Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2014-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, bulb vegetable, consumer information, designation of origin, foodstuff, product designation




C_2014347EN.01001801.xml










3.10.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 347/18





Publication of an amendment application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
(2014/C 347/09)
This publication confers the right to oppose the amendment application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).
AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006


on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
 (2)


AMENDMENT APPLICATION ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 9


‘AGLIO BIANCO POLESANO’


EC No: IT-PDO-0105-01163–3.10.2013


PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Heading in the product specification affected by the amendment



—
   
☐
 Name of product


—
   
☒
 Description of product


—
   
☐
 Geographical area


—
   
☐
 Proof of origin


—
   
☒
 Method of production


—
   
☐
 Link


—
   
☒
 Labelling


—
   
☐
 National requirements


—
   
☒
 Other: Packaging — Updated legal reference
2.   Type of amendment



—
   
☒
 Amendment to Single Document or Summary Sheet


—
   
☐
 Amendment to Specification of registered PDO or PGI for which neither the Single Document nor the Summary Sheet has been published


—
   
☐
 Amendment to Specification that requires no amendment to the published Single Document (Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)


—
   
☐
 Temporary amendment to Specification resulting from imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by public authorities (Article 9(4) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)
3.   Amendment(s)


Description of product

Following the repeal of garlic marketing standards, the reference to ‘quality standards’ in Article 2 of the product specification has been deleted. The requirements regarding size remain unchanged.
As regards packaging, two traditional ways of presenting the product have been added: small baskets and bundles. The small basket is a traditional way of presenting garlic which is proving very popular among consumers, as its small size and light weight make it both pleasant and practical to handle. The bundle is the result of primary handling in the field and lends itself well both to direct sales and to ‘self-service’ sales where consumers can buy the number of bulbs they wish.

Method of production

The possibility of drying the product by means of hot air ventilation, which improves the drying process and the quality of the product, has been introduced. This is a technique that existed before the product name ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ was registered, and which the producers wish to see added to the product specification to be able to use it when the environmental conditions are not favourable to natural drying.
For commercial reasons, the period in which garlic harvested the previous year may be marketed has been extended. This is in the interest of the producers, to allow them to minimise the risk of ‘gaps’ in deliveries to their customers. The amendment does not affect the characteristics of a product which in any case has excellent keeping qualities, further guaranteed by cold storage.
It is now specifically stated in the product specification that cold storage is permitted. Never prohibited by the specification, this is a common practice aimed at preserving the characteristics of the product during storage.

Labelling

Rules have been laid down on the labelling of garlic sold in small baskets and bundles.
For the sake of a succinct single document, it was decided to leave out the description of the product logo together with the technical references for producing it. However, the product logo as illustrated in the single document published in Official Journal C 104 of 6 May 2009, p. 16, remains unchanged.

Packaging

Rules have been laid down on packaging into small baskets and bundles.
Packaging into ‘sacks’ and ‘packages’ may take place outside the production area, whereas all other packaging must take place inside the production area for ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ PDO. Packaging in the form of braids, large braids, bunches, large bunches and small baskets must be carried out exclusively by hand according to a method developed thanks to the creativity, refined over time, of the producers and packagers established in the production area.
With regard to braids, the minimum number of bulbs has been reduced from eight to five, with a corresponding reduction in the required weight, in order to respond to consumers’ demand for single-serve sizes or packages with fewer items.
For ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ packaged in net bags, the bags may now be light-coloured rather than white. The amendment takes account of possible slight variations in the net bags’ colour occurring during storage.
The paragraph concerning boxes and packages has been simplified to allow packagers a broader range of materials to choose from, enabling them to respond, for example, to any specific requirements regarding the way in which the product is to be presented or displayed at the point of sale.

Updated legal reference

The legal references have been updated.
SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006


on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
 (3)


‘AGLIO BIANCO POLESANO’


EC No: IT-PDO-0105-01163–3.10.2013


PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Name


‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Italy
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.6 Fruit, vegetables, cereals, whether or not processed
3.2.   Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ is sold dry. This garlic is obtained from local ecotypes and from the Avorio variety, which is bred from the same ecotypes.
This garlic has a bulb with a regular, roundish shape, slightly flattened at the base, and a glossy white colour. The bulb is made up of a variable number of cloves, which are joined together in a compact manner, with characteristic curving on the outside. The cloves making up the bulb must be perfectly adjacent to each other. The skin surrounding the cloves is coloured pink of various shades on the concave part and white on the convex part.
After being dried for storage, ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ is made up of at least 35 % dry matter and at least 20 % carbohydrates. In addition, the fresh bulbs contain sulphur-based essential oils and volatile sulphur compounds, which give this type of garlic its strong aroma.
When released for consumption, ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ must meet the following requirements with regard to size:
—   ‘Extra’: minimum 45 mm,
—   ‘Prima’: minimum 30 mm.
‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ is released on the market in traditional packaging of the following types: small baskets (plaited into a small ‘handle’ with at least three bulbs), braids, large braids, bunches and large bunches, in nets, sacks and bundles.
3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only)

—
3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)

—
3.5.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The specific steps in production that must take place in the production area are: production of the material for sowing, cultivation of the garlic, drying operations and traditional processing techniques. The production technique is characterised by obtaining the cloves for sowing, given that reproduction occurs by means of vegetative propagation. Producers manually select the amount of product needed to produce the ‘seed’.
The cultivation cycle is annual with autumn/winter sowing and must take place between 1 October and 31 December.
The natural drying operations in the open field and/or at the holding, or by means of hot air ventilation systems, are fundamentally important both for maintaining the characteristics of the product and for subsequent processing.
The assessment of the correct level of humidity is fundamentally important for the traditional production by hand of braids, known as ‘strings’, large braids, bunches, large bunches, small baskets and bundles, and relies on experience and skill passed down for generations.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.

‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ must be sold within a year, between 10 July and 9 July of the subsequent year.
‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ may be sold in the following package types:

SMALL BASKETS: composed of between 3 and 5 bulbs and weighing between 0,15 and 0,30 kg;

BUNDLES: varying number of bulbs and weighing between 0,5 and 2 kg;

BRAIDS: between 5 and 22 bulbs and weighing between 0,35 and 1,2 kg;

LARGE BRAIDS: between 30 and 40 bulbs and weighing between 2 and 4 kg;

BUNCHES: between 20 and 40 bulbs and weighing between 1 and 4 kg;

LARGE BUNCHES: between 70 and 120 bulbs and weighing between 5 and 10 kg;

PACKAGES: varying number of bulbs; weighing between 50 g and 1 kg;

SACKS: varying number of bulbs; weighing between 1 and 20 kg.
Packaging of the product into ‘sacks’ and ‘packages’ as referred to above may take place outside the production area, provided that transport and excessive handling do not make the heads break and, above all, make the skin fragment, thus creating the risk of mould and deterioration of the product. All other types of packaging, however, must take place exclusively within the ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ PDO production area. Traditional packaging (into braids, large braids, bunches, large bunches and small baskets) is carried out by hand according to a long-standing tradition developed thanks to the creativity, refined over time, of the producers and packagers established in the production area.
3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling

All package types must come with a tag giving the product name, the name of the producer and the PDO identifying logo.
The packages must feature the name ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ and the words ‘Denominazione di Origine Protetta’ (‘Protected Denomination of Origin’) or the acronym ‘DOP’ (‘PDO’) in larger characters than any other wording featured.
The size of the logo can differ depending on the type of package.



4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ production area covers the following municipalities in the Polesine area, situated in Rovigo Province: Adria, Arquà Polesine, Bosaro, Canaro, Canda, Castelguglielmo, Ceregnano, Costa di Rovigo, Crespino, Fiesso Umbertiano, Frassinelle Polesine, Fratta Polesine, Gavello, Guarda Veneta, Lendinara, Lusia, Occhiobello, Papozze, Pettorazza Grimani, Pincara, Polesella, Pontecchio Polesine, Rovigo, San Bellino, San Martino di Venezze, Villadose, Villamarzana, Villanova del Ghebbo, Villanova Marchesana.
5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area


Environmental factors

The characteristics of the soils and the temperate climate are the main factors which influence and characterise the production of ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ in this area. The Polesine is an area through which the two main Italian rivers, the Po and the Adige, flow. Before the current embankments which set their course, these rivers often deposited alluvium on the plain. The distinctive pedological characteristics of this land are precisely the result of the numerous instances over the centuries where the Po and Adige, which set the southern and northern borders of the production area, have flooded and broken their banks. More particularly, the Po has contributed silt with a high percentage of clay, while the Adige has contributed siliceous sand.
The action of these rivers has thus created medium, clayey/loamy, well-drained, porous and fertile soils, to which ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ owes its distinctive characteristics. Moreover, the high levels of exchangeable phosphorous and potassium, and of calcium and magnesium, constitute the typical chemical composition of the land. The area’s dry and temperate climate favours both the drying of the product and its processing into the traditional formats.

Human factors

Over and above the qualities of the land, the following human factors play an important role: — the ability, honed over the years and handed down from father to son, to select by hand the best bulb ‘heads’ from which to take the material for sowing, — the distinctive processing carried out by hand, namely production of braids, known as ‘strings’, large braids, bunches and large bunches, means that this crop is intrinsically linked with the area, its traditions and its history.
5.2.   Specificity of the product

The main characteristics of ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ are its glossy white colour, the shape of its bulb and the high dry matter content which characterises it and contributes to its long shelf life. The distinctive aroma of ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’, which results from the particular combination of volatile sulphur compounds and aromatic substances, allows it to be distinguished from garlic from other production areas; indeed, sensory analysis shows that the aroma is less pungent and more persistent than that of other varieties obtained in other areas, a quality which is highly appreciated by consumers. More particularly, ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ is rich in aromatic sulphur compounds, but even more so in aromatic substances belonging to other chemical classes (aldehydes), which produce pleasant fragrances (freshly cut grass, sweet fruitiness) that increase during storage and account for the less pungent, more persistent aroma.
5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The good mineral content and the nature of the clayey/loamy, well-drained, porous and fertile soils with high potassium content make it possible to obtain perfectly adjacent and compact cloves, characterised by high dry matter content which increases the product’s shelf life.
‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ also owes its typical glossy white colour to the high level of exchangeable potassium and phosphorus in the soil.
In addition, the distinctive aroma of the garlic is strongly influenced by the environmental factors, insofar as the aromatic components reflect the levels and activity of the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis and these, in turn, are influenced by the physiological state of the plant, the pedological and climatic conditions and the traditional processes of storage and processing.

Publication reference of the specification

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (4))
The Ministry launched the national objection procedure with the publication of the proposal for recognising ‘Aglio Bianco Polesano’ as a protected designation of origin in Official Gazette of the Italian Republic No 166 of 17 July 2013.
The full text of the product specification is available on the following website: http://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3335
or alternatively:
by going direct to the home page of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (on the top right of the screen) and then on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE’.


(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12. Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(3)  Replaced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

(4)  See footnote 3.