-07-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Spain, designation of origin, location of production, olive oil

12.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/13

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 172/06)

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

‘ACEITE DE LA RIOJA’

EC No: ES/00312/21.08.2003

PDO (X) PGI ( )

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 and associations or at the competent services of the Euro-
pean Commission (1).

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Subdirección General de Systems de Calidad Diferenciada — Dirección General de Alimen-
tación — Secretaría General de Agriculture y Alimentación del Ministerio de Agriculture,
Pesca y Alimentación de España.

Address:

Infanta Isabel, 1, E-28071 Madrid

Tel.:

Fax:

(34-941) 347 53 94

(34-941) 347 54 10

2.

Group:

2.1. Name:

‘Asolrioja’ Association de Trujales y Olivicultores de La Rioja.

2.2 Address:

C/ Gran Vía, no 14, 8oA. Logroño, La Rioja

Tel.:

655 93 89 80

2.3 Composition:

producer/processor (X) other ( )

3.

Type of product:

Extra virgin olive oil. Class 1.5.- Oils and fats (butter, margarine, oil, etc.).

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

Policy Unit, B-1049 Brussels.

C 172/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.7.2005

4.

Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. N a me :

‘Aceite de La Rioja’

4.2. De scr i p ti on:

Product obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (olives) using exclusively mechanical methods or
procedures, including pressing, in conditions which, particularly as regards heat, do not alter the
nature of the oil or its excellent taste and free fatty acid content expressed as oleic acid of not more
than 0,8 grams per 100, excluding oils obtained using solvents or by reesterification and any mixing
with oils of other types or olive oil obtained by different methods.

The protected oils are extra virgin olive oils, clear in appearance, with no cloudiness, turbidity or dirt
which detracts from their transparency. They are green in colour, with lights which may range from
intense light green to intense dark green. They have no defects and sufficiently marked positive
features. Their taste is fruity early in the season, with hints of almond, no bitterness, sweet and
slightly savoury.

Once it has matured, La Rioja olive oil has the following physical and chemical characteristics:
Acidity not exceeding 0,8, ultraviolet absorption (K270) not exceeding 0,20, ultraviolet absorption
(K232), not exceeding 2,50, peroxide index mEq O2 not exceeding 15, humidity and volatile mater
when heated to 105 °C not exceeding 0,1 per 100, impurities insoluble in petroleum ether not
exceeding 0,1 per 100, average organoleptic defect evaluation (Md), Md = 0 and average organoleptic
evaluation of fruitiness (Mf), Mf > 0.

4.3. G e og r a p h i ca l a r e a :

The area of production corresponds to that of conservation, extraction and packaging and covers the
503 388 ha of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja.

4.4. Pr oof of or i g i n:

Holdings and/or plantations, oil mills and packaging plants located in the designated area from which
the raw material is derived and where it is processed must be entered in the corresponding registers
of the ‘Asolrioja’ Association.

These holdings and/or plantations, oil mills and/or packaging plants must also have their own self-
inspection system and be subject to outside checks by the I.C.A.R. and/or an outside inspection body
under contract to the ‘Asolrioja’ Association, which will ensure recognition by the relevant authority
(Department of agriculture, livestock raising and rural development of the Government of La Rioja)
of compliance with standard UNE EN 45.004, providing impartial checks that the protected extra
virgin olive oil meets the requirements set out in the Regulation and the specification.

Each holding and/or plantation, oil mill and/or packaging plant must apply to the Association for
entry in the ‘Control plan’ and the I.C.A.R and/or the authorised outside inspection body evaluates it
by means of a registration audit. If this is satisfactory, the body concerned may be entered in the corre-
sponding register of the Association, which will ensure that it is continuously updated. Subsequently,
the I.C.A.R. and/or the outside inspection body draws up an ‘Audit plan’ leading to a report to be eval-
uated by the Food Quality Institute. If its decision is favourable, Product certification is granted,
ensuring that only extra virgin olive oil which has passed all the checks provided for will be
marketed. There is also a Coordination Council to ensure the impartiality of both the Association itself
and of the I.C.A.R and/or the authorised outside inspection body.

12.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/15

The traceability of the product is guaranteed by its identification at each of the stages of production
and marketing.

4.5. M e th od of p r odu c ti on:

The state of health of the fruit, the date of harvesting and the increasingly modern processing techni-
ques mean that the area of production boasts a good quality of fruit and so the oil obtained from it.
The productivity and shade density of the olive tree will be appropriate to the state of growth of the
plantation. Harvesting is always carried out carefully, with the sole aim of producing the protected
oils from healthy fruit collected direct from the tree and of an appropriate degree of ripeness.

All the mills and/or packaging plants have systems to guarantee the separate unloading of fruit
intended for the preparation of La Rioja extra virgin olive oil or of that oil and the rest, so avoiding
any possible mixing. They also have appropriate areas for storing the olives or the protected oil
before it handling. The olives are milled within no more than 48 hours of harvesting, so preventing
them from rotting and becoming more acid. The temperature during extraction never exceeds 30 °C
during pressing and 45 °C during the centrifugation process.

Pressing time never exceeds 60 minutes and the temperature never exceeds 30 °C; there is only one
pressing cycle.

La Rioja extra virgin olive oil is never refined.

The protected oil is stored in conditions which guarantee its conservation, preferably in stainless steel
vats, presses or metal tanks lined with ceramic, epoxy resins or other food-grade inert material. These
tanks are hermetically sealed and kept at a gentle and constant storage temperature never exceeding
22 °C.

The olive oil is packaged only if it has the physical and chemical characteristics listed under 4.2 and
passes a taste test set by a Grading Committee.

To preserve the quality and ensure the traceability and inspection of the protected product, all the
processes of production, reception, processing and packaging take place in the designated geogra-
phical area.

4.6. L i nk:

Historic link: Olive oil, now a key element of the Mediterranean diet, has been a basic food in La
Rioja, as well as being used for poultices and as rubbing oil, collected by the faithful for use in lamps
in shrines and consumed or rubbed on painful spots while invoking virgins. For years olives preserved
and prepared in the houses of farmers in La Rioja have served as an aperitif and a good snack when
kept in cold water with salt, thyme, garlic and orange peel.

However, the Romans were the first to extract olive oil by pressing in La Rioja. An indication of this
is the Roman counterweight found at Murillo de Río Leza and the oil store at a mill site in Alfaro,
where two large oil stains may be seen.

C 172/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.7.2005

There are written references to olive cultivation in the Province in the eighteenth century, as the only
well-ordered crop, and to mills for processing, of which there were 42 in La Rioja, which fell to 39
in 1861, rose to 64 in 1945 and then in 1953 to 81 mills, one residue mills, four factories producing
industrial soap and six producing ordinary soap, all of which used olive oil. In that century Berceo
notes that oil from La Rioja was being exported to the Indies and northern Europe.

Madoz's ‘Diccionario Geográfico Estadístico Histórico de España y sus Posesiones de Ultramar’ (Historical
statistical dictionary of Spain and its overseas possessions), mentions the importance of oil exports
from Alfaro in 1846-50.

Natural factors: Olive trees in La Rioja are normally to be found on dry soils with little humus in
their upper layers, rich in lime, clay and sand and with no impermeable layers, so having good drai-
nage, limiting growth, particularly in the hot season, and so a correct hormonal balance which affects
the future quality of the olives produced here by increasing the content of the fruit in oil, polyphe-
nols, anthocyanins and aromas and lowering pH, malic acid, potassium and grassy flavours. A more
fertile type of soil would result in excessive growth and, worse, growth spilling over into the period
when the olives are ripening, so delaying ripening and preventing adequate maturing. There would
also be more shade problems because of the greater density of foliage and abundance of vegetation
and more fungal diseases resulting in lower quality.

The predominant climate in the protected geographical area, temperate Mediterranean with some
continental features, mild winters, long hot summers and low rainfall which is, however, sufficient for
this crop to grow correctly in drought, good light and slight fluctuations in temperature between day
and night, is ideal for development of the olive tree, resulting in increased oil content, better aroma
and lower total acidity.

The low winter temperatures at cold times, which are also necessary to ensure the subsequent flow-
ering and fruiting of the tree, occur when it is in its state of vegetative rest with no leaves or fruit, a
time when it can resist temperatures down to -10 °C. After its winter rest, the olive requires light and
temperatures between 10 °C and 25 °C to develop correctly. The Mediterranean climate in the desig-
nated area provides adequate light and warmth but is not so fierce as to prevent photosynthesis and
loss of leaves where evaporation from them cannot be compensated for from the roots.

The thermal gap which occurs only during maturation has a positive influence on the synthesis of
anthocyanins.

Another factor which is also very important in securing a good harvest and so good oil is the olive
grower, who adds care to all the region's natural assets. The olive growers in the area have consider-
able knowledge of the olive tree and use traditional cultivation techniques designed to result in a
balanced grove perfectly designed to produce quality olive oil.

4.7. Insp e c ti on b ody :

Name:

Instituto de Calidad Agroalimentaria de La Rioja.

Address: Avda. de La Paz, 8-10, E-26071, Logroño (La Rioja)

Tel.:

941 29 16 00

Fax:

941 29 16 02

4.8. L a b e lli n g :

Labels must bear the wording Denominación de origen Protegida ‘Aceite de La Rioja’

12.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/17

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

— Basic Law No 3/1982 of 9 June 1982, Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja (amended by Basic Laws

Nos 3/1994 of 24 March 1994 and 2/1999 of 7 January 1999).

— Law No 3/1995 of 8 March 1995 on the legal arrangements for the government and public

administration of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja.

— Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992. Legal arrangements for the public administration and

joint administrative procedure.

— Order of 25 January 1994 laying down the correspondence between Spanish legislation and
indications for agri-

Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on designation of origin and geographical
cultural and food products.

— Royal Decree No 1643/1999 of 22 October 1999 laying down the procedure for applying for
entry on the Community Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical
Indications.