Publication of an 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: 2016-03-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central Portugal, Portugal, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, stone fruit








C_2016091EN.01001201.xml










8.3.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 91/12





Publication of an 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
(2016/C 91/10)
This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).
SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘GINJA DE ÓBIDOS E ALCOBAÇA’


EU No: PT-PGI-0005-01143 — 6.8.2013


PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1.   Name


‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Portugal
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Product type

Class 1.6. Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in 1 applies

‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is the name given to the fruit of the ‘Galega’ cultivar, a member of the Rosaceae family, sub-family of stone fruit, genus Prunus, species Prunus cerasus L., obtained in the geographical area, essentially characterised by its red colour, small size, slightly flattened form, with the following chemical and organoleptic characteristics:
a)   Chemical characteristics

According to the samples from the analysis, the parameters for total acidity and sugars are as follows:







Parameter


Minimum values


Maximum values




Total acidity (g/l malic acid)


16


20




Total sugars (°Brix)


16


20




b)   Organoleptic characteristics

‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is distinguished by its intense aroma and balanced bitter-sweet flavour, which comes from its high concentration of both sugars and acids. The pulp has a moderate consistency and firm texture.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

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

The specific steps in production that must take place in the delimited geographical area are the production and harvesting of the fruit.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to:

—
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to:

The specific label for ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ must contain the following elements:






1.



Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça — Indicação Geográfica Protegida
or
Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça IGP










2.


The Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça logo, reproduced here:





4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

From an administrative perspective, the geographical area of production of ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is limited to the municipalities of Óbidos, Alcobaça, Nazaré, Caldas da Rainha, Bombarral, Cadaval, and the parishes of Juncal, Calvaria de Cima, Pedreiras, Porto de Mós (São João Baptista), Porto de Mós (São Pedro), Serro Ventoso and Arrimal in the municipality of Porto de Mós.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The area where the ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is produced lies between the Candeeiros mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, which means it has a very specific micro-climate typical of the delimited geographical area. In addition to favourable soils, the production conditions are such that they give the ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ a high organoleptic quality and specific characteristics, as referred to in point 3.2, that distinguish it from sour cherries obtained in other regions.
Due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, the air temperature is regular, with an average daily air temperature of around 15 °C. The average total annual precipitation varies from 600 mm to 900 mm in the Candeeiros mountains. The air humidity is influenced by the proximity to the sea and the prevailing winds from the north and north-west, with average annual humidity of 80 %.
The sunshine depends on cloud levels, though this is tempered by proximity to the Mediterranean, and varies between 2 400 and 2 500 hours a year on average.
In the ripening phase, the combination of these particular conditions (temperature, air humidity, cloud cover and sunshine) due to the proximity of the sea and the Aire-Candeeiros-Montejunto mountain ranges that run from the north to the south in parallel to the ocean, is responsible for the higher sugar levels which balance out the total acid content of the fruit, and this distinguishes ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ from other sour cherries produced in other regions.
The ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ produced in the delimited geographical area, are essentially characterised by their red colour, high percentage of sugar and high acidity, which gives them a balanced bitter-sweet flavour and intense aroma, essential characteristics for their use as an ingredient in the production of foodstuffs that include this product.
Liqueurs, teas and confectionery are foodstuffs produced in this region whose reputation is due to the inclusion of ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’, and its high concentration of sugars and acids gives them the sweet-and-sour flavour, linking the quality of the fruit to their reputation.
The human factor is fundamental in the production of ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’, through the expertise of the local growers whose know-how is derived from empirical knowledge of growing ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ handed down from generation to generation.
Specifically with regard to determining when the fruit has reached the ideal state of ripeness (concentration of sugars and acids) for harvesting. The harvesting takes place over a period of 20 days, because the fruit do not all attain the same ideal degree of ripeness at the same time.
The best date for harvesting is assessed visually, mainly by checking that the fruit is red all over, which the local farmers can tell from long years of experience.
Monks established farms on good agricultural land, which correspond to the current areas where the ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is produced and from which they dominated all commercial trade in the area.
More recent records testify to the reputation of ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ which has been the subject of information days, workshops and various outreach activities. ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ has been mentioned both in the regional press and by various sectoral associations as a quality fruit of interest for the geographical area.
The delimited geographical area for the production of ‘Ginja de Óbidos e Alcobaça’ is known as the cradle of its production, conferred by the references in historical records that testify to its existence and by the fact of its demonstrable qualitative difference in the geographical area.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)
http://www.dgadr.mamaot.pt/images/docs/val/dop_igp_etg/Valor/doc/CE_Ginja_ObidosAlcobaca.pdf


(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.