Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2010/C 287/09

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘ACEITE CAMPO DE CALATRAVA’

EC No: ES-PDO-0005-0642-11.09.2007

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Name:

‘Aceite Campo De Calatrava’

2.   Member State or third country:

Spain

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1.   Type of product:

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

Extra virgin olive oil obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europea L.) of the Cornicabra variety (at least 80 %), supplemented with the second recognised variety, Picual — both varieties are always present in Campo de Calatrava oils — using mechanical procedures or other physical means that do not modify the oil, thus preserving the flavour, fragrance and features of the fruit.

The olives are picked directly from the tree when their degree of ripeness is between 3 and 6.

Maximum parameters allowed for Extra Virgin Olive Oils with the Designation of Origin ‘Aceite Campo de Calatrava’:

Minimum level of oleic acid: 70 %

Acidity: not exceeding 0,5°

Peroxide value: not exceeding 15 meq O2/kg

K232: maximum 2

K270: not exceeding 0,15°

Sensory evaluation:

Median defect: Md = 0

Median score for fruitiness: Mf > 3

Water content: not exceeding 0,1 parts per 100

Impurities: not exceeding 0,1 parts per 100

From a sensory point of view, the oils express the contribution of each of the varieties included, giving sensory profiles with a complex fruitiness and with clearly discernible intensities. This means that Campo de Calatrava oils must have a minimum fruitiness of 3 intensity points. The bitter and spicy flavours are discernible and balanced and their intensity values range from 3 to 6 and do not differ from the degree of fruitiness by more than 2 points.

Common to all the Extra Virgin Olive Oils produced in Campo de Calatrava is a marked presence of green fruit flavours of olive and other fresh fruit. As a minimum, these positive descriptors must be present.

Oleic fatty acid content in Campo de Calatrava oils is 79,64 %, as compared to other oil-producing areas where values vary between 56,9 % and 78,4 % (Uceda, Cultivo del Olivo). The minimum value accepted is 70 %.

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

—

3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only):

—

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

—

3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

In order to preserve the typical characteristics of the product at all stages and to ensure the quality of the oils covered by the designation, the bottling process is carried out within the accepted geographical area. This gives the inspection bodies total control of production and the final handling of the product remains in the hands of the area's experienced producers. These are the people who know best how these oils react to the bottling methods, which vary as to time and method of decanting, filtration operations, materials (cloths made from textiles, fibres, paper, cellulose, filtering earth, diatomaceous earth and pearls), bottling temperatures, reaction to cold and storage. The aim of all of this is to maintain the typical characteristics of the product. Correct filtration enables producers to market an adequate product to consumers and to improve preservation conditions by eliminating dissolved left-over solids and moisture, which would otherwise lead to incorrect culinary use and to the presence of trace substances that give rise to anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates and proteins.

The bottler should have separate systems for bottling the oils covered by the PDO and for bottling other oils.

Likewise, the bottler must have type-approved systems for measuring oil.

The oil should be bottled in containers made of glass, PET, coated metal, cardboard or vitrified ceramic.

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

The labelling of the containers of oil will include, besides the sales designation, the logo of the protected designation with the words ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ (or PDO) ‘Aceite Campo de Calatrava’.

The containers in which the protected oil is delivered to consumers will be provided with labels and back labels that mention the Designation of Protected Origin. The back labels will be numbered, provided and monitored by the Inspection Body, in a way that ensures no reuse is possible. The distribution of numbered labels to oil producers by the Inspection Body is restricted to the quantity of oil certified and registered for bottling.

The labelling must comply with the general rules on labelling.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

The production, processing and bottling area is situated in the south of Castile-La Mancha, which occupies the central part of the Ciudad Real Province and forms a completely homogeneous topological, geographical and historical unit, comprising the municipal districts of Aldea del Rey, Almagro, Argamasilla de Calatrava, Ballesteros de Calatrava, Bolaños de Calatrava, Calzada de Calatrava, Cañada de Calatrava, Carrión de Calatrava, Granátula de Calatrava, Miguelturra, Moral de Calatrava, Pozuelo de Calatrava, Torralba de Calatrava, Valenzuela de Calatrava, Villanueva de San Carlos and Villar del Pozo.

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

Campo de Calatrava is situated in the southern part of the central plateau of the Iberian peninsular with average altitudes of more than 600 m.

The frequent occurrence of high pressures, in addition to the effects of a continental location, have a decisive influence on the climate with the effect that when anticyclones are produced in winter, they give rise to very low temperatures, and, when they occur in summer, they give rise to very high temperatures.

Precipitation is not especially abundant due to the area's marginal position relative to the area through which fronts and depressions pass from the southwest or the Strait of Gibraltar, and it is these that generate most rainfall. In Campo de Calatrava, rainfall does not generally reach 500 mm.

The soil is alkaline and of medium depth.

The volcanic matter in our area is alkaline. This pedological feature is another particularity with respect to other oil-producing regions and influences the characteristics of certain oils.

The dark colour of the soils of Campo de Calatrava absorbs a higher quantity of solar radiation, providing a higher soil temperature and thereby, from an agronomical point of view, favouring the early development of the olive crop.

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

The characteristics of ‘Aceite Campo de Calatrava’ are the following:

5.3.   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 lime-rich soil of medium depth, the volcanic matter, the low water level with low rainfall, the hot summers, long frosts in winter and soils that warm early, make up an ecosystem that borders on being arid and which over the centuries has kept the Cornicabra and Picual varieties perfectly adapted to this environment through natural selection, ensuring a final product with distinctive characteristics that differentiate it from other olive-growing areas. These pedological and climactic conditions give rise to a higher concentration of oleic fatty acid (Civantos, 1999), the minimum value of which is 70 %, producing oils with greater oxidative stability.

Dry, alkaline soils and low rainfall have given Campo de Calatrava oil fruity sensorial profiles with minimum 3 points of green flavour of olive and other fresh fruits.

Water stress in the fruit's ripening phase, caused by scarce rainfall, gives discernible and balanced bitter and spicy flavours, with intensity values that range from 3 to 6 and do not differ from the degree of fruitiness by more than 2 points.

Reference to the publication of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

http://docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=2007/08/13&idDisposicion=123061987650950829

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.