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
Date: 2023-11-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Gotland county, Sweden, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, leguminous vegetable, product designation, quality control of agricultural products








C_202300795EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/795


8.11.2023






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
(C/2023/795)

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 three months from the date of this publication.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Gotlandslins’
                  


EU No: PDO-SE-02613 – 3.6.2020
                  


PDO (X) PGI ( )

1.   Name(s) of PDO


               ‘Gotlandslins’
            
2.   Member State or third country

Sweden
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

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


                  ‘Gotlandslins’ is the dried seed of the lentil traditionally cultivated in Gotland (Lens culinaris).
Physical characteristics
Shape: Circular, with a symmetrical convex form on the top and bottom side.
Appearance: Matt surface with a certain brilliance.
Size: Approximately 2 mm thick and 4 mm in diameter.
Organoleptic characteristics
Colour:






 


The colour spectrum ranges from pure orange (NCS S3050-Y40R) to orange with shades of yellow (NCS S3050-Y20R) or green (NCS S4040-Y20R). The colour composition varies slightly between growing seasons.




Aroma:






 


Dried ‘Gotlandslins’: Mild aroma of fresh hay or timothy grass (P. pratense).










 


Cooked ‘Gotlandslins’: Earthy green notes with a hint of spinach (S. oleracea).




Taste:






 


Cooked ‘Gotlandslins’: Mild and distinct taste of leguminous plants with notes of butter, roasted sunflower seeds and hazelnuts. Balanced sweetness and bitterness.




Aftertaste:






 


A slightly grassy note, culminating in an aromatic round spiciness of warm spices such as clove, allspice and turmeric, and marked mineral notes.




Mouthfeel:






 


a firm lentil with a distinctive bite, thin fine skin, and a soft inner part with a pleasant, lingering creaminess.




Texture:






 


firm. Thin skin.




Chemical properties






 


Carbohydrates: 45–51 %, of which sugars approximately 1,8–2,2 %.










 


Fibre: 28-32 %










 


Protein: 23-26 %










 


Fat: 0,8–1,2 %, of which saturated fat 0,15–0,25 %.




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

The whole process from growing to drying ‘Gotlandslins’ must take place within the geographical area described under point 4.
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

—
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Gotlandslins’ production area consists of the islands of Gotland and Fårö and the adjacent small islands, except Stora Karlsö and Lilla Karlsö.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The link between the characteristics of ‘Gotlandslins’ and the Gotland growing area is based on the natural conditions and on the human factors traditionally linked to the cultivation of ‘Gotlandlins’ on Gotland.
Specificity of the product
As a result of the lentil shrub’s adaption to the natural conditions, ‘Gotlandlins’ have certain specific qualities.

                  ‘Gotlandslins’ is a relatively small thin-skinned lentil with firm flesh. Because of genetic variation, ‘Gotlandslins’ has a unique spectrum of colour tones ranging from pure orange to orange with shades of yellow and/or green.
The lentil shrub’s relatively slow growth rate gives ‘Gotlandslins’ a complex taste profile with leguminous elements and notes of butter, roasted sunflower seeds and hazelnuts, that give way to a slightly grassy note with an aromatic round spiciness.
Unlike other types of lentils commonly sold on the Swedish market, the flavour of ‘Gotlandslins’ has a distinctive mineral element and notes of butter and nuts. ‘Gotlandlins’ also has a relatively short cooking time, which contributes to the more intensive taste and the elegant mouthfeel.
Link with Gotland’s natural conditions
Gotland has special natural conditions. The bedrock consists largely of sedimentary Silurian limestone and marl slate. The bedrock is topped with a thin layer of soil (0-1 m deep), made up of calcareous moraine clay, sand and gravel. The soils are slightly alkaline. The limestone layer is visible in many places.
The climate is influenced by Gotland’s location in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Spring comes late, while autumn and winters are mild. The average July temperature is roughly 16 degrees Celsius and its hours of sunshine are among the highest in Sweden (> 1 900 hours of sunshine per year). Precipitation is scant (approximately 500 to 600 mm per year). Most of the precipitation falls in the period from August to December. Spring and large parts of the summer are very dry. There are often long periods of low or zero rainfall, which affects the growing opportunities and impose significant demands on both the grower and the crop grown.

                  ‘Gotlandslins’ is the dried seed of the local variant of the lentil traditionally cultivated on Gotland (Lens culinaris). The systematic selection of seeds for the following year’s sowing make ‘Gotlandslins’ well-adapted to the special natural conditions that prevail on Gotland. ‘Gotlandlins’ also has a genetic variation that makes it extra-resilient during the dry periods often experienced on Gotland during the growing season.
Adaptions to Gotland’s special natural conditions mean that the traditional Gotland lentil shrub yields up to 15 % more lentils on Gotland’s poor limestone soils than the same lentil shrub grown in Skåne’s fertile soils. This lentil shrub’s capacity to form a deep and sturdy root system on Gotland’s poor and limestone soils means the local variant of lentil shrub grows better in these soils than other cultivated lentil variants do.
The climate and the nature of the soils mean that ‘Gotlandslins’ grows slowly (growth time is around 120 days). The slow growth and limestone soils give ‘Gotlandslins’ its characteristic special taste profile and mineral element.
Link with human factors linked to the geographical area
As the Gotland lentil shrub has special requirements regarding the growing conditions, ‘Gotlandlins’ is a difficult crop to grow. This means that the cultivation of ‘Gotlandslins’ places great demands on the grower’s knowledge of the lentil shrub’s specific requirements and of local soil and climate conditions, in order for the lentil shrubs to thrive and produce ‘Gotlandslins’ with the characteristics typical of the product.
The lentil shrub cultivated to produce ‘Gotlandlins’ is relatively small and sparse in terms of ground cover. To ensure that the young lentils are not choked by weeds before the plants are established, ‘Gotlandslins’ is grown on poor sandy soils that restrict weed growth. In addition, growers intercrop ‘Gotlandslins’ with grains, usually oats (Avena sativa), which gives the lentil shrub support and holds back the weeds until the lentil shrubs become established and cover the ground. This intercropping means that the grower must balance the relationship between the ‘Gotlandslins’ and the grains and adapt it to the specific characteristics of the different growing areas so that the lentil shrubs have sufficient light and support, without the grain impeding the growth of the ‘Gotlandslins’.
Growers usually sow ‘Gotlandlins’ in mid-April. As a result of its adaptation to Gotland’s climate, ‘Gotlandslins’ can cope with occasional frosts. This gives the lentil shrubs the long period of growth (about 120 days) needed for the development of ‘Gotlandslins’ in Gotland’s cool climate with many hours of sunshine. ‘Gotlandslins’ has a much slower growth rate than other lentils imported into Sweden, which normally have a growing time of between 80 and 100 days. The slow growth contributes to the special characteristics that typify the ‘Gotlandslins’.

                  ‘Gotlandlins’ and the intercropped grains are harvested at the same time. Harvesting takes place when the pods of the ‘Gotlandlins’ start to turn brown. The grower threshes the harvest carefully (600-800 turns per minute) with extra sharp knives so that the threshing does not cause abrasion damage that reduces the quality of ‘Gotlandslins’. The harvested mixture of grain and pulses is dried and picked over. The growers separate the ‘Gotlandslins’ from the grain through screening when they are picking over the harvest.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalassets/foretag-regler-kontroll/livsmedelsinformation-markning-halsopastaenden/skyddade-beteckningar/produktspecifikation_ansokan_gotlandslins_2023_03_20.pdf


(1)  
            OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/795/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)