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: 2025-05-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Central Portugal, Portugal, confectionery product, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products




C_202502720EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/2720


7.5.2025






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/2025/2720)

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


                     ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’
                  


EU No: PGI-PT-0518-AM01


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name of product


               ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’
            
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)

The provisions of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 do not apply, as none of the amendments to the product specification:






a)


include a change in the name of the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication, or in the use of that name; b) risk voiding the link referred to in Article 5(2), point (b); or d) entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.




1.   II.3.2 - Chemical characteristics

In the current specification, the average chemical composition of the product is defined as follows:
% Sugar = 41 +/- 5
% Fat = 17 +/- 3
% Total water = 29 +/- 3
% Insoluble protein = 4,2 +/- 1,1
Water activity = 0,864 +/- 0,026
Under the proposed amendment, it has been changed to:
% Sugar = 41 +/- 5
% Fat = 17 +/- 3
% Total water = 29 +/- 3
Water activity = 0,864 +/- 0,026
Reasons:
There are three reasons why insoluble protein is no longer quantified:






a)


canonical correlation analysis has shown that the chemical parameters relating to fat, which have to do with the egg yolk, are directly linked to the sugar content in respect of sheen, colour and smell, and to the total water in respect of the appearance and number of grains;










b)


there is consequently no need to expend resources on measuring an irrelevant chemical parameter;










c)


this makes a valuable contribution to boosting the sustainability of the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ production process.




The amendment affects the single document.
2.   II.3.3 - Microbiological characteristics

This section has been removed.
Reasons:
The microbiological analyses referred to in the specification reflect the legislation in force. Systematically evaluating those characteristics duplicates the official tests that are carried out as well as those that producers are required to perform under the HACCP system, thereby unnecessarily increasing the cost of verifying the product’s compliance with the specification.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
3.   V.2 - Production method

In the section headed ‘Deep freezing of “Ovos Moles de Aveiro”
                  ’, the reference to microbiological characteristics has been removed.
Reasons:
The deletion of Section II.3.3 means that the reference to those characteristics should also be removed.
The amendment does not affect the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT


                     ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’
                  


EU No: PGI-PT-0518-AM01


PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) (of PDO or PGI)


               ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’
            
2.   Member State or Third Country

Portugal
3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Combined nomenclature code







—


19 – PREPARATIONS OF CEREALS, FLOUR, STARCH OR MILK; PASTRYCOOKS’ PRODUCTS

                        1905  – Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers’ wares, whether or not containing cocoa; communion wafers, empty cachets of a kind suitable for pharmaceutical use, sealing wafers, rice paper and similar products




3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies


                  ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ is a product obtained by the addition of raw egg yolk to sugar syrup. They may be put up for sale as they are, wrapped in Communion-type wafer, which may or may not be coated with a fine layer of sugar syrup or chocolate, or packaged directly in wooden or china barrels. They may also be marketed deep-frozen. Their colour is uniform, ranging from yellow to orange, shiny all over and not very intense; their complex aroma is of egg yolk developing towards a characteristic odour containing aromas as varied as caramel, cinnamon and dried fruit, as a result of the chemical reactions during cooking between the sugar and the components of the egg yolk. They are sweet, with the flavour of egg yolk and sugar softened by the cooking process, and have a creamy but not runny consistency. The texture is uniform, with no yolk or sugar grains (although they are permissible several days after manufacture, inasmuch as they are the result of crystallisation of the product). The wafer occasionally used in the presentation is of even colour ranging from white to cream, opaque, matt and odourless or with a slight odour of flour and taste of wafer, its consistency soft and crumbly and its texture dry, smooth and uniform.
Its chemical composition is as follows:






 


% Sugar = 41 ± 5










 


% Fat = 17 ± 3










 


% Total water = 29 ± 3




The water activity is 0,864 ± 0,026.
In no event is the presence of starch, colorants and preservatives permissible.
At the end of the shelf life the reduction in water content and increase in sugar as a result of the crystallisation process which takes place in the product may not exceed 10 % of the initial values.
3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only)


                  ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are obtained solely from:
Egg yolk obtained exclusively from very fresh Category A eggs, L or XL in size, with a colour from 12 to 13 on the Roche scale. In view of the specific conditions required for the egg yolks, in particular in terms of colour and degree of freshness, the geographical production area for the eggs is limited from an administrative point of view to the municipalities of Águeda, Albergaria-a-Velha, Aveiro, Estarreja, Ílhavo, Mira, Murtosa, Oliveira de Frades, Ovar, S. Pedro do Sul, Sever do Vouga, Tondela, Vagos and Vouzela.
The eggs used in the production of ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ have always come from this geographical region, which lend the product its specific colour and freshness.
Refined, white, cane sugar.
Water, wafer and chocolate.
3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Preparation of the sugar syrup.
Incorporation of the raw separated egg yolks into the sugar syrup.
Cooking the dough (mixture of egg yolks with sugar syrup).
Cooling and resting the dough.
Filling the wafers or wooden or china barrels.
Coating the wafers with sugar syrup or with chocolate.
3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Due to the characteristics of the product, in order to avoid any contamination and to prevent changes to the dough or the wafer, the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are marketed commercially packaged at source in barrels with the authorised format, materials and logos, or in cardboard or ‘intelligent’ packaging.

                  ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ may be put up for sale in bulk, without a wafer, but this is only authorised at a confectioners’ premises, and always with documentation certifying their origin, lot number and date of manufacture.
In establishments involved in the resale of the products, the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ may be put up for sale pre-packaged, irrespective of their form of presentation or in individual units, in the original box, open, provided that the label, lot number, sell-by date and certification mark are still visible.

                  ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are kept at room temperature, which gives them a shelf life of 15 days.
Where the product is packaged in modified atmospheres or using food preservation film (smart packaging), its shelf life is 21 days, at room temperature. Where the product is presented deep-frozen, it has a shelf life of 6 months, if sold in this form. The unpackaged product may only be deep-frozen on the production premises of the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’, where the specific requisite know-how is demonstrated, as well as the need to preserve the product from undesirable handling and microbiological contamination.

                  ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ in wafers coated in chocolate have a shelf life of 60 days, provided that they are conserved at the technical temperature advised for chocolate and in premises without odours.
3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

The labelling must bear the words ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro – Indicação Geográfica Protegida’, the certification mark and the logo of ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’, as shown here:





The certification mark must show the name of the product, the name of the Certification Body and the serial number allowing the product to be traced.
4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

In view of the edapho-climatic conditions and characteristics required for preparation of the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’, in particular as regards humidity and atmospheric temperature and the requisite specific know-how, as well as the need to preserve the product from microbiological contamination, the geographical area for the preparation and packaging is limited to the districts bordering the Ria de Aveiro and adjacent lagoon areas. From an administrative point of view, the area covers the districts of Águeda, Albergaria-a-Velha, Aveiro, Estarreja, Ílhavo, Mira, Murtosa, Ovar, Sever do Vouga and Vagos.
5.   Link with the geographical area

Natural features:
The phytoclimatic aspects of the region are dominated by the basin of the River Vouga, which flows into the Ria de Aveiro, which is another significant geographical feature. This gives rise to specific conditions for agriculture, in particular those relating to the growing of maize and the raising of poultry, which has developed with particular vigour along the banks of the lagoon.
The area of the Baixo Vouga has always been marshy and the Médio Vouga a fertile region for the production of good-quality maize in large quantities. Although centuries ago this form of farming was at subsistence level, by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries it had gained an entrepreneurial dimension with the establishment in the districts bordering on the River Vouga of undertakings with a large production capacity and a reputation for quality. The traditional maize used in chicken feed has no doubt contributed to the quality which distinguishes the resulting product.
Historical factors:

               ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ have been manufactured for centuries. The tradition of manufacturing the product, which originated in convents, was maintained by ladies who had a convent education and passed the secret of its manufacture from generation to generation. There are documents showing that, in 1502 , King Manuel I granted 10 ‘arrobas’ of Madeira sugar per year to the Convent of Jesus in Aveiro for the manufacture of confectionery products in the convent, which at the time were used to help patients during their convalescence. ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ were referred to in 1908 as a dessert dish for royalty, and were expressly mentioned in 1888 by the great Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz in ‘The Maias’ and ‘The Capital’ and in 1973 by the great Brazilian author Erico Veríssimo in ‘Solo de Clarineta-Memórias’ [Clarinet Solo – Memoirs]. The chocolate-coated Ovos Moles are also referred to in ‘O Doce nunca amargou… doçaria portuguesa. História. Decoração. Receituário’ [The sweet that never turned sour… Portuguese confectionery. History. Decoration. Recipes] by Emanuel Ribeiro, in 1928.
The distinctive barrels in which the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are presented, the shapes of the wafers, which are almost always on maritime themes, and the typical sellers often feature in tiled panels, prints, popular poetry, plays and the regional songbook. As early as 1856 there existed a register of reputable manufacturers. Taking the original recipe as a basis and giving free reign to their creativity, confectioners carried out some experiments, in particular involving the production of Ovos Moles coated in chocolate. Accounts by confectioners from days gone by, whose first permit dates back to 1930, state: ‘In our establishment they were known as “black Ovos Moles”. Here the black Ovos Moles were only made for festivals, as they required a lot of labour’.
Specificity of the product

               ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are special because of the basic raw materials with which they are produced – eggs and sugar – and from the local know-how, because the egg yolks are added to the sugar syrup in a way that resembles the rowing movement of the traditional boats, ‘moliceiros’, in the Ria de Aveiro.
The specific way of preparing them gives the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ a texture, colour and set of aromas which is very distinctive and unique to the region.
The eggs, which are very fresh, are carefully cracked open and the yolk ‘separated’ either by filtering through the fingers or by using an appropriate egg separator. At the same time, the sugar syrup is separately prepared; it must be heated to a point midway between thickening and forming threads (a temperature of 110 °C). The egg yolks are incorporated into the sugar syrup, and this mixture is baked until the bottom of the saucepan can be seen: the know-how linked to these operations is a key factor. Then follows the cooling and resting of the dough, which lasts 24 hours and must be carried out in suitable premises. The reason for this is the fact that, in this phase, the dough for ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and absorbs outside odours easily. Temperature-reducing equipment currently exists which allows the cooling operation to be carried out more quickly and in a controlled manner, in such a way that the characteristics of the dough for the ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are maintained.
If the cooling is carried out with temperature-reducing equipment, the final temperature will be 15-18 °C. In this case there is no need for a rest period of 24 hours. From this stage onwards, and depending on the final presentation format chosen, the cooled dough may be used:






—


to fill the barrels, which are then sealed with the appropriate cover and removable film in order to insulate and protect the product;










—


to fill the wafers, which are then compressed in a manual press after being sealed; the wafers may not be sealed using unpasteurised egg white. The shapes of the wafers are then separated using scissors and cut in straight lines into the various shapes or cut with appropriate cutting equipment.




The shapes are placed on trays to be dried in the oven (where necessary), and may or may not be coated with sugar syrup or chocolate, which provides added protection against change.
Also specific and unique are the materials used in the packaging – the wafer, originating from the convent, and the wooden or china barrel, inspired by and made from materials present in the region and in both cases replicating shapes typical of the region – such as, in the case of the wafers, marine animals or instruments used in fishing or dried fruits which are very traditional in the highlands where the Ovos are produced, or, in the case of the barrels, the pictures linked to the specific scenes of the lagoon, such as its lighthouse or ‘moliceiro’ boats.
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)
The temperature and humidity of the lagoon are propitious to the manufacture of ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ and the wafers, giving them the appropriate and long-lasting softness which is impossible to reproduce outside the region.
Both the use of the barrels made of wood or china and the moulds used in the manufacture of the wafer attest to an unmistakable link with the Ria de Aveiro and its lagoon motifs, in particular by means of the use of the lighthouse on the lagoon or of typical ‘moliceiro’ river boats as trademarks or by making the wafers in the shape of fish, shellfish and barrels and buoys to mark fishing nets, another of the activities which are typical of the region.
Presentation in the form of wafers with lagoon motifs linked to the Ria de Aveiro and the River Vouga – fish, crabs, mussels, shells, whelks, barrels, maritime buoys or bottles, cockles, casks or tubs, clams, oysters and ‘moliceiro’ boats – are factors providing an undeniable link to the geographical area. The unique elements inspired by local flora, nuts, acorns, chestnuts and wicker baskets, are also unequivocal proof of the link to the region, since they are fruit from native trees which spontaneously grow there.
It is worth noting that barrels made locally of poplar wood and of china are made of typical and traditional raw materials in typical and traditional industries.
And so it can be seen that ‘Ovos Moles de Aveiro’ are totally specific to the region, and that the mere mention of Ovos Moles in the mind of the people is a reference to the region of Aveiro, and the simple appearance of regional symbols (the lagoon, the Aveiro lighthouse or the ‘moliceiros’) on packaging or in a shop window causes the products to be immediately linked to Aveiro.

Reference to publication of the specification


https://tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt/images/prod_imagens/doces/docs/Caderno_Especificacoesovos_aveiro2023.pdf



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


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2720/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)