Publication of an application for registration of a name 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 2023/C 239/08
Date: 2023-07-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: English Channel, France, Normandie, bivalve mollusc, coastal region, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products








C_2023239EN.01008401.xml










6.7.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 239/84






Publication of an application for registration of a name 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
(2023/C 239/08)
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) within 3 months from the date of this publication.
SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Huître de Normandie’


EU No: PGI-FR-02864 - 9.9.2022


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s)

‘Huître de Normandie’
2.   Member State or Third Country

FRANCE
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.7 Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans and products derived therefrom.
3.2.   Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Huître de Normandie’ is a whole, fresh cupped oyster (species: Crassostrea gigas, Crassostrea angulata).
It has a uniform hard shell, with no chipped or brittle parts (absence of breaks or damage to the edge of the shell). The shell is free from mud.
‘Huître de Normandie’ is classified as a fine or special oyster:






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A fine oyster is an oyster with a filling power index of 6,5 or more, but less than 10,5.










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A special oyster is an oyster with a filling power index of 10,5 or more.




The filling power index is calculated as follows:






 


FPI = (mass of drained flesh of 20 oysters/mass of 20 oysters before opening) x 100




So-called ‘long’ oysters, with a shape index above 3, do not qualify for the PGI. The shape index is calculated as follows:






 


SI = (length + thickness)/width.




The inside of the shell is free from sand and mud. The shell does not have an unhealed chamber.
The flesh is ivory/pearly white to beige in colour, with pearly grey reflections. The edge of the mantle may be of the same colour as the flesh or range from light brown to black.
The muscle is firm and keeps the shell hermetically sealed during transport and for the entire duration of the marketing of the oysters, thus ensuring that the ‘Huître de Normandie’ stays fresh.
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 defined geographical area

All the steps in the production of ‘Huître de Normandie’ (farming, hardening, finishing) take place in the geographical area of the PGI.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

‘Huître de Normandie’ are sold packed in crates. They can be sold at retail level, displayed in their original crate.
For direct retail sale by the producer, the oysters can be displayed in reusable baskets used to store and transport oysters.
‘Huître de Normandie’ are packed in crates in the geographical area in order to ensure that the consumer has a product in an optimal state of freshness.
Indeed, ‘Huître de Normandie’ are sold live. In order to ensure their survival, they must retain the seawater held inside their shells throughout transport and marketing. The packing stage thus consists of placing the oysters in the crates, cupped valve facing downwards so as to limit the loss of water. The oysters, which come in a variety of shapes, are packed tightly against each other in the crate, which is closed with a lid and bound with packing tape to ensure the oysters do not move.
The person who does the packaging manually removes any long oysters or oysters with damaged shells, checks, by knocking them together, that they are full of water, counts them in accordance with the practice of selling oysters by the dozen, and places them in the crate. To perform these actions simultaneously requires real know-how.
In addition, this operation must be carried out as close as possible to the finishing sites in order to limit the time during which the oysters are stored in bulk.
The care taken at this stage directly affects product quality and consumer satisfaction.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

In addition to the mandatory information required by the rules on the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs, the labelling of each individual pack must include the following information:






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The registered name of the product ‘Huître de Normandie’, written in clear, legible and indelible characters;










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The European Union’s PGI symbol in the same visual field.




4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area consists of the coastal municipalities of the departments of Manche, Calvados, Eure and Seine-Maritime, from the municipality of Granville in the west to the municipality of Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer in the east, in accordance with the Official Geographic Code of 2021.
5.   Link with the geographical area

‘Huître de Normandie’ derives its specific characteristics from the natural environment of the Normandy coastline and the know-how of the oyster farmers in the geographical area. Normandy’s natural environment offers ideal conditions for oyster farming: a broad and open foreshore, large tidal ranges, strong currents and good water quality. The know-how of the Normandy oyster farmers is evident in the handling of the bags to obtain regular shells, the relocation of oysters from one bed to another in order to foster growth and facilitate hardening, which ensures that they remain fresh during marketing.

Specificity of the geographical area


Natural factors

The geographical area of the ‘Huître de Normandie’ PGI consists of all the coastal municipalities of Normandy, from Granville to the west to Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer to the east. It thus borders four Normandy Departments: Manche, Calvados, Eure and Seine-Maritime.
Oysters are farmed on the foreshore, that is to say the part of the coast that is exposed when the tide recedes. It takes place in close interaction with the natural environment because the oysters are exposed to the natural and climatic conditions, but also because they feed exclusively on the trophic resources of the sea water where they are farmed. In this respect, the Normandy coastline offers ideal conditions for oyster farming.
First of all, the Channel is situated on a continental shelf, which means that, overall, its waters are shallow. The coastline is characterised by very gentle slopes and thus a relatively flat foreshore, especially in the western part of the area.
In addition, the Channel is subject to a semi-diurnal tidal regime, which means that, over a period of approximately 24 hours, there are two complete tidal cycles (two high tides and two low tides). The tidal range, i.e. the gap between high and low tidal levels, measured on the Channel coast is among the largest in the world, creating foreshore areas that are all the more extensive as their incline is not steep. Low and high water levels vary according to the tidal coefficient. Some areas of the foreshore are exposed daily by the receding tides, even where the coefficient is low, while others are exposed only when the coefficient is high.
The Normandy foreshore is an open environment: there are no natural physical barriers between offshore waters and the coastal waters where the farming structures are located. The oysters are therefore subject to the strong hydrodynamics of the area (currents, waves, swells and tidal movements). The currents in the Channel are indeed the strongest tidal currents in metropolitan France. They play an important role in the movement of water masses and contribute to their vertical homogeneity.
In addition, the Normandy foreshore is sufficiently solid to withstand the repeated passage of tractors. The oyster beds are thus accessible by land. The sandy and muddy substrate, mixed with gravel and pebbles, is well-suited to the installation of growing tables.
Secondly, the Normandy coastal waters are of good trophic quality. The many watercourses that contribute to the territory’s different watersheds bring to the sea the nutritive salts needed for the production of the phytoplankton on which the oysters feed. The water exchange caused by the currents contributes to the dissemination of nutrients from sediments and soils and to the oxygenation of the water.
Finally, because of the temperature of the water and the absence of rocks, cupped oysters and mussels are not able to reproduce in the Channel, nor to form spat naturally on the foreshore. As a result, the surrounding areas are sparsely populated and home to few competitors to the farmed oysters, who thus benefit from large amounts of available trophic resources.

Human factors

Historically, the marketing of oysters from Normandy developed from wild beds. Louis XIV’s 1691 edict establishing the title of oyster provider and vendor, as well as numerous 18th century texts, attest to the practices and the scale of these activities in Normandy at that time. In the 19th century, oysters were shipped to Paris and the major cities in the west and north of France, and even to Strasbourg, Lyon, Geneva and Belgium.
The oysters were caught by boat and then placed in pools on the foreshore pending shipping. It was at that time that the effect of hardening was discovered: the oysters left exposed daily by the outgoing tide develop greater resistance to loss of water and thus keep better during transport and marketing.
When natural deposits were gradually depleted at the end of the 19th century, producers sought an alternative by developing farming techniques. As a first step, farming consisted of placing the small oysters flat on the ground in the beds. Secondly, in the 1960s, the method of raised farming was first developed by placing the oysters in wooden wire mesh crates attached to small posts. Then, in the early 1970s, with the appearance of plastic bags that were more resistant to marine conditions, raised farming techniques were improved, extending oyster farming to the west coast of the Cotentin region.
The techniques have not changed much since then: the oysters are placed in bags or baskets attached to metal structures or tables placed on the foreshore. They do not therefore have any contact with the ground, which prevents any unpleasant tastes and odours.
As a result of the shift from fishing to farming, oyster producers have switched to the most suitable species. The oysters currently farmed are cupped oysters of the genus Crassostrea, which were introduced into Normandy in the 1960s.
During the production cycle, the bags containing the oysters are moved and turned to ensure homogeneous growth. The oysters are occasionally brought to shore to be sorted and redistributed in bags of similarly-sized oysters and returned to the foreshore.
The practice of hardening has continued as part of the preparation of ‘Huître de Normandie’ for marketing. At the end of the production cycle, after sizing for marketing, the oysters are again placed in bags. These bags are fixed to the tables in the so-called hardening beds located at the top of the foreshore, where they remain for a minimum of 28 days.
Finally, ‘Huître de Normandie’ are placed in on-shore finishing pools. The pools are supplied directly with sea water or with water from drilled wells to ensure that the oysters are transported in high quality natural sea water. The use of circuit water is prohibited. The oysters are then packed for sale. They are sorted and placed, cupped valve facing downwards, in the crates, which are closed by a lid and bound with packing tape, in order to preserve as much as possible of the intravalvular water necessary for the oysters’ survival.

Specificity of the product

‘Huître de Normandie’ is a fine or special cupped oyster. It has a uniform hard shell, with no chipped or brittle parts. So-called long oysters are excluded from the PGI. The muscle is firm and keeps the shell permanently closed, allowing the oysters to stay fresh during transport and marketing.
In addition to the farming stage of at least 28 weeks in the area, the ‘Huître de Normandie’ is subject to a hardening stage of at least 28 days, which distinguishes it from other Channel products. This stage allows the oyster to repair its shell, should it have been damaged during sizing operations. It also contributes to improving the oysters' resistance to loss of water. The effect of hardening was assessed in a study carried out by the Normandy Regional Committee for Shellfish-farming – North Sea (Comité régional de la conchyliculture Normandie - Mer du Nord) in 2019. This study compared the freshness of oysters subjected to hardening with that of oysters not subjected to hardening (control batch). The oysters removed from the water were kept in crates in a cold store to recreate the conditions during marketing. Their vitality was assessed after 14 days of preservation on the basis of the following criteria: shell closure and water release after opening, which are the criteria commonly used by French consumers to establish whether an oyster is alive and can therefore be eaten. The study showed that the vitality index was 97 % for oysters that had been hardened for 28 days. Almost all hardened oysters can be eaten.

Causal link

The production of ‘Huître de Normandie’ takes place in close interaction with the geographical environment, the specific characteristics of which have been harnessed by Normandy oyster farmers. In addition to the techniques used, which may be the same as in other production regions, the farming of ‘Huître de Normandie’ requires genuine know-how based on the adaptation of human interventions to the conditions of the natural environment.
The configuration of the Normandy coastlines involves extensive areas, accessible by land, on which to install the tables on which the oysters are placed. The oysters grow by feeding on the trophic resources of the Channel, with no competition in the absence of wild shellfish beds. The water exchange caused by the tidal currents and the oyster farmers’ practice of turning the bags containing the oysters contribute to the formation of a uniform shell. The frequency with which the bags are turned on the tables depends on the location of the beds and their natural conditions. Long oysters, which are the result of a lack of movement during growth, are discarded.
During farming, oyster farmers may move the oysters from one pool to another within the geographical area. This practice, which is similar to the transhumance of herds, makes it possible to take advantage of local currents and trophic resources to guide the oysters’ development. In particular, it makes it possible to obtain special oysters, whose flesh-to-shell ratio is higher than that of fine oysters.
After the minimum 28 weeks of farming in the area, the oysters are subjected to hardening. It is this stage, during which the oysters develop their permanently closed shells and thus their extended lifespan, along with the careful packaging techniques, that ensures that ‘Huître de Normandie’ stay fresh during transport and marketing, with a shell with no chipped or brittle parts.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)
https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-abf61374-7fad-4cba-94a3-019f66cfd0d6/telechargement


(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.