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

2012/C 175/14

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 of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘PASAS DE MÁLAGA’

EC No: ES-PDO-0005-0849-24.01.2011

PGI ( ) PDO ( X )

1.   Name:

‘Pasas de Málaga’

2.   Member State or Third Country:

Spain

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1.   Type of product:

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

Definition

Traditional ‘Pasas de Málaga’ are obtained by sun-drying the ripe fruit of the Muscat of Alexandria variety of Vitis vinifera L., also known as Moscatel Gordo or Moscatel de Málaga.

Physical characteristics

Chemical characteristics

The degree of moisture must be less than 35 %. The sugar content must be greater than 50 % by weight.

Organoleptic characteristics

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

Ripe fruit of the Muscat of Alexandria variety of Vitis vinifera L., also known as Moscatel Gordo or Moscatel de Málaga.

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

Not applicable.

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

Production and packaging must take place in the geographical area defined in point 4.

Production begins with the harvesting of healthy grapes, which never takes place before the phenological stage of ‘ripening’ (Baggiolini, 1952), avoiding fruit that are not intact or have been damaged by disease or fallen to the ground before harvesting.

The next step is drying the grapes by directly exposing the bunches to the sun. They must not be dried artificially. The work is done manually: every day the farmer turns the bunches of grapes that are spread out to dry so that they dry evenly on both sides.

Once the bunches of grapes are dry, the berries are removed by work known as picado, performed by hand using scissors whose size and shape is specially adapted so as not to impair the quality of the fruit removed from the dried bunches, or by machine in factories.

Once the raisins are ready, off or on the bunch, the production process continues in the raisin factories, where the following tasks must be performed before the packaged raisins can be placed on the market:

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

Not applicable.

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

The packaging must bear the following information:

The name under which the product is sold, the net quantity and the use-by date must appear in the same field of view.

In all cases, the compulsory indications must be easy to understand, prominently displayed and easily visible, clearly legible and indelible. They must not in any way be hidden, obscured or interrupted by other written or pictorial matter.

All packaging must include a label bearing the PDO logo and the words ‘Denominación de Origen Protegida’ and ‘Pasas de Málaga’, plus a unique code for each unit.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

Location:

Country: SPAIN

Autonomous community: ANDALUCÍA

Province: MALAGA

There are areas of vineyard all over the Province of Malaga, north, south, east and west. In two of these areas most of the grapes have traditionally been grown for raisin production. The largest of these is the district of Axarquia in the eastern part of the province, to the east of the capital. The other area is at the far western end of the Malaga coast. The defined geographical area comprises the following municipalities:

Municipalities:

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

There have been references to the link between vine growing and the defined geographical area since ancient times, right down till the present day. Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) mentioned the fact that there were vineyards in Malaga in his work the ‘Natural History’. During the Nasrid dynasty era (13th-15th centuries) agricultural production was encouraged, in particular grape growing for raisin production. Vine growing flourished until the end of the 19th century, when an unfortunate combination of commercial factors and plant health problems, mainly phylloxera (Viteus vitifoliae, Fitch) caused the sector to collapse. As a result, today's vineyards are scattered all over the province. In two of these areas most of the grapes have traditionally been grown for raisin production. These two raisin production areas are in the southern part of the province, bordering on the Mediterranean sea, so they have a subtropical Mediterranean climate. The sharp orography is a general feature of the Province of Malaga. Although grapes grown for raisin production no longer occupy as much land as they did before phylloxera, they are still an important factor in the economy and the socio-cultural environment in a large section of the province. They are grown in more than 35 municipalities by over 1 800 farmers on 2 200 ha of land.

The qualities of Pasas de Málaga are to a large extent determined by the natural environment. One of the characteristic features of the geographical area is its sharp orography: the landscape is a succession of hills and stream beds with gradients of over 30 %. The territory, with the high mountain range to the north and the Mediterranean sea in the south, is a succession of canyons and stream beds which form a very particular landscape with steep slopes, so that the whole of Axarquia is like a hillside going down to the sea. In the Manilva area, where the vines are close to the sea, the relief is gentler than in Axarquia.

The soil is essentially slatey, poor, shallow and with poor water holding capacity. The climate is subtropical Mediterranean, with mild winter temperatures, dry summers, little rain and long hours of sunshine (average 2 974 hours over the past decade).

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

The size of Pasas de Málaga is one of their most appreciated and distinguishing characteristics, they are considered large, and clearly superior to other products of their kind, such as sultanas, currants and California Thompson seedless.

The raisins retain the characteristic muscat flavour of the grapes from which they are produced, and it is this variety of Muscat that is the OIV reference for one of the grades of ‘particular flavour’.

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 link between the geographical area and the specific quality of the product derives directly from the conditions in which the raisins are produced. The orography facilitates the natural exposure of the bunches to the sun for drying: This method of drying preserves the quality of the skin and enhances the muscat flavour by concentrating the aromas. The hot, dry weather at harvest time is good for ripening and the accumulation in the berries of the dry matter and sugars that are important for successful drying, in turn enabling the pulp to retain its characteristic juiciness and elasticity. The hours of sunshine mean that the bunches can be exposed to the sun for short periods, so that the raisin retains the berry's acidity.

It is because the growing conditions are difficult that over time Muscat of Alexandria has become the main variety cultivated, as it is the best adapted to this particular environment. The variety has the genetic potential for differentiating characteristics such as size of the fruit, quality of the skin, properties of the pulp, muscat aromas and high fraction of insoluble solids (fibre) that are mostly in the pips.

The difficult terrain has made raisin production an artisanal activity, where tasks such as harvesting, putting the bunches of grapes out to dry in the sun and turning them as they dry, and selecting the fruit are done manually, and great attention is paid to quality. The task of removing the grapes from the bunch (picado) is also done manually, which is why Pasas de Málaga often have the peduncle attached.

Drying is an ancient, natural way of preserving food, whereby deterioration is prevented by the removal of excess water. Only with experience and knowledge acquired over the years is it possible to achieve the delicate moisture balance that gives this product some of its best-known organoleptic characteristics, as described in this specification.

Publication reference of the specification:

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

http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/agriculturaypesca/portal/export/sites/default/comun/galerias/galeriaDescargas/cap/industrias-agroalimentarias/denominacion-de-origen/Pliegos/PliegoPasas.pdf

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.