Publication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 2023/C 197/03
Date: 2023-06-05
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Central Portugal, Portugal, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, pip fruit, product designation, quality control of agricultural products








C_2023197EN.01000401.xml










5.6.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 197/4






Publication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014
(2023/C 197/03)
This communication is published in accordance with Article 6b(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

Communicating the approval of a standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication originating in a Member State [Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012]


‘Maçã de Alcobaça’


EU No: PGI-PT-0261-AM01 – 15.3.2023


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of the product

‘Maçã de Alcobaça’
2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Portugal
3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
—
4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)


Application for approval of non-minor amendments to the product specification for protected designations of origin / protected geographical indications


Description

Specific labelling particulars related to the name of the PGI. The ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ logo was removed to:






 


avoid the image becoming outdated, inadequate or obsolete from one year to the next;










 


make it possible for the PGI to be used by entities that do not belong to the managing group:










 


reduce the sources of conflict between different marketing approaches and strategies.




This amendment affects the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Maçã de Alcobaça’


EU No: PGI-PT-0261-AM01 – 15.3.2022


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

‘Maçã de Alcobaça’
2.   Member State or Third Country

Portugal
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product [listed in Annex XI]
Class 1.6. Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed
3.2.   Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

Fruit of the Casa Nova, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Reineta and Pink groups which, when produced in the defined geographical area, are very firm and crunchy and have a high sugar and acid content, which gives them a sweet-tart taste and intense aroma.
A study of the nutritional and functional characteristics of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ varieties (Table 1 – Almeida and Pintado, 2008) gives high average values for total acid content. This is crucial to the sugar-acid balance which gives Alcobaça apples the specific aroma and sweet-tart taste that distinguish them from other apples.

Table 1


Soluble solid content and titratable acidity of the apple cultivars analysed








Average range of values for the apple varieties


Soluble solids (g/100 g)


Titratable acidity
(g malate/100 g)




10,2  – 15,3 


0,2  – 0,76 





Source: Domingos Almeida & Manuela Pintado, 2008. Caracterização nutritiva e funcional de variedades de Maçã de Alcobaça. Project Agro 937.




‘Maça de Alcobaça’ apples also have other quality and organoleptic characteristics that are considered specific and can be attributed to the particular environmental conditions found in the production area. These include the very firm, crunchy flesh, the deep red colour of the red and bicoloured fruit, the intense aroma, the conspicuous scattered lenticels on the epidermis and solid russeting in the stalk cavity.
‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ apples may be marketed:






a)


whole, unpeeled or peeled: and










b)


in pieces, unpeeled or peeled.




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

All the steps in the production of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’, from the planting of the orchards to the harvesting of the fruit, take place exclusively in the defined geographical area.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

The apples are harvested at a stage of ripeness that allows them to continue to ripen and be stored in a cold environment under proper conditions; the apples are not all packaged as soon as they are harvested and delivered to the storage/packaging centre; checks are performed on all the operations and records permitting traceability back to source.
For the other forms of commercial presentation, all the mandatory requirements for the unprocessed apples must be met, except size and class.
Washing, cutting and packaging must not alter the characteristics of unprocessed ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’, and batches of peeled or cut apples that do not meet the characteristic conditions laid down for the product are rejected. The apples are washed whole and uncut so that this will not alter the characteristics of the unprocessed product.
To reduce oxidation, peeling, cutting and packaging must take place in a chilled environment. The apples must be packaged in barrier packaging made of special film that does not allow gas exchange with the outside, where an altered, i.e. low-oxygen, atmosphere is then introduced. The product must then be prepared for sale, stored and transported in a chilled atmosphere.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

On the labelling of ‘Maça de Alcobaça’, the name of the product must be followed by the words ‘Indicação Geográfica Protegida’, or else the acronym ‘IGP’.
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

Administratively, the defined geographical area comprises the municipalities of Alcobaça, Batalha, Bombarral, Cadaval, Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Lourinhã, Marinha Grande, Nazaré, Óbidos, Peniche, Porto de Mós, Rio Maior and Torres Vedras.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ production area lies roughly between the Serra dos Candeeiros and the sea, which creates a very specific microclimate. This, together with well-suited soil, creates conditions that are ideal for growing apples of high organoleptic quality with specific characteristics that distinguish them from apples grown in other regions.
The area’s physical geography is diverse, so it is the specific microclimate, which is distinct from that of the surrounding areas, which explains why these apple varieties behave differently there. Since the area is close to the Atlantic, temperatures are consistent; the daily average is around 15 °C. Total precipitation ranges from an annual average of 600 mm to 900 mm close to the Serra dos Candeeiros in the Alcobaça district. Air humidity is affected by the proximity of the sea and prevailing north and north-westerly winds, and the annual figure is around 80 %. Sunshine, although attenuated by the Mediterranean influence, is affected by cloud cover and the average ranges from 2 400 to 2 500 hours.
It is the area’s very specific microclimate, which is distinct from that of the surrounding areas, which explains why these apple varieties grow so well and behave differently there.
The apple varieties described, grown in the defined geographical area, are very firm and crunchy and have a high sugar and acid content that gives them a specific sweet-tart taste and an intense aroma.
When compared to the apple reference values set out in the tables published by the Instituto Ricardo Jorge (Table 2 – INSA, 2006), the average values found in a study of the nutritional and functional characteristics of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ varieties (Table 1 – Almeida and Pintado, 2008), show a marked difference in total acid content (almost double).

Table 2


Nutritional composition of apples














Apple


Energy (kcal/100 g)


Water(g/100 g)


Dietary fibre (g/100 g)


Carbo-hydrates (g/100 g)


Organic acids (g/100 g)


Protein (g/100 g)


Fat (g/100 g)


Ash(g/100 g)




57 


82,9 


2,1 


13,6 


0,20 


0,2 


0,5 


0,32 





Source: INSA (2006)




A study entitled Caracterização nutritiva e funcional de variedades de Maçã de Alcobaça gives, inter alia, the nutritional composition of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ (Table 3). The figures set out in Table 3 show that the average carbohydrate and protein values for ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ are higher than the values for most other apples set out in the Tabela da Composição de Alimentos published by the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr Ricardo Jorge (Table 2 – INSA, 2006).

Table 3


Nutritional composition of certain varieties of ‘Maça de Alcobaça’ apples. The values are for fresh weight of the edible part of the fruit (skin and flesh)













Average for varieties


Energy (kcal/100 g)


Water (g/100 g)


Dietary fibre (g/100 g)


Carbo-hydrates (g/100 g)


Protein (g/100 g)


Fat (g/100 g)


Ash (g/100 g)




52,7 


84,5 


2,1 


14,9 


0,37 


0,10 


0,22 





Source: Domingos Almeida & Manuela Pintado, 2008. Caracterização nutritiva e funcional de variedades de Maçã de Alcobaça. Projecto Agro 937.












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).
Notwithstanding genetic (Iglesias et al., 2008; 2012) and ecophysiological (Gonzalez-Talice et al., 2013) factors that affect the quality and organoleptic characteristics of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’, notably as regards colour and aroma, the importance of the environmental conditions, particularly temperature and humidity, cannot be disregarded.
The specific temperature and humidity conditions created by proximity to the sea and the Aire-Candeeiros-Montejunto mountain system which runs from north to south, parallel to the coast, determine the nutritional composition of ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’, which makes it crisper and juicier and distinguishes it from other apples.
However, the apples have obtained PGI status not only because of their distinctive qualities but also because of the prestigious reputation they have enjoyed on the market for hundreds of years.
The ‘Maçã de Alcobaça’ production area corresponds to the area historically known as the ‘Coutos de Alcobaça’. This was originally demarcated in the 12th and 13th centuries for political reasons and there is evidence to show that it did in fact extend further south.
Thus the monks took over the land that was suitable for farming, which corresponds to the areas where the apples are grown today.
Fruit growing, especially apple growing, started to become an important activity. At a time when there were few sweets, apples were eaten for dessert at the end of sumptuous meals. According to M. Vieira Natividade, ‘the monks always tended their fruit trees with great care.’
The apples grown in the Alcobaça region started to become known for their organoleptic qualities: They had qualities that made them stand out: the gradual progression from sweetness to acidity through the long list of varieties; the wonderful fragrance, the beautiful vivid colour…’. (Natividade, M. V.; 1912 – Frutas d’Alcobaça)
M. Vieira Natividade also wrote that: ‘there were so many apple orchards that still today in the Alcobaça region “fruit” means “apple” and “orchard” means “apple orchard”.’





Reference to publication of the specification

https://tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt/images/prod_imagens/frescos/docs/CE_maca_alcoba%C3%A7a_2021.pdf


(1)  OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.