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

(2017/C 296/05)

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

‘JAJCA IZPOD KAMNIŠKIH PLANIN’

EU No: PGI-SI-02112 — 4.11.2015

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1.   Name(s)

‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’

2.   Applicant country(ies)

Slovenia

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

‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ eggs have a smooth shell of uniform thickness and a matt lustre that gives the impression of lasting freshness. The eggshells are hard. The average destructive force required to cause eggshell deformation is at least 32 N. The yolk is of a uniform, distinctive yellow colour, with a pigmentation value of at least 11 on the DSM La Roche scale. With regard to weight, the eggs may be marketed as eggs of different sizes, indicating the minimum net carton weight, or graded into weight classes S, M, L and XL. ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ are distinguished by their high PFA — in particular alpha-linolenic acid — content. They contain at least 2,5 % by weight of total omega-3 fatty acids, and the highest ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 8:1. This ratio is highly beneficial nutritionally and for health and is in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

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

Calcium carbonate quarried at Stahovica near the town of Kamnik is used as a mineral supplement in feed for laying hens. Only water pumped from the two aquifers of the upper reaches of the rivers Kamniška Bistrica and Savinja may be used as drinking water for the laying hens. Linseed, after proper treatment, provides a source of omega-3 fatty acids.

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

The breeding and rearing of the chickens and hens, and the production of the eggs, must take place within the geographical area.

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

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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 geographical area stretches around the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and is demarcated by a line running along the Slovenian-Austrian border and the following transport routes:

All the towns/settlements linked by the above roads are located within the geographical area.

5.   Link with the geographical area

‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ gained their renown in the late 19th century, when many farmers’ wives from the Kamnik area supplied this precious commodity to the kitchens of Ljubljana and the city’s market. At that time, the Kamnik Mountains (Kamniške planine) geographical area already provided an excellent basis for table egg production, in the form of high-quality water, as this largely uninhabited and otherwise mainly pristine region provides top-quality drinking water. Moreover, the limestone quarry at Stahovica nad Kamnikom has always had a favourable effect on egg production (the carbonate rock extracted there is of sedimentary origin, dating back over 200 million years, and possesses exceptional chemical purity as a result of thermal metamorphism). The characteristic subalpine microclimate and moderate temperatures also played a significant part in the development of egg production in the geographical area in the past.

These natural conditions provided an excellent basis for the development of table egg production on numerous farms. As flax-growing had been developed in the geographical area to supply the needs of flax-fibre canvas production, a spinning industry developed at Mengeš. Although the flax was grown for its fibre, linseed was a by-product that was used as feed for animals, especially poultry. There exists extensive literature devoted to flax-growing in the area where ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ are produced. This begins with an entry in the land register for 1493 of the feudal lord of Jablje mentioning flax among the tithes to be paid by his subjects, and ends with an account chronicling the development of the Induplati Jarše factory (1953).

As 40 % of linseed is fat, and omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid) account for half of this, the eggs were of a very high quality and healthy. The tradition of including linseed in feed given to laying hens therefore continues with ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’. As a result, ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ differ from the eggs of many other producers, who use less traditional raw materials such as denatured fish oil and algae to enrich their eggs with omega-3 fatty acids.

‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ contain at least two times more omega-3 fatty acids than other, omega-3 enriched eggs and are distinguished by their high alpha-linolenic acid content.

As egg producers, farmers’ wives from Kamnik and its hinterland were involved in supplying Ljubljana with table eggs right up to the Second World War, when the once lively trade was hampered by a border and a double ring of barbed wire with which the occupying forces encircled the capital. The folk song Katarina Barbara, written down in 1895 by Dr Karel Štrekelj, Slavicist and collector of folk songs, is about a stolen hen intended to feed Ljubljana. After the war, it took some time for the tradition of hen breeding in the foothills of the Kamnik Mountains to make a comeback. Since then, however, it has consolidated and grown stronger. For years, the reputation of eggs produced in the foothills of the Kamnik Mountains was taken for granted. It was not until the late 1990s that producers began actively advertising the eggs. The current reputation of ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ is evident from various newspaper articles, from articles in culinary reviews and on websites, and from TV broadcasts, commercial documentation and a variety of leaflets. For instance, in his book Nazaj v planinski raj: alpska kultura slovenstva in mitologija Triglava (2005), Boštjan Šaver cites ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ as an example of a product name that indicates the link between Slovenia’s inhabitants and its Alps and mountains. ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ are featured in Okusiti Slovenijo, a brochure published by the Slovenian Tourist Board and designed to showcase Slovenia’s rich gastronomic heritage. They are mentioned in numerous other publications (reviews, annuals) such as Gorenjska hrana (2011) and Slovenska kulinarika, in articles by, for instance, the Slovenian Consumers’ Association (ZPS), which amongst other things features ‘Jajca izpod Kamniških planin’ in its brochure Slovenska tradicionalna živila, and in an article entitled ‘To so dobra jajca’, etc.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

http://www.mkgp.gov.si/fileadmin/mkgp.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/Varna_in_kakovostna_hrana_in_krma/zasciteni_kmetijski_pridelki/Specifikacije/JAJCA_IZPOD_KAMNISKIH_PLANIN-splet.pdf

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.