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: 2023-12-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, stone fruit








C_202301484EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1484


8.12.2023






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/2023/1484)

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


                     ‘Abricot des Baronnies’
                  


EU No: PGI-FR-02866 – 9.9.2022
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (x)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]


               ‘Abricot des Baronnies’
            
2.   Member State or third country

France
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 product to which the name in (1) applies


                  ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ denotes a fresh whole fruit of the species Prunus armeniaca L. grown in the Alpine foothills.
It is particularly sweet: the fruit has a sugar content of 12° Brix or more at dispatch, with the exception of the traditional Bergeron variety, for which the threshold is 11,5° Brix.
The type of apricot may be orange, two-toned, red or pale yellow. It is picked when perfectly ripe. The background colour of the fruit reflects at least the colour class defined by the Centre Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes [the Interprofessional Technical Centre for Fruit and Vegetables] (CTIFL) to determine the best time for harvesting according to the variety. A maximum tolerance of 20 % of fruit from the colour class immediately below is allowed in each batch at dispatch.
Lastly, the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ is characterised by a red overlay (or ‘blush’) that must account for at least 15 % of the total area of the skin on at least 50 % of the fruit.
Fresh fruit for sale to consumers meets the criteria listed under the ‘Extra’ Class and Class I classifications of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) standard concerning the marketing of apricots.
These apricots measure 40 mm or more in diameter when sold fresh and 35 mm in the case of fruit to be processed. No more than 10 % of smaller-sized fruit are accepted.
The fruit is packaged in crates or boxes with a rigid base and sides weighing no more than 10 kg when sold fresh and with a fruit height restricted to 60 cm for fruit to be processed.
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 stages, from planting to harvesting.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product to which the registered name refers

The fruit is packaged in crates or boxes with a rigid base and sides weighing no more than 10 kg when sold fresh and with a fruit height restricted to 60 cm for fruit to be processed.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning the labelling of the product to which the registered name refers

Each individual crate or box contains the following information:






—


the name of the Protected Geographical Indication, ‘Abricot des Baronnies’;










—


the ‘PGI’ symbol of the European Union in the same field of vision close to the name of the PGI.




4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area extends over the following 87 municipalities. This list was produced in accordance with the Official Geographic Code of February 2021.
Department of Drôme (69 municipalities):
Arnayon, Arpavon, Aubres, Aulan, Beauvoisin, Bellecombe-Tarendol, Bénivay-Ollon, Bésignan, Buis-les-Baronnies, La Charce, Châteauneuf-de-Bordette, Chaudebonne, Chauvac-Laux-Montaux, Condorcet, Cornillac, Cornillon-sur-l'Oule, Curnier, Eygaliers, Eyroles, Lemps, Mérindol-les-Oliviers, Mévouillon, Mirabel-aux-Baronnies, Mollans-sur-Ouvèze, Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze, Montaulieu, Montbrison-sur-Lez, Montbrun-les-Bains, Montferrand-la-Fare, Montguers, Montjoux, Montréal-les-Sources, Nyons, Le Pègue, Pelonne, La Penne-sur-l'Ouvèze, Piégon, Pierrelongue, Les Pilles, Plaisians, Le Poët-en-Percip, Le Poët-Sigillat, Pommerol, Propiac, Reilhanette, Rémuzat, Rioms, Rochebrune, Roche-Saint-Secret-Béconne, La Roche-sur-le-Buis, La Rochette-du-Buis, Rousset-les-Vignes, Roussieux, Sahune, Saint-Auban-sur-l'Ouvèze, Saint-Ferréol-Trente-Pas, Saint-May, Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes, Saint-Sauveur-Gouvernet, Sainte-Euphémie-sur-Ouvèze, Sainte-Jalle, Teyssières, Valouse, Venterol, Verclause, Vercoiran, Vers-sur-Méouge, Villeperdrix and Vinsobres.
Department of Hautes-Alpes (3 municipalities):
Rosans, Saint-André-de-Rosans and Valdoule.
Department of Vaucluse (15 municipalities):
Le Barroux, Beaumont-du-Ventoux, Brantes, Crestet, Entrechaux, Faucon, Malaucène, Puyméras, Saint-Léger-du-Ventoux, Saint-Marcellin-lès-Vaison, Saint-Romain-en-Viennois, Savoillan, Suzette, Vaison-la-Romaine and Villedieu.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ owes its reputation to its high sugar content and colour, which result from the natural characteristics of where it is grown and the farmers’ expertise.
5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

Located in the south-east of France, mainly in the southern part of the Department of Drôme, along with adjacent municipalities in the Vaucluse and Hautes-Alpes departments, the geographical area for the production of the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ PGI was determined by taking into account the historical, geographical and geomorphological criteria characterising the Baronnies area. This area is also based on the zone in which ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ production has developed historically. All stages, ranging from planting to harvesting, take place within this area, which extends over the territory of 87 municipalities.
Historically, ‘Baronnies’ is primarily a medieval entity attached to the area of influence of the Barons de Mévouillon, who reigned over the region from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
Geographically, ‘Baronnies’ refers to the southern part of the Alpine foothills, i.e. the catchment areas of the Aigues and the Ouvèze rivers. This small geographical region forms the northern part of Provence. It is landlocked between Pays de Bouvière and Diois to the north and Rosanais to the east. The Ventoux and Lure mountains prevent it from extending further south. Lastly, its western boundaries correspond to the border of the Alpine foothills, excluding the Rhône plain.
The geographical area straddles a mid-mountain zone and a hilly zone to the west, excluding the Rhône valley plains. The hills vary in altitude and can be as high as 1 600 m. The ‘Baronnies Provençales’ mountains are part of the southern Alps.
The geomorphology of the ‘Baronnies Provençales’ mountains mainly consists of mountainous terrain of marl and limestone, with hills on its far western fringes. Its geological history mainly relates to the Cretaceous period and to the sedimentary deposits (marl and limestone) of the Vocontian Basin, supplemented by cobalt ore (zaffre) from the Miocene period on the western fringes.
This rugged, mountainous zone has specific characteristics in terms of climate, primarily temperature and sunshine. The ‘Baronnies’ climate is Mediterranean with mountain influences: it is characterised by high daily temperature variations, on average approximately 10 °C in Nyons and 13,5 °C in Saint-Auban-sur-Ouvèze. Summers are hot and dry, and the dry northerly Mistral wind often blows. There are also very high amounts of sunshine. Nyons has approximately 2 500 sunshine hours/year. The intense luminosity is amplified by light reflecting off the mountains.
The ‘Baronnies’ has long been an area dedicated to fruit growing. The expertise of the fruit farmers in this area is based on this long tradition. Before 1880, apricot trees were grown in the ‘Baronnies’, but the fruit was often still only sold locally. The arrival of the railway then marked a major turning point in sales of the fruit. Processing plants were established in Nyons. There was even a ten-fold increase in apricot production in the area between the 1950s and 1970-1980, replacing other fruit crops and extending towards the east of the zone. Apricots then became the area’s main production, taking up 8 % of the utilised agricultural area. From the 1980s, some farms even switched to cultivating a single crop. The ‘Baronnies’ soon became the largest production centre for apricots in the Drôme. In 1988, the basin’s surface area accounted for 72 % of apricot orchards in the Drôme (source: General Agricultural Census).
In the 1990s, orchards were diversified in terms of varieties, demonstrating that the area’s influence on the characteristics of the product, sugar content and colour also applies to the more recent varieties (e.g. Orangered, Bergarouge), which have joined older varieties such as the Provence Orangé and the Bergeron and (to a lesser degree) the Rosé de Provence.
A fruit-growing tradition and, in particular, a tradition of apricot production in this rugged, mountainous area have enabled the farmers to successfully adapt their production methods:






—


selection of quality varieties adapted to local conditions by means of a strict selection protocol based on the fruit’s colour and its sugar content,










—


use of restricted planting densities adapted to the potential of the environment,










—


management of orchards in a manner appropriate to their environment, with winter soil cover, a ban on full chemical weed control, and the fractioning and limiting of mineral fertiliser inputs, on farms where agro-ecological infrastructure takes up over 10 % of agricultural land,










—


annual tree pruning,










—


yields restricted to 25 tonnes/hectare,










—


point of harvesting chosen on the basis of the fruit’s optimum ripeness, determined by the level of background colour,










—


fruit shipped in small crates or boxes,










—


control of the conditions under which the apricots are stored prior to dispatch: fruit not for quick sale is placed in cold storage no more than 12 hours after harvesting. The maximum time between harvesting and final dispatch from the sorting/sizing/packaging plant is 14 days.




The resulting ‘Abricots des Baronnies’ are singled out by buyers as being of special quality.
5.2.   Specificity of the product

The ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ is characterised primarily by:






—


a high sugar content of 12° Brix or more, except for the traditional Bergeron variety (minimum 11,5° Brix);










—


ideally a background colour that should reflect the optimum harvest stage for each variety;










—


a blush on part of the fruit.




5.3.   Causal link

The characteristics of the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ stem from the interaction between the agronomic and climatic demands of the apricot tree (determining the growth, fruiting and quality of that fruit), the natural conditions in the geographical area, and the farmers’ expertise.
The ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ is exposed to high levels of sunshine (duration and luminosity) and significant temperature variations, resulting from the area’s characteristics. The intense luminosity meets the selected varieties’ needs and enables a good induction of fruit flowers and the development of a good colour during the ripening phase. This penetration of light is encouraged and sought by the apricot farmers during the annual pruning. The sharp variations in daily temperature contribute to the apricots’ colour and to the red blush on the fruit.
Production takes place in soils outside the highly fertile zones of the river plains. Potential production levels are therefore lower, which is one of the contributing factors (with sunshine and the production techniques aimed at restricting the number of fruit) to the high levels of sugar obtained. Measurements taken at CTIFL field stations have made it possible to monitor this difference both in sugar content and colour and, in particular, a more pronounced blush on the ‘Abricots des Baronnies’ compared to apricots from low-lying areas.
Farmers’ practices preserve this link between product and territory. By choosing quality varieties, it is possible to obtain fruit with an ideal colour and a high sugar content and recognised organoleptic quality. Cultivation in low-density orchards and annual pruning ensure that the fruit receives ample light and food. Restricting yields and harvesting apricots at an optimum stage of ripeness are conducive to developing sugar content and fruit colour; lastly, the conditions determined and a restricted storage period, where necessary, preserve the fruit’s organoleptic characteristics.
The reputation of the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ began to develop in the 1950s with the increase in areas of land under cultivation and improved means of delivery that allowed sales at least throughout the region. The apricot market in Buis-les-Baronnies, specialist apricot traders, and processing companies in Nyons developed from that time.
From the early 1980s, local producer groups decided to communicate under the collective name ‘Abricot des Baronnies’. This name is still used today by producers/shippers, traders and cooperatives. The reputation of the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ is documented in the press, among the buyers of these apricots and in tourism material in the Drôme Provençale region. The ‘Abricots des Baronnies’ regularly stand out from other apricots in terms of their recognised quality. For example, when a tasting panel made up of consumers compared samples of apricots of all origins, the tasters ranked the ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ samples among their favourites (source: CTIFL MICMAC project, 2020).
The ‘Abricot des Baronnies’ is appreciated fresh as well as in the form of nectars, jams, compotes and even beauty products, allowing it to be enjoyed all year round.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-Abricot-Baronnies-08022022v3.pdf


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


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1484/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)