Publication of an application for registration of a name 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

(2019/C 336/04)

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) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘MIÓD SPADZIOWY Z BESKIDU WYSPOWEGO’

EU No: PDO-PL-02316 - 30.6.2017

PDO (X) PGI ()

1.   Name(s)

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’

2.   Member State or third country

Poland

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

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) applies

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is liquid or crystallised honeydew honey produced from fir honeydew. The raw material for the production of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is fir honeydew from the fir forests of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains and a small part of the Beskid Makowski mountains called Beskid Myślenicki. It is produced from silver fir (Abies alba) by aphids belonging to the green-striped fir aphid species (Cinara pectinata Nórdl).

The aphids collect the plant sap from the branches of the silver fir, from which they use the protein components and expel the remaining, viscous liquid, consisting mainly of carbohydrates, or honeydew. The bees collect the honeydew from the needles and branches of the silver fir and from the forest floor directly under the firs. Initially the honeydew has a light colour, but it quickly acquires different additives, such as pollen grains or mushroom or algae spores. Those additives give ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ its characteristic black-green colour.

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is produced exclusively by colonies of honey bees of the Carniolan breed (Apis mellifera carnica) of the Dobra strain or by cross-breeding with other bees of the breed (Apis mellifera carnica). In the cross-breeding the female must come from the Dobra strain while the male must be from the breed. Within the breeding area and its margins only bees of the Carniolan breed of the Dobra strain may be bred.

Honeydew produced from silver fir constitutes at least 95 % of the total content of honeydew in ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’. A maximum of 5 % of the honeydew may come from deciduous trees.

Organoleptic characteristics

The consistency of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is dense and viscous. The uncrystallised honey is black-green in colour and may have dark brown shades. After crystallisation, it appears lighter and grey-green to brown in colour. The colour of the honey is at least 86mm on the Pfund scale. Crystallisation follows slowly after approximately 4 months after spinning, and is fine-grained or medium-grained in form. ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ has an intense aroma, with a specific fragrance reminiscent of resin, and a delicate, sweet taste.

Honey with signs of fragmentation or fermentation may not be sold under the protected name ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’.

Physico-chemical characteristics

—	Water content – not more than 17,5 %

—	Conductivity in [mS/cm] not less than 1,20

(in [10-4 S.cm-1] not less than 12,00)

—	Diastase activity on the Schade scale — not less than 15

—	HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) content — not more than 15 mg/kg.

Microbiological characteristics

In ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ the following honeydew indicators are present: mushroom spores and algae. Of the mushrooms, the Atichia fungi predominate: Hormisciumi, Triposporium, Capnophialophorapinophila and Triposporiumpinophilum. These are typical species for this honey, appearing both in the honeydew and the honey. Of the algae, the Pleurococcussp, Chlorococcus and Cystococcus cells predominate. Cyanophyceae blue-green algae and Diatomeae diatoms may also be found. The black-green colour of the honey is the result of the presence of precisely those honeydew indicators.

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

The bees may be fed with sugar syrup after production of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ has been completed. It is not permitted to feed the bees during the period of extraction of the honey. In non-productive periods, where the proper development of the bee colonies is at risk, the bees may be stimulated with honey-and-sugar candy. Stimulative feeding in non-productive periods should be completed no later than 10 days before the honeydew begins to appear.

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

All steps in the production and extraction of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ must take place in the identified geographical area referred to under point 4. During the production of the honey no treatments using medicinal products may be carried out. The use of biological treatments which do not potentially contaminate the honey is permitted.

Filtering the honey, mixing it with other honeys, pasteurising or heating it above 40 degrees Celsius is not permitted.

After crystallisation of the honey in wholesale containers it may be liquefied in dedicated equipment (liquefying chambers) at a controlled internal temperature. During liquefaction the temperature may not be more than 40 degrees Celsius at any stage. The temperature inside the chamber must be recorded in the liquefaction logbook at least once a day.

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

The packaging of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ must take place in the area defined under point 4.

This requirement stems from traditional practice and is necessary to facilitate the monitoring and control of the origin of the honey, reducing the risk of blending it with other honeys, prevent misuse of the name when selling honeys from other regions and ensure the application of specific rules concerning labelling referred to in paragraph 3.6.

The aim of the requirement is also to guarantee the appropriate quality of the product as well as to prevent the risk of alternation of the honey’s physico-chemical (HMF, diastase activity) and organoleptic characteristics. If the appropriate conditions are not maintained upon moving the honey it can, as a hygroscopic substance, absorb water or quickly crystallise. It is also possible that extraneous odours are absorbed, which may completely change the taste of the honey. Therefore, specially adapted vehicles should be used to transport the honey.

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

Beekeepers who produce and package ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ and entities engaged in the buying-in of the honey and its presentation are required to use one type of label. The single-label system is intended to guarantee the appropriate quality and enable easy product traceability. The labels are distributed by the Stowarzyszenie Producentów Miodu Spadziowego z Beskidu Wyspowego producer association. It forwards the rules on the distribution of the labels and the records issued and used to the control body. The distribution rules may not in any way discriminate against producers who do not belong to the association.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is produced in the Małopolskie Province in the Limanowa and Myślenicka districts.

5.   Link with the geographical area

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ owes its quality not only to the unique features of the natural environment but also to the skills of the local beekeepers. Only the combination of the above-mentioned factors makes it possible to obtain honeydew honey characterised by those specific features.

Around 40 % of the surface area of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains is covered with forests. Lower mountain forests predominate there: beech-fir, fir and mixed fir-spruce forests. Saturation of silver fir forests is the highest in the whole of Poland.

In the Beskid Wyspowy mountains, on the land covered with fir forests, native bees of the Carniolan breed (Apis mellifera carnica) originally appeared, which have been able to adapt to the difficult climatic and nectar-bearing conditions. In the course of evolution an indigenous population arose, later called ‘Dobra’, which through natural selection has been able to adapt to the difficult local conditions, and a number of prized characteristics have evolved, such as resistance to disease, strong resistance to cold, adaptation to wintering on honeydew, discontinuance of egg laying in September, conservative resumption of egg laying in the spring and rapid development after the weather has stabilised. The Dobra strain of the Carniolan honey bee has developed a very resource-efficient way of feeding in the winter. In this way the bees have lived in these areas naturally, and despite the fact that honeydew honey is not suitable as feed for wintering bees, the bees have wintered normally. Other breeds and strains of bees would not be able to survive the winter on the honeydew supplies present in the Beskid Wyspowy mountains.

The specific features of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’, such as the high proportion of fir honeydew, derive from the geographical area, namely the fir forests of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains. The firs collect water, mineral salts and trace elements from the soil and introduced it into the plant sap, which is a raw material for the production of honeydew. The specific composition and characteristics of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is also inextricably linked with the green-striped fir aphid in the fir forests of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains and the chemical composition of the honeydew produced by it. In effect ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is characterised by the high conductivity and the chemical composition of the product which reflects the high content of mineral salts in the soil of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains.

Another characteristic feature of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is the greater proportion of pollen from anemophilous plants. The small addition of pollen from insect-pollinated plants is significantly lower than nectar-based honeys. That characteristic is due to the fact that, during the period in which silver fir honeydew appears in the Beskid Wyspowy mountains, other than limes, no nectar for commercial use is found. The higher content of pollen from anemophilous plants ensures, inter alia, the absence or small amount of nectar from nectar-bearing plants and is a characteristic feature of honeydew honey from coniferous wood, in particular fir honeydew.

The long history of bees using the nectar from fir honeydew is also typical of the area of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains and led to the creation of the local Dobra strain of bees. That fact demonstrates the very close link between ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ and the area in which it originates. Over centuries, the Dobra bee strain developed mechanisms allowing it to grow in that area, which is characterised by the dominance of honeydew as the main nectar, where bees of other breeds or strains were not able to exist on their own. Thanks to its unique characteristics it can live in the wild state in areas with fir forests. The characteristics of the bee of the Dobra strain, which developed over the centuries, meant that it is currently best suited to the harvest of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ because the more quickly this is done the better it is altered and the best-quality honey produced. High diastase activity (LD) of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ also shows the importance of the exceptional mechanisms developed in the Beskid Wyspowy mountains by bees of the Dobra strain. That demonstrates the high content of valuable enzymes in the honey, which originate from the bodies of honey bees of the Carniolan breed of the Dobra strain, occurring in the Beskid Wyspowy region.

The long history of beekeeping in that area has contributed to the development of the skills of local beekeepers. They did not use imported strains or cross-breeding with bees which are ill-adapted to the local climatic and nectar conditions, and thanks to their husbandry the Dobra strain has been successfully maintained unchanged to the present day. Local beekeepers developed the rules governing production methods and how ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is obtained as well as for beekeeping. Thanks to the efforts of local beekeepers, the Carniolan honey bee of the Dobra strain has been protected since 2014 as a genetic resource, and a breeding region has been set up for it within the territory of the two municipalities of the Limanowa district. That initiative contributes to the protection of the unique features of bees of the Dobra strain, which in turn directly contributes to the preservation of the specific features of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’.

‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ is distinguished by a low water and HMF(5-droxymethylfurfural) content. Low water content is an indication of proper evaporation of water by the bee while the honey is maturing and skilful determination of the time for harvesting by the beekeeper. HMF is produced in honey from simple sugar as a result of a high heating temperature and lengthy storage time. The low HMF content in ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’ confirms that it is fresh and heated at a low temperature, thereby preserving its valuable ingredients. It is the knowledge and experience of local beekeepers, as well as their care in ensuring the freshness of the honey, which influence the chemical composition, and consequently the specific properties of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’.

The combination of all of the above factors, including the high proportion of silver fir forests, the husbandry of bees of the local Dobra strain, the purity of the environment and favourable microclimate of the Beskid Wyspowy mountains, the traditional model of beekeeping and the skills of local beekeepers, are directly reflected in the specific properties of ‘Miód spadziowy z Beskidu Wyspowego’.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://www.gov.pl/web/rolnictwo/wnioski-przekazane-komisji-europejskiej

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(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.