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
Date: 2023-12-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Calabria, Italy, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, olive oil, product designation, quality control of agricultural products




C_202301360EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1360


11.12.2023






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
(C/2023/1360)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 6b(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).
COMMUNICATING THE APPROVAL OF A UNION [SIC] 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)



                     ‘Olio di Calabria’
                  


EU No: PGI-IT-01314-AM01 – 18.9.2023
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of product


               ‘Olio di Calabria’
            
2.   Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Italy
3.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

MASAF [Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry]
—
4.   Description of the approved amendment(s)


Article 8 of the specification and point 3.6 of the single document have been amended.

The designation logo has been replaced as producers felt that the logo should be more relevant to the product.
This amendment affects the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Olio di Calabria’
                  


EU No: PGI-IT-01314-AM01 – 18.9.2023
                  


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]


               ‘Olio di Calabria’
            
2.   Member State or third country

Italy
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product [as in Annex XI]

Class 1.5. Oils and fats (butter, margarine, oil, etc.)
3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies
When released for consumption, the PGI extra-virgin olive oil ‘Olio di Calabria’ must comply with the criteria listed below.
Organoleptic characteristics
Colour: from green to straw yellow, depending on the age of the oil.
Taste/smell:






Descriptor


Median




Olive fruitiness


2  – 8  (*1)





Specific aromatic notes: grassy and/or artichoke and/or floral


> 2  – ≤ 8 




Bitter


3  – 6 




Pungent


4  – 6 




Chemico-physical characteristics:






 


Oleic acid (%): ≥ 70;










 


Acidity (%): ≤ 0,50;










 


Peroxide value (meq O2/kg): ≤ 12 meq O2/kg;










 


Spectrometry UV K232: ≤ 2,20;










 


Spectrometry UV K270: ≤ 0,20;










 


Total phenols – polyphenols: ≥ 200 ppm.




The quality parameters that are not specifically mentioned must in any case comply with the relevant EU legislation in force on extra-virgin olive oil.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The PGI ‘Olio di Calabria’ consists exclusively of extra-virgin olive oil produced from olives from the following local cultivars that are widespread in the region (the main cultivars): Carolea, Dolce di Rossano (synonym: Rossanese), Sinopolese (synonym: Chianota, Coccitana), Grossa di Gerace (synonym: Mammolese, Geracitana, Dolce), Tondina (synonym: Roggianella) Ottobratica (synonym: Dedarico, Perciasacchi), Grossa di Cassano (synonym: Cassanese), Tonda di Strongoli, individually or jointly, to not less than 90 %. The remaining 10 % may come from less widespread local olive cultivars: Nostrana, Spezzanese, Santomauro, Dolce di Cerchiara, Tombarello, Ciciarello, Zinzifarica, Galatrese, Tonda di Filocaso, Tonda di Filadelfia, Borgese, Pennulara, Mafra, Vraja, Agristigna and Corniola. Up to 3 % may come from other national cultivars that serve as pollinators.
Local cultivars are used to produce 90 % of Calabrian oil.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All the stages in the production process, namely cultivation, harvesting and oil extraction, must take place within the identified geographical area.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

After extraction, the oil must be kept in perfectly clean containers made of stainless steel or another material suitable for storing oil without any residues of detergents; the containers must be stored in cool and dry premises, at temperatures of between 12 °C and 20 °C to ensure the optimal storage of extra-virgin olive oil, so as to avoid unwanted changes in the typical chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the product. Prior to packaging the oil may be naturally decanted, filtered or subjected to any other natural process to remove processing residues (i.e. oil foots or vegetable water). As regards storage in containers, it is possible to use inert gases. The PGI ‘Olio di Calabria’ must be released for consumption in suitable containers such as dark-glass, ceramic or glazed terracotta bottles or tins of a capacity of no more than 5 litres. Containers must be labelled.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product to which the registered name refers

It is forbidden to add any description to the ‘Olio di Calabria’ protected geographical indication that is not expressly provided for in the product specification, including the following adjectives: ‘fine’ (fine), ‘scelto’ (selected), ‘selezionato’ (selected) or ‘superiore’ (superior). Truthful and verifiable references describing the methods of individual producers or the production techniques are permitted, such as: ‘monovarietale’ (single variety) followed by the name of the variety used, ‘raccolto meccanicamente’ (mechanical harvesting), etc., subject to the prior authorisation of the inspection body.
Names, business names, brand names etc. may be used truthfully, provided they have no laudatory purport and are not likely to mislead the consumer.
The name of the PGI ‘Olio di Calabria’ must appear on the label in distinct and indelible lettering so that it can be distinguished from all the other information provided. The logo shown below must also appear on the label. The label must specify the year of production of the olives. Where applicable, it may be specified that the oil was produced organically.





4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area for the PGI ‘Olio di Calabria’ extra-virgin olive oil comprises the entire area of the Calabria Region.
5.   Link with the geographical area

In the areas where the olives used to make the protected geographical indication ‘Olio di Calabria’ extra-virgin olive oil are grown, the climate is characterised by a fixed wet season, from December to February, with minimum temperatures that can drop to below 8 °C, followed by a hot and dry summer season, from May to September, with temperatures that often exceed 32 °C in July and August, when there are long dry periods, as is evident from the low percentage of rainfall, 10 % or less of total annual precipitation (600 mm on average).
The climate is temperate with dry summers, usually referred to as ‘Mediterranean’.
Furthermore, the soil where the olive predominates is of a different type and composition as a result of complex geological and tectonic events that have created a structure primarily made up of a series of crystalline aquifers, known collectively as the Calabrian Arc, resulting from the deformation of the oceanic and continental crusts.
The high temperatures and lengthy summer drought periods constitute a decisive environmental factor upon which several of the product’s quality parameters depend, such as its phenol content and fatty acid composition, in particular its oleic acid levels which give the product its specific character.
The final product owes its specificity to the fact that only native cultivars may be used (90 % of the oil’s varietal composition must be olives from native cultivars). This is due to the fact that, as documented by numerous bibliographical sources, olive oils from native Calabrian cultivars, which are stipulated in the product specification as the main cultivars, have, even individually, the requisite physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics that comply with the specifications for the PGI ‘Olio di Calabria’. (Among the various books published on this subject, see especially Olive Germoplas – The cultivation, table olive and olive oil industry in Italy edited by I. Muzzalupo, edition INTECH books, ISBN 978-953-51-0883-2, November 2012).
The use of these main cultivars produces an oil with homogeneous and specific chemical and organoleptic properties that are clearly distinctive and constitute a profile that consumers easily recognise. The most salient aspects of the ‘aromatic signature’ of the protected geographical indication ‘Olio di Calabria’ extra-virgin olive oil are the fruitiness of the green or just darkening olive, the floral notes and the scent of artichoke, accompanied by persistent notes of freshly mown grass, green leaves, and (green/ripe) tomato.
On the palate, ‘Olio di Calabria’ can be enjoyed for the structural harmony of its various components that give it moderate bitterness and sharpness, due to its medium to high phenol content.
As regards the name ‘Olio di Calabria’, a key document dating from 1992 certifies the existence and registration of the name ‘Olio di Calabria’ with the Patents Office of the former Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Crafts as a designation for the region’s olive oil.
Additional documentation on the marketing of oils, which again includes ‘Olio di Calabria’, is to be found in a number of invoices relating to the period 1975-2014.
In addition, evidence of the trade in olive oil from Calabria, illustrating the quality of the product, can be found in further documentation dating back to 1865; it demonstrates that some geographical areas of the Region of Calabria supplied the Royal House of Bourbon.
The intention to improve the quality of Calabrian oil and to protect its production so as to market a product of ever higher quality, is demonstrated by the fact that as far back as 1888, a Royal Decree established in Palmi (Region of Calabria) an ‘experimental oil press for the improvement of olive oil’ (L’Olio Vergine di Oliva – un approccio alla valorizzazione [How to promote Virgin Olive Oil] by Vito Sciancalepore, published by Hoepli in 2002, pages 141-143).
This documentary evidence demonstrates that the association between Calabria and olive oil is far from recent.
In addition, the efforts of Calabrian producers to produce a quality extra-virgin olive oil should not be overlooked as a factor contributing to Calabria’s association with olive oil, namely a link between the land and the product that has succeeded in adapting traditional farming practices to local environmental conditions. These efforts have been recognised and widely rewarded in various national and international competitions.
Competitions and international awards






—


1o Classified first in the IX-XII-XIV-XIX Editions (from 2001 to 2011) in the ‘Ercole Oliario’ National Prize for quality extra-virgin olive oil










—


2o Classified second in the XVII Edition of the ‘Ercole Oliario’ National Prize for quality extra-virgin olive oil in 2009










—


Gold Medal at the Los Angeles County Fair: Olive Oils of the World in 2004, 2006 and 2009










—


Prize for the best Organic Extra-virgin Olive Oil of the year – Extra-virgin – Guide to the Best Oils in the World of Certified Quality – in 2005, 2009 and 2010










—


2o Classified second at the First World Competition in the Shanghai Expo in 2010










—


3o Classified third in the Montiferru Prize in 2009










—


Gold Prestige at the TERRAOLIVO contests in 2011 and 2012




The various examples of recognition listed above have contributed in recent years to increasing and consolidating the reputation of Calabrian olive oil among traders and consumers alike as an oil with well-defined characteristics, which through recognition would gain proper protection, the right level of promotion and the necessary control.

Reference to publication of the specification:

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/files/1/b/5/D.ec34690ea42d8eda31cb/disciplinare_Olio_di_Calbria_07.23.pdf


(1)  
            OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

(*1)  CVR% of 20 or less.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1360/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)