Following this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission within 3 months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Miel wallon’

EU No: PGI-BE-02409 – 22.12.2017

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s)

‘Miel wallon’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Belgium

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Product type

Class 1.4. Other products of animal origin (eggs, honey, various dairy products except butter, etc.)

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

‘Miel wallon’, honey from Wallonia, is produced by the honeybee from nectar from flowers or other plants or from honeydew.

Wallonian honey is homogenous, with crystals that range from imperceptible to very fine and a creamy texture. It is spreadable but cannot be poured.

It may be:

—	multifloral (from a variety of flowers);

—	monofloral: bramble, clover, dandelion, fruit trees, linden/lime tree blossom, phacelia, privet, rapeseed, willow;

—	from honeydew.

Physico-chemical characteristics:

—	water content: ≤ 18 %;

—	hydroxymethylfurfural content (HMF): ≤ 20 mg / kg;

—	saccharase index (SI): ≥ 10 or < 10 with a diastase over saccharase index ratio of < 2,5 or < 5 for certain monofloral honeys (linden/lime tree blossom and bramble);

—	crystallisation: 95 % minimum of the crystals measure ≤ 0,20 mm, the remaining 5 % measure between 0,20 et 0,35 mm.

Pollen characteristics:

—	predominant pollens (> 45 %): angelica, apple, bramble, Cardamine pratensis - cuckoo flower, cherry, chestnut, clover, forget-me-not, mustard, pear, phacelia, plum, privet, Prunus avium - wild cherry, rapeseed, raspberry and willow;

—

secondary pollens (between 10 % to 45 %): alfalfa, angelica, apple, beech, bramble, Cardamine pratensis - cuckoo flower, cherry, chestnut, clover, dandelion, fava beans, forget-me-not, Frangula alnus - alder buckthorn, grasses, hawthorn, Heracleum sosnowskyi - Sosnowsky’s hogweed, horse chestnut, linden/lime tree blossom, lotus, Melilotus officinalis - sweet yellow clover, mustard, pear, phacelia, plum, privet, Prunus avium - wild cherry, raspberry, rapeseed, sainfoin, sorrel, sunflower, Tetradium daniellii - the bee-bee tree, vetch and willow.

Any pollen not listed above may only be identified in the honey as isolated pollen or as important isolated pollen (of significant botanical importance).

Organoleptic characteristics:

—	appearance: the honey is homogenous and pure, free of any particles visible to the naked eye. There is no film of foam on the honey’s surface, and there is little to no marbling. The honey is not at all pourable;

—	smell and taste: the honey does not have any foreign odours or tastes perceptible by consumers;

—	physical properties: the honey is fully crystallised and the honey crystals range from imperceptible to very fine;

—	texture: the honey is creamy and spreadable. Spreadability is gauged by measuring its hardness with a penetrometer (standard ISO 5492:1992, using a KOELHER-type manual penetrometer, cone reference K20000). The result is over 97 tenths of a mm at a temperature of 25 ± 3 °C.

Distinctive characteristics of the various honeys:

Type of honey	Physico-chemical characteristics		Pollen characteristics (as a % of the total number of pollen grains)	Organoleptic characteristics
	Conductivity (mS/cm)	Fructose/glucose ratio		Colour	Scent	Flavour	Sensation on the palate
Multifloral	≤ 0,80	0,85 to 1,50	/	Ranging from very light (ivory) to dark brown	Faint to strong, variable in nature	Faint to strong, variable in nature	/
Rapeseed	< 0,25	< 1,05	Rapeseed: > 80	Very pale (ivory)	Faint to medium, green notes with a whiff of sulphur	Faint to medium, with warm, sweet notes of dried plants and a hint of sulphur (cabbage)	/
Fruit trees	0,20 to 0,50	0,95 to 1,35	Fruit trees: > 40	Pale to straw coloured	Faint to medium, with fruity and green notes	Faint to medium, with warm notes of caramel, dried plants and a hint of fruit	/
Phacelia	0,20 to 0,40	1,10 to 1,35	Phacelia: > 60	Pale	Faint to medium, with notes of fruit and slight woodiness	Average, with warm notes of caramel and fruit (red fruit)	/
Dandelion	0,35 to 0,70	0,80 to 1,20	Dandelion: > 5	Yellow	Average to strong, with notes of wood and musk	Average to strong, with warm notes of caramel, wood and musk	Astringence
Bramble	0,20 to 0,50	1,05 to 1,40	Bramble: > 45	Pale to dark straw	Faint to medium, with notes of fruit and slight woodiness	Average, with warm notes of caramel and fruit (red fruit)	/
Willow	0,20 to 0,40	1,00 to 1,30	Willow: > 20	Very pale (ivory)	Faint to average, with green and chemical notes (medicinal)	Faint to average, with warm, sweet notes of dried plants and slightly medicinal (aspirin)	Astringence
linden/lime tree blossom	0,30 to 0,80	1,00 to 1,40	linden/lime tree blossom: > 5	Pale (sometimes with a slight greenish sheen)	Average to strong, with green, medicinal and mentholated notes	Average to strong, with warm notes of caramel, dried plants, medicinal and refreshing (menthol / chlorophyll)	/
Clover	0,15 to 0,60	1,05 to 1,40	Clover: > 45	Pale to straw coloured	Faint to medium, with fruity and green notes	Faint to average, with warm notes of caramel, dried plants and sometimes fruit	/
Privet	0,20 to 0,50	1,10 to 1,50	Privet: > 10	Pale to dark straw	Average to strong, with notes of fruit and slight woodiness	Average to strong, with warm notes of caramel and fruit (red fruit / blackcurrants)	/
Honeydew	≥ 0,80	1,10 to 1,60	/	Amber to dark brown	Faint to strong, variable in nature	Faint to strong, variable in nature	/

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 demarcated geographical area

‘Miel wallon’ is sourced from beehives located in Wallonia. The hives are managed and wintered and the honey collected in Wallonia.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product to which the registered name refers

The stages following harvest (extraction, processing the honey and packaging) must be carried out on EU territory. This restriction is justified to ensure the product’s traceability.

For retail sale, the honey is bottled in glass or plastic jars of 500 g maximum, equipped with a sealing system that prevents any leakage. With the exception of pots of 50 g or less, a sealing strip is affixed to the lid.

3.6.   Specific rules concerning the labelling of the product to which the registered name refers

The following information must be included on the label:

—

the type of honey, depending on its particular qualities as set out above: a) ‘multifloral honey’ or ‘multifloral’; b) ‘rapeseed honey’ or ‘rapeseed’; c) ‘fruit tree honey’ or ‘fruit tree’; d) ‘phacelia honey’ or ‘phacelia’; e) ‘dandelion honey’ or ‘dandelion’; f) ‘bramble honey’ or ‘bramble’; g) ‘willow honey’ or ‘willow’; h) ‘linden/lime tree blossom honey’ or ‘linden/lime tree blossom’; i) ‘clover honey’ or ‘clover’; j) ‘privet honey’ or ‘privet’; k) ‘honey from honeydew’ or ‘honeydew’;

—	the date of minimum durability (DMD);

—	the identification number of the batch in question.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area of ‘Miel wallon’ comprises the entire territory of Wallonia.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The link between ‘Miel wallon’ and its place of origin is based on its quality and characteristics. The honey’s characteristics are the product of natural and human factors that are peculiar to the geographical area.

Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors

Wallonia is a temperate region, whose agricultural land is characterised by very fragmented land parcels, in contrast to the vast expanses of land in the north of France, and whose natural landscape is characterised by luxuriant vegetation. It harbours a wide variety of flowers, which provide the wherewithal for a particularly large-scale production of multifloral honey.

In spring, the main nectar-producing plants are willow, fruit trees and shrubs (pear, plum, cherry, apple and raspberry), rapeseed, dandelion and hawthorn. The main nectar-producing plants in summer are linden/lime tree blossom, brambles, clover and phacelia.

The nectars produced by these specific flowers affect the speed of the honey’s crystallisation and its creaminess. This is because the proportions of the main sugars contained in the nectar (fructose and glucose) vary depending on the type and species of the flower. The fructose/glucose ratio determines the speed of the honey’s crystallisation, which itself dictates the texture of the finished product. When the honey is rich in fructose (‘fructose/glucose’ ratio > 1), crystallisation is slow and coarse, which results in the formation of large crystals. This is the case for nectar from phacelia, brambles, clover, privet, etc. If, however, the honey is rich in glucose (‘fructose/glucose’ ratio < 1), crystallisation is fast and fine but the honey becomes heavy and hardens. This applies, by way of example, to rapeseed and dandelion nectar.

Human factors

To better control the honey’s crystallisation, beekeepers in Wallonia have developed and adopted a specific technique: controlled crystallisation.

This technique is applied after the honey has been filtered and decanted. It consists of adjusting one or more of the following parameters: temperature, movement and seeding. When beekeepers adjust the temperature of the honey, they lower it to approximately 14 °C to accelerate the honey’s crystallisation and achieve a grain that is as fine as possible. If a beekeeper uses movement, the honey is stirred at regular intervals with a mixer: this promotes crystal formation and avoids ending up with a texture that is too firm. The technique of seeding, used for honey that crystallises slowly, consists of adding 10 % to 15 % of very finely crystallised local honey into the uncrystallised mass of honey so as to initiate crystallisation. It is also possible to adjust these parameters to soften honey that has become too firm: the honey is carefully heated to a temperature of between 30 °C and 35 °C then stirred and finally seeded with 10 % of freshly harvested honey to restore its initial texture.

The controlled crystallisation technique is the result of all the observations and technical progress made since the end of the 19th century in Wallonia. It was developed by the Centre apicole de Recherche et d’Information [Beekeeping Centre for Research and Information] (CARI ASBL) from when it was set up in 1983, then with the help of PROMIEL ASBL from 1992, with the aim of identifying strategies to improve the quality of the honey. The importance of controlled crystallisation was emphasised from the outset. Advice was therefore issued to beekeepers to enable them to master this technique and perfect this expertise that typifies Wallonian beekeepers. This expertise has thus been handed down over the years.

Specificity of the product

The main quality of ‘Miel wallon’ is its spreadability.

Furthermore, it has the following characteristics:

—	water content of below 18 %;

—	crystallisation that ranges from imperceptible to very fine;

—	a creamy texture;

—	homogenous and pure in appearance;

—	the honey’s natural properties are preserved.

Causal link

A natural link exists between ‘Miel wallon’ and its geographical area. The speed of crystallisation and the creaminess of the honey depends on which flower produced the nectar. For example, honeys from rapeseed and from dandelion have a relatively low ‘fructose/glucose’ ratio. Their crystallisation is rapid and the final texture is too firm (with the appearance of marbling and the entrapment of impurities). Phacelia, bramble, clover and privet honeys on the other hand have a generally high ‘fructose/glucose’ ratio. Their crystallisation is therefore slow and the final texture is runny and unstable. The result is that the crystals formed are coarse and unevenly distributed throughout the honey, which alters the sensation of the honey on the palate.

Some Wallonian consumers are dissatisfied with the texture of the honey produced when the beekeeper allows it to crystallise freely. To meet customer demand, beekeepers in Wallonia have developed expertise that results in a specific finished product, namely honey with very fine crystals and good spreadability.

This expertise consists of applying controlled crystallisation with great care and precision, thus allowing the beekeeper to correct any imbalances resulting from the sugar composition and to manage the crystallisation process. For example, where the honey has a higher glucose than fructose content, the beekeeper slightly warms the honey, stirs it to soften it, and where necessary, seeds it with freshly harvested honey. Where the honey has more fructose than glucose, the beekeeper will seed it with finely crystallised newly harvested honey, then mix it to ensure finer and more homogenous crystallisation. Controlled crystallisation enables the production of honey with crystallisation ranging from imperceptible to very fine that is creamy, homogenous, pure and spreadable. Before the procedure, the water content of no more than 18 % guarantees the right crystallisation and that the honey keeps. Lastly, the HMF content and the saccharase index (SI) are controlled and kept well below the limits set by legislation, ensuring that the honey’s natural properties are preserved. The sum of these characteristics makes ‘Miel wallon’ the distinctive product that it is.

The name ‘Miel wallon’ appeared following the development of the controlled crystallisation technique. This honey was first promoted in 1997 when the Walloon honey promotion campaign was launched, run principally by CARI and l’Office régional de promotion de l’agriculture et de l’horticulture [the Regional Office for the promotion of agriculture and horticulture] (ORPAH).

As food, the spreadability of ‘Miel wallon’ means that it can be enjoyed spread on a slice of bread, a culinary tradition that is very deeply rooted in Belgium and especially in Wallonia.

The beekeepers have won prizes on multiple occasions at competitions for the quality of their ‘Miel wallon’. By way of example, in 2020, the beekeeper R. Steyer (Les Ruchers à Pas de Loup - The beehives at Pas de Loup) came first in the ‘Miel wallon’ category of the Coq de Cristal competition. In 2020, in the context of the Concours des miels d’ici et d’ailleurs [Local and foreign honey competition], F. Herbots was awarded the gold medal. At the 2022 competition, B. Mercenier and A. Bernier won the bronze and silver medals respectively.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://agriculture.wallonie.be/aop-igp-stg

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).