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: 2007-06-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, designation of origin, fresh fish, labelling, location of production, product designation, product quality

9.6.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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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

(2007/C 128/08)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date
of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘TINCA GOBBA DORATA DEL PIANALTO DI POIRINO’

EC No: IT/PDO/005/0357/03.08.2004

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.

Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Ministero delle Politiche agricole e forestali

Address: Via XX Settembre, 20

I-00187 Roma

Tel.:

Fax:

(39) 06 481 99 68

(39) 06 42 01 31 26

e-mail:

qpa3@politicheagricole.it

2.

Group:

Name:

Associazione produttori della tinca gobba dorata del pianalto di Poirino

Address:

Tel.:

Fax:

Via Cesare Rossi, 5
I-0046 Poirino (TO)

(39) 011 945 01 14

(39) 011 945 02 35

e-mail:

—

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3.

Type of product:

Class 1.7.: Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived therefrom

4.

Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1 Name:

‘Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

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4.2 D e s c r i p t i o n : The designation ‘Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’ denotes fresh, i.e. unpro-
cessed, specimens of the tench species of fish (Tinca tinca) farmed, born and developed in the geogra-
phical area set out below in 4.3 and displaying the following physical traits:

— Parr mark: yellow-gold in colour, back is curved and rounded.

— Skin: brightly coloured, shiny graphite grey or opaline green on the back and yellow-gold on the
sides. The skin is very thin, no more than 1 mm thick, and may have marks, cuts or abrasions
provided they are not open wounds and provided they are caused only by fishing or predation.

— Skin mucus: transparent and adhering closely to the skin, only noticeable to the touch.

— Eyes: shiny, vivid, bright, convex, transparent cornea and black pupil and yellow or orange eye ball.

— Gills: bright red or pink colour, moist, free of mucus, silt, parasites or other foreign bodies.

— Scales: adherent to the skin, bright, iridescent and gold in colour.

— Body: rigid and firm, slightly flexible, resistant to the touch, not flaccid or soft.

— Odour: delicate, smelling of fresh water, absence of sharp, unpleasant or strong fish odours,

complete absence of mud, grass or organic matter odours.

— Guts: slightly turgid, shiny and smooth, tinged with mother of pearl, not shrivelled or limp, no

unpleasant or disgusting odours and no mud or grass odours whatsoever.

— Peritoneum: transparent, shiny, odourless and adherent to the flesh.

— Muscle structure: flexible and firm, mostly white-pink or red in the muscle fibres of the fins, odour-

less and, in any event, no mud or grass odours.

Regarding organoleptic qualities, the flesh of ‘Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’ is tender, soft,
quite compact, lean and therefore free of unpleasant flavours or odours of mud, silt or grass. The taste
is mild and delicate, quite different to that of salt water fish.

4.3 G e o g r a p h i c a l a r e a : All areas in the municipalities of Poirino (TO), Isolabella (TO), Cellarengo (AT),
Pralormo (TO), Ceresole d'Alba (CN) are fully included in the production area. Partly included are areas
in the municipalities of Carmagnola, Villastellone, Santenna, Riva presso Chieri, Bandissero d'Alba,
Montà d'Alba, Montaldo Roero, Monteu Roero, Pocapaglia, Sanfrè, S. Stefano Roero, Sommariva del
Bosco, Sommaria Perno, and Dusino S. Michele, Valfenera, Bottigliera D'Asti, S. Paolo Solbrito and
Villanova d'Asti.

4.4 P r o o f o f o r i g i n : Every stage in the production process must be monitored and a record made of
the inputs and outputs at each stage. Product traceability is ensured by this, and by compiling specific
registers managed by the inspection body of the location of ponds and producers, by keeping produc-
tion registers and by notification to the inspection body of the quantities produced. All natural and
legal persons whose names appear in the registers will be subject to control by the inspection body in
accordance with the specification and the control plan.

4.5 M e t h o d o f p r o d u c t i o n :

Juvenile fish introduced into fisheries, even those including middle-sized
and spawning tench, are left to grow until they reach the desired size.
‘Tinca Gobba del Pianalto di
Poirino’ is farmed in a strictly mono-species environment. The size of product varies from juvenile to
recruitment and spawning-stock, according to the cut for consumption. Tench may be farmed either in
existing or new clay ponds, provided they are located within the production area. The water supply
may be provided by:

— precipitation;

— surface water or

— ground water, generally by groundwater tapping.

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In addition to the existing clay ponds, new clay ponds may be made, provided that they do not use arti-
ficial total sealing or are made with any other material than clay from Pianalto, in order to preserve the
colour characteristics of the ‘tinca gobba dorata’. To prevent pollution due to the agricultural practices
used in surrounding land, a grass buffer zone at least five metres wide is created around the perimeter
of the pond. Herbicides may not be used within this buffer zone. Spawning-stock may be selected and
cross-bred to produce juvenile fish. Both natural and artificial breeding methods may be used. Feed for
farmed fish is boosted by natural fertilisation practices in the pools which produce zooplankton for the
weaning and growth of juvenile fish. Then feed supplements made be used during the fattening stage.
These are prepared with feed that is not derived from meat meal or from genetically modified organ-
isms and that has a protein content — with a correct balance between plant and animal protein — of
no more than 45 % by weight. Those intending to produce the Protected Designation of Origin ‘Tinca
Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’ must strictly comply with the specification submitted to the EU.
Processing operations must be carried out in the area defined in point 4.3 in order to ensure product
traceability and control. Since fishery products are highly perishable and must be handled with care,
this also prevents contamination and ensures the product retains its organoleptic and qualitative
features.

4.6 L i n k : Unlike tench from other geographical areas, ‘Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’ does not
have a muddy or grassy taste or aroma and the flesh is tender. This specific quality is the direct result
of the type of fishery management that has always been practised in the Pianalto di Poirino area. Fish-
eries in this area have similar environments since the ponds do not have a continuous build up of silt
at the base and the water conditions are extremely variable during most of the production season,
which prevents the conditions propitious to the development of algal ‘blooms’ from forming.

This explains why the fisheries in the Pianalto di Poirino area used to farm tench are unlikely to
develop stable and consistent populations of blue-green algae, which means the fish flesh does not
acquire the typical aroma known, for good reason, in French as ‘limon’ [silt].

The high plains of Pianalto di Porino are distant from the surface waters coming down from the Alps
and the ground water beneath the flood layer. Precipitation levels in the area are low (700 mm/year)
and the small catchment basin swiftly channels run-off water away to the valley. The particular clay-
rich and gently undulating structure of the Altopiano di Poirino naturally lends itself to retaining
surface water. Its population has worked the land and built catchment dams to supply water for irriga-
tion, which are also ideally suited to tench farming. The rural landscape was and still is testament to
many small and large fisheries, often built close to dwellings and villages. Tench has always been
farmed in these ponds, both as an additional form of protein and as a trading product. In the past the
ponds had many uses: as clay pits, to water livestock, for irrigation and so forth. The water would
remain all year round and, although subject to organic growth, high variations in water levels, oxygen
content and temperature, was still enough to sustain the tench, which is the species of fish best adapted
to such harsh conditions. Most fisheries are located in the municipality of Poirino, but many others, a
total of 400 ponds, are located throughout the Pianalto high plains, which give the landscape its
unique features. Tench farmed in the fisheries of Pianalto di Poirino do not have that muddy aroma
which, to a greater or lesser degree, is usually associated with tench farmed in rice fields, rivers or lakes
in locations less suitable than the Pianalto. These particular soil and weather conditions, together with
century-old traditions of production methods, give the Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino specific
traits which make it one of its kind. This excellent local product is generally consumed in the area in
hotels and local restaurants, which account for almost all production.

The link between geological phenomena which led to the formation of the Altopiano di Poirino and
the disappearance of contemporary species of fish, means that Tinca tinca can be considered an indi-
genous species that was, or was becoming, already prevalent in the lower to middle Pleistocene era
during the Neogene period. The presence of Tinca gobba dorata in the Pianalto di Poirino, as a species of
fish farmed and prized for its gastronomic and economic value, is attested by documents dating back
to the 13th century. One of the many taxes imposed on the rural population of Ceresole d'Alba was
even on the delivery of variable quantities of tench. Very detailed information has become available
relatively recently, such as the geographical study of Turin and the Piedmont published by Ciappichelli
‘The fisheries of
in 1954, One of the authors, Natale Veronesi, wrote a chapter on tench breeding:
Pianalto di Poirino and their usage’. Among the many interesting points he makes, Veronesi mentions
professional fishermen who would also manage other people's fisheries under sharecropping or rental
arrangements. Since the Altopiano had no major rivers in which to farm fish, the sole justification

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for this profession was the yield of tenches. Moreover, consultation of the ‘Consegne del sale’ [salt deliv-
eries] in Poirino clearly shows that already in 1775 there were five families of fishermen, who evidently
earned their income from farming and selling tench. Professional fishing, meaning tench farming,
carried on over the centuries and only recently, towards the start of the 1980s, did it cease altogether
as a full-time activity, although it did remain a side activity to agriculture. Product traceability is
ensured by the inspection body keeping a list of producers, fishponds and processors.

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

Name:

CERTIQUALITY

Address: via Gaetano Giardino, 4

I-20123 Milano

Tel.:

Fax:

(39) 02 80 69 171

(39) 02 86 46 52 95

e-mail:

certiquality@certiquality.it

4.8 Labelling: The product shall be sold in single-use containers or bags bearing:

— the wording ‘Tinca Gobba Dorata del Pianalto di Poirino’;

— the image of a female tench with the head turned to the left;

— the wording: ‘Denominazione d'Origine Protetta — D.O.P.’.

The label may also contain wording to distinguish the producer, the size of which may not be more
than half the size of the wording mentioned above. The label shall bear the logo and wording as set
out in the specification.

Products prepared using the PDO, even after processing and treatment, may be released for consump-
tion in packaging bearing the reference to this designation but may only use 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 property
right concerned, grouped together in a syndicate and assigned a supervisory role by the Ministry
for Agriculture, Food and Forestry. 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 shall be carried out by the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, as the
national authority responsible for implementing Regulation (EC) No 510/2006.