COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

(Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143)

‘Val di Mazara’

EU PDO-IT-0061-AM01 - 13.3.2025

1.   Name of product

‘Val di Mazara’

2.   Geographical indication type

☒	Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)

☐	Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)

☐	Geographical Indication (GI)

3.   Sector

☒	Agricultural products

☐

Wines

☐	Spirit drinks

4.   Country to which the geographical area belongs

Italy

5.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

MASAF [Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry]

6.   Qualification as standard amendment

The amendment is a standard one within the meaning of Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 as it does not include a change in the name, does not risk voiding the link and does not entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.

7.   Description of the approved standard amendment(s)

The amendment concerns Article 6(3) on the description of the product.

The parameters for linolenic and linoleic acids have been deleted from the product description.

Reason:

It has been decided to remove these two chemical parameters because climate change in the production area has caused substantial increases in temperature in recent years, often accompanied by a sharp drop in rainfall, and this has changed the physiology of the plants and thus had an effect on the values for these acids.

The amendment affects the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Val di Mazara’

EU No: PDO-IT-0061-AM01 - 13.3.2025

PDO (X) PGI ( )

1.   Name(s) (of PDO or PGI)

2.   Member State or Third Country

Italy

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code

—	15 - ANIMAL, VEGETABLE OR MICROBIAL FATS AND OILS AND THEIR CLEAVAGE PRODUCTS; PREPARED EDIBLE FATS; ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE WAXES

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

When released for consumption, ‘Val di Mazara’ protected designation of origin extra virgin olive oil must have the following characteristics:

—	Colour: golden yellow with hints of intense green;

—	Aroma: fruity and sometimes also with almond notes;

—	Taste: fruity, velvety and with a sweet aftertaste;

—	Minimum score in panel test >= 6,5;

—	Total maximum acidity expressed as oleic acid: not exceeding 0,5 g per 100 g of oil;

—	Peroxide index <= 11,00;

—	K232 <= -2,10;

—	K270 <= 0,15;

—	Delta K <= 0,005.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

At least 90 % of the olives used to produce oil with the ‘Val di Mazara’ protected designation of origin must be from the following varieties, which are present in the groves either on their own or in combination: Biancolilla, Nocellara del Belice and Cerasuola. Other varieties present in the area may also be used, providing they do not account for more than 10 %, such as Ogliarola Messinese, Giaraffa and Santagatese, or possibly small percentages of other typical local cultivars.

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

‘Val di Mazara’ PDO extra virgin olive oil must be packaged for release for consumption in glass or tin containers with a capacity of no more than 5 litres.

In order to guarantee the traceability and origin of the product, ‘Val di Mazara’ oil must be packaged within the defined geographical area. The delicate nature of the product and the need to preserve its characteristics mean that handling must be kept to a minimum and that checks by the control body, including at the packaging stage, must be carried out in such a way as to avoid the risk of oils of different origins possibly being mixed, which would undermine confidence in the designation.

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

It is forbidden to add any description that is not expressly provided for in this product specification to the protected designation of origin ‘Val di Mazara’, including the following qualifiers: fine (fine), scelto (choice), selezionato (selected), superiore (superior) or genuino (genuine).

It is prohibited to use additional geographical references or geographical or topographical indications referring to municipalities, subdivisions of municipalities or geographical areas within the defined geographical area.

However, the use of names, company names and private brands is authorised, provided that they have no laudatory purport and are not such as to mislead the purchaser about geographical names, especially as regards geographical names referring to areas of oil production with a protected designation of origin.

It is permitted to use the names of holdings, estates and farms and to refer to packaging at an olive holding, at an association of olive holdings or at an olive business located in the production area, only if the product is made exclusively from olives harvested from olive groves belonging to the holding in question, and if the oil is extracted and packaged on the holding.

The name of the ‘Val di Mazara’ protected designation of origin must appear on the label in distinct, indelible lettering of a colour that strongly contrasts with that of the label itself and in such a way that it can be clearly distinguished from the other information given on the label.

The crop year of the olives from which the oil was made must be indicated on the label.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises all the municipalities in the province of Palermo and the following municipalities in the province of Agrigento: Alessandria della Rocca, Bivona, Burgio, Calamonaci, Caltabellotta, Cattolica Eraclea, Cianciana, Lucca Sicula, Menfi, Montallegro, Montevago, Ribera, Sambuca di Sicilia, Santa Margherita del Belice, Sciacca and Villafranca Sicula.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The first reports date the spread of the olive tree as a domestic plant to the time of Greek colonisation when, according to the testimonies of Diodorus Siculus, who mentioned the olive groves of Agrigento, olives gained considerable economic importance and began to generate a decent export trade, especially from Agrigento.

According to French historian Henry Bresc, around the 12th century, olive groves were planted in the hills of Cefalù, Conca d’Oro, the lowlands of Carini and Partinico. It is worth mentioning, as regards the Palermo area in the 14th century, the Chiaramonte olive grove in Passo di Rigano, which was capable of producing 30 000 kg of olives, Giovanni de Frisello’s olive grove in the district of Sabucia, and the Olivetum Magnum [Great olive tree] at the Santa Caterina monastery.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries, there were several oil mills in Palermo, whereas in Monreale, where olive growing appears to have been fairly widespread, in 1516 the inhabitants complained that they had to mill the olives at the only oil mill, which belonged to the archbishop, where, ‘it is notorious, for robbery and vexation’ to take place.

Precisely in Monreale, in 1538-1539, the Benedictine monks rented out their olive grove in the Costiera district, which had only been planted few decades previously, for a rent of 3 canthari of oil, which is equivalent to 2 935 kg. ‘Val di Mazara’ is the old name given to the largest of the compartments into which Sicily was divided in the early Middle Ages and in the early modern period. The demarcated area of the ‘Val di Mazara’ PDO includes the most significant part of the territory, which coincides with that part of the administrative division of Sicily called, as already mentioned, ‘Val di Mazara’.

The production of olive oil in this area has made a substantial contribution to the economic development and commercial activities of the territory of Val di Mazara that have set it apart over the centuries. The success of olive growing in this area is largely due to its soil and climate, which are particularly suited to olive growing. Furthermore, the varieties grown, which are perfectly adapted to the growing environment, make it possible to produce a product with specific quality characteristics. The specific quality characteristics of the product are shaped by:

(a)	cultivars which are found only in the area concerned;

(b)	specific cultivation techniques, with particular reference to training methods (open vase shape or bush shape), fertilisation (mainly organic), harvesting, either manually or using mechanical olive harvesting equipment and plastic nets, etc.;

(c)	the characteristic aromas of the oil obtained, which are given to it by the widespread presence in the demarcated area of artichoke plantations, citrus orchards and almond groves;

(d)

microclimate and soil morphology characteristics: suitable olive groves are those that are situated at up to 700 m above sea level, that have soils that are medium-textured, deep, permeable and dry but not arid, and that have a subtropical, semi-dry Mediterranean climate, with average rainfall of more than 500 mm/year, 90 % of which is concentrated in autumn and winter.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fe%252F8%252FD.9d6c6c93877ba76281b4/P/BLOB%3AID%3D3342/E/pdf?mode=download

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(1)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 of 30 October 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules concerning the registration and the protection of geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (OJ L, 2025/27, 15.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/27/oj).