Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2006-11-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Piedmont, designation of origin, labelling, location of production, product designation, product quality, rice

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Official Journal of the European Union

30.11.2006

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on
the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and
foodstuffs

(2006/C 291/05)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 510/2006. Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date
of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Application for registration according to Article 5 and Article 17(2)

‘RISO DI BARAGGIA BIELLESE E VERCELLESE’

EC No: IT/PDO/005/0337/26.02.2004

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary has been drawn up for information only. For full details, interested parties are invited to
consult the full version of the product specification obtainable from the national authorities indicated in
section 1 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 — I-00187 Roma

Tel.:

Fax:

(39-06) 481 99 68

(39-06) 42 01 31 26

e-mail:

qtc3@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant group:

Name:

Address:

Tel.:

Fax:

Associazione Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese

Via F.lli Bandiera, 16 — c/o Consorzio di Bonifica della Baraggia Biellese e
Vercellese — I-13100 Vercelli

(39-0161) 28 38 11

(39-0161) 25 74 25

e-mail:

—

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3.

Type of product:

Group 1.6 — Fresh or processed Annex II fruit and vegetables — Rice

4.

Specification (summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1 N a me :

‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’

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

Policy, B-1049 Brussels.

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4.2 D e s c r i p t i o n : The PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’ exclusively denotes the rice product

obtained by processing rough rice into ‘whole-grain’, ‘white’ and ‘parboiled’ rice.

The varieties of rice grown are those listed and described below:

Variety

Colour of
pericarp

Length

Shape

Pearl

Striation

Notch

Section

Head

Arborio

White

Long

Semi-round

Central extended

Absent

Pronounced

Flattened

Oblong

Baldo

White

Long

Semi-tapered

Absent

Absent

Regular

Roundish

Regular

Balilla

White

Short

Round

Lateral

Short

Regular

Roundish

Stumpy

Carnaroli

White

Long

Semi-tapered

Central-lateral

Absent

Pronounced

Roundish

Oblong

S.Andrea

White

Long

Semi-tapered

Central-lateral

Short

Regular

Roundish

Regular

Loto

White

Long

Semi-tapered

Absent

Absent

Regular

Roundish

Oblong

Gladio

White

Long

Very tapered

Absent

Absent

Receding

Flattened

Oblong

In addition to the above parameters, the biometric properties and physio-chemical characteristics
identifying and defining the varieties of rice concerned are set out below.

Size of grain

length
mm

Width
mm

Consistency
kg/cm2

Glutinosity
g/cm2

Clarity
%

Weight of 100 grains
g

Whole-grain

White

Variety

No more than

No less than

No more
than

No less than

No more than

Arborio

Baldo

Balilla

Carnaroli

S.Andrea

Loto

Gladio

7,2

7,2

5,2

7,0

6,6

6,4

7,0

3,5

3,2

3,2

3,4

3,3

3,1

2,2

0,65

0,61

0,64

0,86

0,58

0,72

0,86

3,6

4,7

3,4

1,3

4,6

3,8

0,8

—

50

—

—

—

40

70

38

35

25

35

34

28

22

34

31

22

31

30

25

20

4.3 G e o g r a p h i c a l a r e a : The defined area for the protected designation of origin ‘Riso di Baraggia Biel-
lese e Vercellese’ is in the North-East of Piedmont, comprising the following municipalities: Albano
Vercellese, Arborio, Balocco, Brusnengo, Buronzo, Carisio, Casanova Elvo, Castelletto Cervo, Cavaglià,
Collobiano, Dorzano, Formigliana, Gattinara, Ghislarengo, Gifflenga, Greggio, Lenta, Massazza,
Masserano, Mottalciata, Oldenico, Rovasenda, Roasio, Salussola, San Giacomo Vercellese, Santhià,
Villanova Biellese and Villarboit in the Provinces of Biella and Vercelli.

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4.4 P r o o f o f o r i g i n : Each stage of the production process must be monitored by the inspection body
referred to in 4.7, according to the provisions set out in the monitoring plan, with all inputs and
outputs recorded. This, along with the compilation of specific lists managed by the inspection body of
the land registry parcels in which the production, producers, packagers are located, and timely notifi-
cation to the inspection body of the quantities produced, packaged and labelled ensures product trace-
ability. All natural and legal persons recorded in the lists may be subject to checks by the monitoring
body, according to the terms of the production specification and the corresponding monitoring plan.

4.5 M e t h o d o f p r o d u c t i o n : The product specification states that, inter alia, any fertilisation used
must be for the purpose of producing healthy and perfectly ripe produce. The use of nitrate fertilisers
and composts or fertilising mixes containing heavy metals is prohibited. Without prejudice to full
compliance with the applicable rules governing the use of plant health care, fungicide and insecticide
crop treatments must be carried out at least 40 days before harvesting. The seed required to produce
the crop must be a seed product certified by E.N.S.E. to guarantee purity of variety, germination
quality and the absence of fungal parasites.

Processes of drying rough rice must be carried out using methods that avoid or minimise contamina-
tion of the rice hull from any fuel residues and external odours. Indirect heat dryers are preferable,
possibly fuelled by methane, LPG or the like.

Rough rice in storage or sold for processing must not have a moisture content of more than 14 %.

When storing rough rice, rice farmers must take all steps to minimise the presence of animal or para-
site funguses and abnormal fermentation. At the end of the summer, and in any case before the
rough rice is harvested and then stored, the following processes must be carried out in storage barns
or units, silos and adjacent areas:

a) preventative treatment using insecticides to prevent the return of any insects which may have

hidden away after previous cleaning operations;

b) cleaning and removal of unsuitable residue from disinfection to prevent insects from returning;

c) thorough cleaning from the combine harvester, own vehicles and those used to transport rough
rice to be stored or sold of the residues from previous harvests.The following treatments of rough
rice are permitted:

To prepare whole-grain rice or for further refined produce

Dehusking or pearling — designed to remove the glumellae of rice grain husks, after which the rice is
measured.

To prepare white rice

Refining or milling — designed to remove the cellular pericarp layers from the rice grain surface
through abrasion. These processes must be carried out to produce a level of refining defined as 2nd
grade.

The refining processes must follow methods designed to prevent the grains from displaying micro
fractures.

4.6 L i n k : The production area as defined in 4.3 is made up of one core zone characterised by the diffi-
culty of levelling land due to its particular clay and iron-rich structure, which leads to uneven levels
of submersion. The climate is another feature, characterised by rather cool summer months and
frequent thermal inversions due to the winds blowing from the mountains. In addition, cold water
sources in the area, located at the foot of the Alps, make it the first to be irrigated by mountain
springs.

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As a result of these characteristics of the production area, a feature of ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e
Vercellese’ is that it is highly suitable for cooking, has a superior consistency and low glutinosity.
These characteristics are unanimously recognised by consumers and are partly due to lower yields and
lower growing cycles than varieties from other areas.

Ever since the early 1900s, rice — a historic crop in Baraggia — also had symbolic use in public
events, including sporting events, especially cycling, used by the champions Coppi, Bartali and Magni.

The diversity of Baraggia and its rice was described for about 50 years in the ‘Giornale di Risicoltura’
(journal of rice growing), which was published monthly between 1912 and 1952 by the former Insti-
tute for Experimental Rice Growing in Vercelli, which often published technical-scientific articles
demonstrating the particular features of the Baraggia area and the rice produced there. In 1931 this
Institute acquired a rice producer in the municipality of Villarboit (centre of the rice area in Baraggia)
and used it as a research centre for the purpose of perfecting the specific features of production in the
Baraggia area. In 1952 this monthly journal gave way to the publication ‘Il Riso’ (Rice), published by
the ‘Ente Nazionale Risi’ (National Rice Body), in which several articles mentioned the specific qualita-
tive features of rice produced in this area.

Rice was grown in the area defined in Baraggia in the early 17th century and was also recorded in
notarised documents in 1606 in the Municipality of Salussola, which is part of the defined area.

4.7 I n s p e c t i o n b o d y :

Name:

Ente Nazionale Risi

Address: Piazza Pio XI — I-20123 Milano

Tel.:

Fax:

(39-02) 885 51 11

—

e-mail: —

4.8 L a b e l l i n g : To be eligible for consumption, the product PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’
must bear on the packaging the specific name of the variety grown in the area (not an equivalent,
even if authorised under the applicable rules). Various types of processing and packaging are carried
out depending on the end market. Packages of PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’ released for
consumption must be of the following weights in Kg: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10.0 or 25.0 and must
be presented in bags, small bags of fabric or plastic that are suitable — in health and safety terms —
for containing food products or boxes of various materials provided they are authorised under the
rules governing the health and safety conditions for food products.

The following names must be printed on the packaging:

— The EU PDO mark;

— The logo of PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’, which must be clearly distinguishable on

the packaging by the size and colour, together with the PDO mark as above;

— the rice mill and husking plant logos, company names and name of variety.

Promotional or misleading information is not authorised.

Products prepared using PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’, even after processing, may be
released for consumption in packaging bearing the name of the PDO without affixing the EU logo
provided that:

— the protected designation product certified as such is the sole component of the product group

concerned;

— users of the protected designation product are authorised by the holders of the intellectual prop-
erty right concerned, grouped together in a syndicate and assigned a supervisory role by the
Ministry for Agricultural Policy. The syndicate will be responsible for registering them and
keeping watch on correct use of the protected designation. In the absence of a supervisory syndi-
cate, these functions will be carried out by the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policy, as the
national authority responsible for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

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The logo of the PDO ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’ is a circle with three grains of straight,
white rice depicted side-by-side at the base, as they are usually presented and visible to the consumer.
The colours of the logo are set out in detail in the production specification. At the top of the grains is
the tiny gap where the embryo of the rice caryopsis is located before refining.

The white background to the logo contains the image of the Monte Rosa massif. The mountain's
glaciers are the source of the water which directly and primarily irrigate the Baraggia rice crops,
which produce the rice exclusively designated ‘Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese’.

In addition to the logo, the top part bears the name ‘Riso di Baraggia’ and the lower part the repre-
sented area, Biellese e Vercellese.

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