Publication of an application 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

(2016/C 195/09)

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).

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘ŠOLTANSKO MASLINOVO ULJE’

EU No: HR-PDO-0005-01346 — 19.6.2015

PDO ( X ) PGI ( )

1.   Name

2.   Member State or Third Country

Croatia

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Product type

Class 1.5. Oils and fats (butter, margarine, oils, etc.)

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

The extra-virgin olive oil known as ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ (Šolta olive oil) is an oil obtained directly from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical means.

When placed on the market, ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ must have the following physico-chemical properties:

and organoleptic properties:

The oil has no organoleptic defects, with medians of fruitiness, bitterness and sharpness of ≥ 1 each, where the sum of medians of positive organoleptic properties must be ≥ 5.

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

‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ is produced from the fruit of the autochthonous varieties of olive known as Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and Oblica. The Levantinka variety must account for at least 50 %, while the proportion of the varieties Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and Oblica combined must be at least 95 %. The remaining 5 % or less may come from other varieties grown in the olive groves of Šolta and, given the small percentage, will have no effect on the product’s definitive properties.

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All stages of production of ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’, from the cultivation and harvesting of the olives to their processing into oil, must take place in the geographical area referred to in point 4.

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

To retain the product’s specific properties and the oil’s quality, ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ must be bottled within the geographical area referred to in point 4. As Šolta is an island, the olive oil is transported partly by sea. This means that the light, temperature and other natural factors may have a negative impact on the quality of the product, and the organoleptic properties of the olive oil may be altered. For that reason, ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ may not be packaged outside the defined geographical area. A system of inspection guarantees the origin and traceability of the product, which would be harder to achieve outside the production area. ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ must be bottled in dark glass with a volume of not more than 1 litre.

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

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4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area of ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ encompasses the island of Šolta and seven islets off the town of Maslinica: Polebrnjak, Saskinja, Balkun, Kamik, Šarac, Grmej and Stipanska, which form part of the municipality of Šolta. Šolta is an island in the central Dalmatian archipelago, located in Split-Dalmatia County. It is separated from the mainland and the island of Čiovo to the north by the Split Channel, from the island of Brač to the east by the Split Gates, and from the island of Drvenik Veli to the west by the Šolta Channel.

5.   Link with the geographical area

Specificity of the geographical area

Natural factors:

The soils on the island of Šolta have the features of a karst Mediterranean climate. They are a reflection of a combination of limestone-Dolomite bedrock, hilly terrain and climate. This mix of soil-forming factors gave rise to a particular type of soil in this karst Mediterranean area, as well as terra rossa and regosol soils.

The island of Šolta lies in a narrow geographical area, at the heart of the so-called East Adriatic Eumediterranean zone. In terms of climate and vegetation, it is a region of the Adriatic coast with particular microecological conditions, characterised by the lowest rainfall and the highest average annual temperature. The main characteristics of the climate of the island of Šolta are mild winters and dry summers, with three times more rainfall during the rainiest month of the year than during the driest summer month. The amount of rainfall during the driest month is less than 40 mm. Summers are hot, dry and sunny. The island of Šolta has an average annual air temperature of 16 °C and average rainfall of 847 mm. It is part of a medium-warm, dry region. Most of the rain falls in late autumn and early winter, when there is strong cyclonic activity, and in spring, during March and April. The lowest rainfall is in July. The island of Šolta lies in the sunniest part of Croatia, with 2 713 sunshine hours per year, at an average of around 7,4 hours per day.

The winds that blow onto Šolta are the Bora, Sirocco and Mistral. The Bora is a dry, cool, gusty wind that is most common in winter and early spring. The Sirocco is a humid, warm and monotonous wind, and is followed by heavy rainfall. The Mistral is most common in the summer period, due to the different speeds at which the sea and land heat up.

Human factors:

As the olive groves of the island of Šolta are planted mainly in inaccessible karst terrain unsuited to other types of agricultural production, to this day producers work them, and harvest the olives, the traditional way: the land is dug by hand, using traditional hand tools (a hoe and a mattock (pick)), while weeds are removed by hand and cut using a traditional sickle or scythe. The olives are removed from the tree by shaking the branches and raking them by hand, so that the olives fall onto a net, a plastic film or a sheet spread out under the trees. To harvest the olives by hand, the use of plastic rakes or hand-held shakers is allowed. One of the specific methods used by local olive growers to increase the yield of olives on the island of Šolta is grafting. This is a vegetative reproduction method in which a branch of the Oblica variety is grafted with a branch of the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) variety.

Specificity of the product

The specificity and quality of ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ stem from the autochthonous varieties Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and the variety Oblica used to produce it. Between them, these varieties account for more than 95 % of the assortment of olive groves on Šolta. Nowhere is the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) variety so well represented as on the island of Šolta.

Research into the volatile components of samples of olive oil from the island of Šolta has shown the presence of a large number of phenolic compounds, which account for the scent of olive leaves and of green fruit, or so-called green fruitiness. The most frequent compounds are (E)-2-hexenal and (Z)-3-hexenol, while hexyl acetate accounts for the fruity (banana) aroma.

Olive oil of the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and Oblica varieties has been found to have a high polyphenol (natural antioxidant) content, which stops the oil from deteriorating and keeps it fresh and aromatic for a long time (M. Žanetić et al; Influences of polyphenolic compounds on the oxidative stability of virgin olive oils from selected autochthonous varieties, Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, 2013).

For the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) variety, the scent and taste properties have been found to be balanced, while the Oblica variety has been found to have a pronounced fruity scent with less bitterness and sharpness (M. Žanetić et al; Ispitivanje fenolnih spojeva i senzorski profil dalmatinskih djevičanskih maslinovih ulja (Research into phenolic compounds and the organoleptic profile of Dalmatian virgin olive oils), Pomologia Croatica vol. 17, No 1-2, 2011).

The first written records of olive oil from the island of Šolta date far back in history. The author Mihovilović writes that ‘… the island of Šolta belonged to the city of Split and, during Venetian rule, from 1409 to 1797, agriculture on the island of Šolta was the supply source for the city of Split. The island of Šolta provided wine, olive oil, cereals, dried fruit and lentils’ (M. A. Mihovilović, Otok Šolta-monografija (The island of Šolta — A monograph), 1990).

The St Stephen’s parish review states that ‘Šolta is a hotbed of olives of the Levantinka, Greek, or, as they are known on the mainland, Šoltanka variety, and lists numerous olive growers that cultivate them particularly successfully.’ (St Stephen’s parish review, Nada, Grohote, 1979).

To this day, the name ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ is used in everyday speech (delivery notes and invoices, Eko Rast Šolta cooperative, Kapja i Bokun tasting room, 2011, 2013 and 2014).

Causal link

The quality of ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ stems from the following factors establishing the causal link: climate, the availability of autochthonous varieties, the know-how and experience of producers in the production processes and the historical tradition of olive-growing.

The climate conditions in the defined agricultural area, which are marked by hot, dry, sunny summers and mild winters, are conducive to growing olives of the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and Oblica varieties, so the ‘Csa’ climate subtype that prevails on the island of Šolta is also known as the olive-growing climate. The winds that sweep the island also have a strong influence on the olive groves of Šolta. Thanks to the cold, dry Bora wind, i.e. the dry, cold air masses brought by the Bora, pest infestations and plant diseases do not cause significant damage to Šolta’s olive groves. The humid, warm Sirocco wind, followed by heavy rainfall, is common during summer months and is particularly important and welcome because it provides the olives with the necessary amount of moisture. The Mistral wind, which blows in May and June, is important during the period of flowering and pollination, when the olives bloom and bear fruit.

The specificity and quality of ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ are based on the assortment of Šolta’s olive groves, as between them the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) and Oblica varieties account for more than 95 % of the assortment of olive groves on the island of Šolta, with Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) the most widespread variety, making up 50-60 % of the island’s olive groves. ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’ is characterised by a fruity aroma, with a mild scent of banana, and a slight bitterness and sharpness.

Producers have developed considerable know-how and experience to overcome the inaccessible karst terrain in which the olive groves of Šolta are planted. To this day, the olive groves are worked by hand or using small, traditional tools. Harvesting by hand means the olives can be selected in the olive groves, on the spot, and only the best, healthy olives are picked to produce ‘Šoltansko maslinovo ulje’, thus ensuring the oil’s consistent quality. At the same time, producers on the island of Šolta use a method of grafting the Oblica variety with the Levantinka (synonym: Šoltanka) variety, producing so-called mixed trees. This improves the fertility of trees of the Oblica variety and increases yield.

Reference to publication of the product specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

http://www.mps.hr/UserDocsImages/HRANA/SOLTANSKO%20MASLINOVO%20ULJE/Izmijenjena%20specifikacija%20proizvoda%20Šoltansko%20maslinovo%20ulje_16.3.2016_133943.pdf

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.