Commission Regulation (EC) No 2155/2005 of  23 December 2005  amending the specification of a designation of origin appearing in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96  (Miel de sapin des Vosges)  (PDO)
Date: 2005-12-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, designation of origin, honey

24.12.2005

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2155/2005

of 23 December 2005

amending the specification of a designation of origin appearing in the Annex to Regulation (EC)
No 1107/96 (Miel de sapin des Vosges) (PDO)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of
14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical
indications
and designations of origin for agricultural products and food-
stuffs (1), and in particular Article 6(3), the second indent of
Article 6(4) and the third paragraph of Article 9,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 9 of
Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, France has requested the
amendment of the specification for the protected desig-
nation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’, registered by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 (2).

The purpose of the requested amendment is to alter the
method of assessing the colour of the honey, which is
currently carried out by measuring its intensity according
to the Pfund scale.

Following the amendment, the criterion of the colour of
the honey will be verified on the basis of an organoleptic
examination conducted in relation to a reference sample
with characteristic colour. This method is considered to
be more reliable.

The request for an amendment has been considered and
the amendment has been deemed to be a minor one.
This is due to the fact that the amendment does not
alter the characteristics of
the designation of origin,
since the characteristic relating to colour is maintained.
The only difference is the method of assessing that
colour.

For the protected designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des
Vosges’, the ‘description’ in the specification, provided for
in Article 4(2)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92,
should be altered by deleting the reference to intensity
on the Pfund scale.

(1) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 148, 21.6.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 704/2005 (OJ L 118, 5.5.2005, p. 14).

(6)

(7)

(8)

In accordance with Article 4 of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 383/2004 (3), the Commission is publishing the
summary in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The amendment is considered also to comply with Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2081/92. Consequently, the alteration of
the description for the product bearing the name ‘Miel de
sapin des Vosges’ must be registered and published. The
summary should therefore include the details, contained
in the specification, of the colour of the honey bearing
the designation.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with
the Regulatory
Committee on the Protection of Geographical Indications
and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and
Foodstuffs,

opinion of

the

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The procedure provided for in Article 6(1) and (2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2081/92 shall not apply to the amendments referred
to in Article 2.

Article 2

The specification for the designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des
Vosges’ is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regu-
lation.

Article 3

A summary of the main points of the specification is given in
Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(3) OJ L 64, 2.3.2004, p. 16.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2005.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

ANNEX I

Point ‘4.2. Description’ in the specification for the designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ (France) is replaced by
the following:

‘4.2. Description:

Liquid honey from honeydew collected by bees from Vosges fir trees; it has balsamic aromas and a malty
flavour and is free of bitterness and extraneous flavours. It is dark brown with pale green highlights.’

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ANNEX II

SUMMARY

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92

MIEL DE SAPIN DES VOSGES

EC No: FR/00204/11.7.2004

PDO (X)

PGI ( )

This summary has been produced for information only. For full details, the producers of the products covered by the
PDO or PGI in question in particular are invited to consult the full version of the product specification at national level or
at the European Commission (1).

1. Responsible department in the Member State

Name:

Institut national des appellations d'origine

Address:

51, rue d'Anjou — 75008 Paris

Telephone:

(33) 153 89 80 00

Fax:

(33) 142 25 57 97

2. Applicant group

2.1. Name:

Syndicat de défense du miel de sapin des Vosges

2.2. Address:

2, chemin du Cant — 88700 Roville-aux-Chênes

2.3. Composition:

producers/processors (X) other ( )

3.

Type of product

Class 1-4 — Honey

4.

Specification

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name

Miel de sapin des Vosges

4.2. Description

Liquid honey from honeydew collected by bees from Vosges fir trees; it has balsamic aromas and a malty flavour and
is free of bitterness and extraneous flavours. It is dark brown with pale green highlights.

4.3. Geographical area

Vosges fir honey is produced widely on the Lorraine slopes of the Vosges mountains comprising, in addition to the
department of Vosges, some communes of the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, Haute-Saône and the
territory of Belfort.

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

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4.4. Proof of origin

The honey must be harvested (the term ‘harvesting’ means production by bees, removal of
extraction), decanted and accredited within the geographical area specified for the designation.

the frames and

The accreditation process will include:

— a declaration that the hives are in place with a list for each holding of the date on which they were put in place,

their number and precise location,

— a harvest declaration drawn up by the producer annually giving the number of hives, the total production of

honey of the holding and that which may qualify for the designation.

In addition, each operator will be required to draw up a stock declaration annually.

The keeping of registers will mean that the identity of the origin and destination of the honey together with the
volume obtained and put into circulation.

This procedure will be completed by a scientific analysis and taste test to ensure that the products are typical and of
high quality.

The honey may be marketed under the registered designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ only with an
accreditation certificate issued on completion of the above tests by the Institut national des appellations d’origine
under the conditions laid down in the national rules relating to the name.

Assurances as to the origin of the product will be accompanied by the affixing to each container of an identifying
mechanism that is destroyed on opening the container. These identifying mechanisms will be issued on production
of accreditation certificates.

4.5. Method of production

The honey comes from honeydew collected by bees from the Vosges fir (Abies pectinata). The honeydew is produced
by aphids from the sap of the firs and then collected by the bees. Extraction is by means of cold centrifuging and the
honey must be filtered and then decanted for at least two weeks. Pasteurisation of the honey is prohibited. The
honey is presented in liquid form. The production of Vosges fir honey varies considerably from year to year
depending on the volume of honeydew production (miellée).

4.6. Link

Vosges fir honey is a product that is very closely linked with the terrain in which it originates since it forms part of
an uninterrupted chain from the Vosges fir, by far the commonest species of conifer in the Vosges Massif, which
develops in symbiosis with the acidic substratum, granite and sandstone soil. From this plant species aphids extract
the sap which they process into honeydew that is stored by bees to produce the very characteristic honey.

The production of this honey is closely linked therefore with the location of conifer forests specific to the Vosges
region from which beekeepers have been able to draw and preserve their specific character.

4.7. Inspection body

Name:

INAO

Address:

51, rue d'Anjou — 75008 Paris

Name:

DGCCRF

Address:

59, Bd V.-Auriol — 75703 Paris Cedex 13

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4.8. Labelling

The labelling of honey qualifying for the registered designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ includes the
words ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ and ‘Appellation d’origine contrôlée’ or ‘AOC’. The words ‘Appellation d’origine
contrôlée’ must appear immediately below the designation in characters at least half as big. All this information must
be in the same visual field.

4.9. National requirements

Decree governing the designation ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’.