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: 2008-07-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Spain, designation of origin, labelling, location of production, mode of production, preserved product, product designation, sea fish

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OTHER ACTS

COMMISSION

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

(2008/C 177/08)

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 publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘MELVA DE ANDALUCÍA’

EC No: ES-PGI-005-0280-19.03.2003

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

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

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Subdirección General de Sistemas de Calidad Agroalimentaria y Agricultura Biológica, Direc-
ción General de Industria Agroalimentaria y Alimentación, Secretaria General de Agricultura
y Alimentación del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación de España

Address: Paseo Infanta Isabel no 1

E-28071 Madrid

(34) 913 47 53 94

(34) 913 47 57 10

Tel.

Fax

E-mail:

sgcaproagro@mapya.es

2. Group:

Name:

Address:

Tel.

Fax:

Asociación de Fabricantes de Conservas de Pescado «Andaluces Artesanos de la Mar»

C/ Galdámes, no 1
E-21400 Ayamonte (Huelva)

(34) 959 32 10 43

(34) 959 32 01 06

E-mail:

consercon@telefónica.net

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

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

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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:

‘Melva de Andalucía’

4.2. Description: Preserved bullet tuna and frigate tuna in oil, produced using non-industrial methods.

The raw material used is fish of the species Auxis rochei and Auxis thazard, which has a firm, elongate
and rounded body, a short snout and two clearly separated dorsal fins. It is a bluish or bluish-grey
colour with a silvery belly and flanks; its skin is very hard and tough and entirely devoid of scales,
except on the front of the body and along the lateral line.

Non-industrial production methods are used, as is traditional in Andalusia. The fish are skinned by
hand without the use of chemical products, thus ensuring a natural, high-quality product with a
smooth, compact and juicy texture, a pleasant smell and a very characteristic taste.

The fish are placed exclusively in olive or sunflower oil.

4.3. Geographical area: Production takes place in the municipalities of Almería, Adra, Carboneras, Garrucha
and Roquetas de Mar in the Province of Almería; Algeciras, Barbate, Cádiz, Chipiona, Conil, La Línea,
Puerto de Santa María, Rota, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Tarifa in the Province of Cádiz; Almúñecar
and Motril in the Province of Granada; Ayamonte, Cartaya, Huelva, Isla Cristina, Lepe, Palos de la
Frontera and Punta Umbría in the Province of Huelva and Estepona, Fuengirola, Málaga, Marbella and
Vélez-Málaga in the Province of Málaga.

4.4. Proof of origin: Only the species Auxis rochei and Auxis thazard are used for these preserved bullet tuna

and frigate tuna.

The preserved bullet tuna and frigate tuna will be produced and packaged in preserving plants which
are located within the geographical production area and have been entered in a register kept by the
Regulatory Board; production and packaging will comply with the requirements of the specification,
particularly as regards non-industrial processing involving methods and procedures used in former
times which allow the fish's natural characteristics to be maintained.

The Regulatory Board, as the inspection body, will carry out regular inspections to ensure that products
covered by the PGI are sourced and produced in accordance with the specification, with particular
regard to the origin of the products and the non-industrial nature of their production. The owners of
the registered preserving plants will keep a book in which, for inspection purposes, data on the raw
material employed and on the finished products will be entered for each day on which their facilities
are used to produce protected product preserves.

Preserved bullet tuna and frigate tuna inspected and found to comply with the specification will be
certified by the Regulatory Board, which will supply undertakings with the relevant numbered labels,
and will then be marketed with the guarantee of origin and of non-industrial production, retaining all
the natural characteristics of the fish.

4.5. Method of production: For production of the canned filets, fish of the species Auxis rochei and Auxis
thazard are processed as follows: the heads are removed, and the fish are gutted and then washed to
remove blood and mucous. The fish are boiled in fresh, salted water, during which the pH value and
chlorine content of the water are closely controlled. The fish are then skinned by hand. This is a parti-
cularly important stage in the production process, since the non-utilisation of chemical products
allows the natural characteristics of the fish to be maintained and ensures a high-quality product. The
skinned and boned filets are placed in metal or glass containers, sterilised by heat treatment to elimi-
nate any microorganisms. As described, these processes preserve the non-industrial approach which
has traditionally been taken in this production area and which, as indicated above, serves to maintain
all the fish's natural characteristics, which are otherwise lost during the chemical skinning employed in
other industrial processes.

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4.6. Link: Migratory species have been fished in the south of Spain for three thousand years since the
Phoenicians and the Tartessians began catching tuna, bullet tuna, frigate tuna and mackerel using small
nets, rudimentary encircling nets and hooks. The Arabs introduced tunny nets to the seas off the coast
of southern Andalusia. Today, these tunny nets are still one of the main sources supplying raw material
— fish — to our industry.

As well as fishing, mention should also be made of the importance of the processing industry for
these migratory species, whose origins go back to the 1st century AD at the height of the Roman
Empire. All types of tuna and mackerel were processed at factories all along the coast of Andalusia.
The well-known ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia (Tarifa), where tanks are still visible today, are just
one example. Large cities grew up around the Roman salting industry and the 40 factories in the Gulf
of Cádiz and along the south-east coast were famous for their salted fish and particularly for their
range of fish sauces (garum, mauria and alex).

Preserving fishery products is a time-honoured tradition in Andalusia that continues to this day. The
Andalusian preserving industry still maintains the high levels of quality that distinguish it from indus-
tries elsewhere, the result of the link between the species processed and the physical environment of
the Andalusian coast, the family traditions of the preserving enterprises and the traditional, non-indus-
trial methods it is endeavouring to maintain in the face of industrial processes which are inevitably
cheaper as they largely dispense with manual labour, using instead chemical means to do what our
enterprises perform manually, preserving tradition and giving the product a specific natural quality
that distinguishes it from similar albeit industrial products by virtue of its smooth, compact and juicy
texture, its pleasant smell and its very characteristic taste, and which is the link between the product
and its geographical area.

Bullet tuna and frigate tuna have traditionally been fished off Andalusia and have always been used by
the region's processing industry. The non-industrial preserving sector has been dominated by small and
medium-sized family undertakings, managed by either the founders or their descendants, which has
made it possible to maintain traditional production methods. The long traditions of the industry in
Andalusia and the experience of non-industrial production handed down from father to son guarantee
a skilled labour force, which the industrial processes referred to above are threatening to do away with.

In addition, the preserving undertakings are located in the regions of Andalusia most dependent on
fishing, where they make an important contribution to maintaining employment, particularly as the
non-industrial methods used are more labour-intensive. This is therefore a sector threatened by indus-
trialisation, whose survival not only determines the quality of these products but also affects this
highly significant social issue.

4.7.

Inspection body:

Name:

Consejo Regulador de las Denominaciones Específicas «Caballa de Andalucía» y «Melva de
Andalucía»

Address: Glorieta del Agua no 4
Edificio Aljamar Center
E-41940 Tomares (Sevilla)

Tel.

(34) 954 15 18 23

E-mail:

consejoregulador@caballaymelva.com

The Regulatory Board complies with standard EN 45011.

4.8. Labelling: The words ‘Melva de Andalucía’ must appear on the labels, which will be authorised by the

Regulatory Board. Labels will be numbered and will be issued by the Board.