Publication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indications in the sector of agricultural products and foodstuffs, as referred to in Article 6b(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014

(2023/C 16/03)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 6b(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

Communicating the approval of a standard amendment to the product specification of a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication originating in a Member State (Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012)

‘Aceite de Jaén’

EU No: PGI-ES-2322-AM01 – 21.10.2022

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name of product

‘Aceite de Jaén’

2. Member State to which the geographical area belongs

Spain

3. Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Directorate-General for Agri-Food Industry, Innovation and Supply Chain (Dirección General de Industrias, Innovación y Cadena Agroalimentaria)

Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Waters and Rural Development of the Government of Andalusia (Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural de la Junta de Andalucía)

Calle Tabladilla, s/n, 41071 Seville. Tel. +34 955032278, fax +34 955032112

Email: dgiica.cagpds@juntadeandalucia.es

4. Description of the approved amendment(s)

The limits for fatty acids set out in point 2.2.1, Physical and chemical characteristics, of the product specification have been amended to adapt them to the current situation of climate change, in terms of early harvesting, effects on lipogenesis / fruit ripening and the composition of native varieties covered by the PGI. The new limits are in line with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 of 11 July 1991 on the characteristics of olive oil and olive-residue oil and on the relevant methods of analysis (2). Furthermore, the new limits for fatty acids included in the specification have been expressed to two decimal places, as provided for by that Regulation.

The amended limits are as follows:

Palmitic acid: 7,50-17,00 %; oleic acid: > 70,00 % and linoleic acid: ≤ 8,00 %.

This should be regarded as a standard amendment as the approved changes to the limits for fatty acids do not affect the protected name or the link with the environment, nor do they lead to increased restrictions on trade in the product.

Point 3.2, Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies, of the single document has been amended accordingly.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Aceite de Jaén’

EU No: PGI-ES-2322-AM01 – 21.10.2022

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name

‘Aceite de Jaén’

2. Member state or Third Country

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

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

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

‘Aceite de Jaén’ is an extra virgin olive oil made exclusively by mechanical means and directly from the fruit of olive trees (Olea europaea L) belonging to plantations located in the geographical area defined in point 4, which at the time of packaging presents the following physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics:

Acidity	maximum 0.5 %
Peroxide value	maximum 15 mEq O2/kg
K270	maximum 0,18
K232	maximum 2,0
Waxes	maximum 120 mg/kg
Total polyphenols	minimum 300 mg/kg
Total tocopherols	minimum 150 mg/kg

Fatty acids composition

Palmitic acid	7,50 -17,00 %
Oleic acid	> 70,00 %
Linoleic acid	≤ 8,00 %

Organoleptic characteristics

Median fruitiness	Greater than 3
Median bitterness	3,0 -6,5
Median pungency	3,0 -6,5
Median score for defects	Equal to 0

—	aroma: a perceptible aroma of fresh, healthy olives with hints of vegetables or other plant-based products such as green leaves or grasses, combined with distinctively fruity notes which are moderately to heavily pronounced (median for fruitiness on a continuous linear scale greater than 3,0);

—	taste: clean, fragrant taste of fresh, healthy olives with bitter, pungent notes of the following intensity:

—	bitterness: moderately or clearly perceptible (median on a continuous linear scale between 3,0 and 6,5);

—	sharpness: moderately or clearly perceptible (median on a continuous linear scale between 3,0 and 6,5).

In short, the organoleptic characteristics of the oils covered by the ‘Aceite de Jaén’ designation are defined by aromas of fresh, clean and healthy olives picked before 31 December, when the bitterness and pungency attributes are highly pronounced.

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

‘Aceite de Jaén’ must be made from the following olive varieties grown on an individual or combined basis in olive tree plantations located within the geographical area defined in point 4.

Main variety: Picual, a native variety which accounts for over 90 % of the olive trees grown in the geographical area.

Secondary varieties. Native varieties: Manzanilla de Jaén, Royal de Cazorla and Carrasqueño de Alcaudete. Non-native varieties: Hojiblanca, Arbequina and Picudo.

‘Aceite de Jaén’ is the extra-virgin olive oil obtained from olives of the above-mentioned varieties harvested before 31 December, as long as at least 85 % of the oil is from native varieties.

In any event, these oils must have the physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics stated in point 3.2.

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

The olives must be grown and the oil produced within the geographical area described in point 4.

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

—

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

The labels must include the words ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida “Aceite de Jaén”’ (‘“Aceite de Jaén” Protected Geographical Indication’) printed prominently in clear, indelible characters, as well as the specific PGI logo and the European Union logo, along with the details and information required under the applicable legislation.

The containers in which the ‘Aceite de Jaén’ oil is marketed must bear a non-reusable, numbered secondary label as a guarantee of compliance and origin. These secondary labels must be verified and issued by the Regulatory Board, the management body for the protected geographical indication. It must not take any measures concerning the use of these secondary labels that might in any way discriminate against any operator that complies with the specification.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The defined geographical area covers the whole of Jaén province, located in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link between the product and the geographical area is based on the reputation of the name ‘Aceite de Jaén’, which on the one hand is a consequence of the material value of the product (the physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics described in point 3.2), which is derived in turn from the combination of olive varieties, the geographical location and the soil and climate conditions. The reputation is also due to the perception of its intangible value, which is based on the history of olive plantations and oil in Jaén over many centuries.

Thanks to the physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics described in point 3.2, ‘Aceite de Jaén’ has a very high reputation in both national and international markets and has become an indispensable element in the gastronomy of many places. According to a survey by the company Global Investigación & Marketing in 2002 for the Andalusian Conference on Designations of Origin, conducted on a sample of 539 people in five provincial capitals of Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Zaragoza) with a confidence level of 95 %, when interviewees were asked to name the designations of origin with which they were familiar, it appeared that ‘Aceite de Jaén’ ranked as the fifth best-known Spanish designation of origin among consumers and first out of all Andalusian designations of origin, despite not being an officially recognised quality mark. The Permanent Observatory on Olive Oil run by the Spanish Association of Olive Municipalities also held a telephone survey spanning every province of Spain in 2009. When asked the question ‘In which Spanish province is the best quality olive oil produced?’, over 63 % of interviewees replied ‘Jaén’.

Olive plantations cover a surface area of 582 427 hectares in Jaén province (89,75 % of cultivated land). 76 % of the holdings are smaller than five hectares, which means that olive-growing is a source of income and part of the socio-cultural heritage of most families in Jaén. Olive-growing and olive oil production are present in the 97 municipalities in the province. Olive trees are grown in every one of them and all except for three have at least one olive mill. This proves that the entire province of Jaén is directly linked and involved in producing the product.

The olive-lined landscape of Jaén is the result of the age-old interplay between the geomorphology of the province and the attempts made by its human inhabitants to harness the territory, aided by the physical environment. The particular relief to be found in the province means that the cultivated area is located between Marmolejo (altitude 250 m) and Noalejo (1 000 m).

The olive-growing soils in Jaén province are clearly similar to the inceptisol (USDA) or cambisol and regosol (FAO) soil types, all of which have a distinctively high calcium carbonate content and therefore a high pH ranging between 6 and 8. Moreover, as the province is located in the very heart of the Mediterranean area, it offers ideal climatic and temperature conditions and rainfall patterns that are mostly optimal for olive-growing (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). The mean annual temperatures range between 14,5 oC and 17,0 oC. The maximum mean temperatures in summer are over 30 oC (around 35 oC in July and August) and the minimum mean temperatures in the winter months are about 2 oC or 3 oC. The mean thermal range recorded is 13 oC. Mean annual rainfall is about 410 mm-620 mm, albeit with the significant variations from year to year which are typical of the Mediterranean climate. In the last 20 years, rainfall has been low (about 475 mm per year), more abundant in autumn than in winter and springtime, and very scarce in the summer months (less than 10 % of total annual precipitation). In short, the summers are very dry and with low rainfall, with very high maximum temperatures, a high level of sunshine and minimum relative humidity below 20 %.

The typical environment in the production area for ‘Aceite de Jaén’ and more specifically, the altitude, the limestone soils with high levels of carbonate compounds and the climate (high temperatures and the annual rainfall pattern with almost no rain in summer) make it possible to link the characteristics described in point 3.2 to the geographical environment. These conditions mean that olives grown without irrigation suffer water stress, which leads to oils with a higher concentration of polyphenols, tocopherols and oleic acid, with very pronounced scores for the sensorial attributes of bitterness, pungency and fruitiness. Even in irrigated olive plantations, where stress levels are maintained due to irrigation being insufficient, the oils also present medium to high levels of polyphenols, as well as greater stability and intensity in the fruitiness, bitterness and pungency attributes than those obtained from FAO or high-dose irrigation (Salas et al, Influencia del riego sobre la composición y características organolépticas del aceite de oliva (‘The influence of irrigation on the composition and organoleptic characteristics of olive oil’), Grasas y Aceites, vol. 48, Fasc. 2, 1997, pages 74 and 82).

The ripening of the fruit is largely dependent on the climate conditions and relief and how they affect the varieties described in point 3.3. The harvesting period – for both the main variety and the other varieties – commences in October in the case of oils which are harvested ‘green’ or as ‘early oils’ and ends in late December when the ripest olives are harvested. This harvesting period guarantees the existence of quality healthy olives, as well as the composition and the unique sensorial characteristics of ‘Aceite de Jaén’ as defined in point 3.2.

Over the course of history, the word ‘Jaén’ has been perceived by both the market and consumers as synonymous with good olive oil. There are extensive references in historical and archaeological literature to the presence and importance of olive trees and their oil in Jaén province in Roman times, as well as to the demand in Rome for oil from Jaén. For example, see article by P. Berni Millet (2015): Viaje en el tiempo por la producción y el comercio del aceite bético con la iconografía romana (‘A journey in time tracing the production and trade of Andalusian oil with Roman iconography’), in the journal of the Sociedad de Estudios de la Cerámica Antigua en Hispania (SECAH) pp. 49-62, which expressly mentions the oil from the Cástulo region (Linares, Jaén) and the huge oil-producing industrial complex of Marroquíes Bajos in the city of Jaén, which was opened in the era of Augustus and consisted of a ‘monumental’ complex for producing olive oil with six huge mills lined up side by side. This paper also mentions the discovery of amphorae at Monte Testaccio featuring cursive inscriptions from the fiscal district of Cástulo (CIL XV 4137). A peculiar epigraph engraved in stone was also found in this ancient city, featuring the words ‘RESCRIPTUM SACRUM DE RE OLEARIA’, which formed the heading of an imperial rescript on the subject of oil that has been attributed to Hadrian.

In 1849 Queen Isabella II ordered the publication of a circular from the Ministry of Trade, Instruction and Public Works listing the weights and measures most commonly used in trade in Spain, including two containers made of tin, the ‘MEDIA ARROBA DE ACEITE DE JAÉN’ and the ‘MEDIA LIBRA DE ACEITE DE JAÉN’ (Museum of the Spanish Centre for Metrology in Tres Cantos-Madrid).

Jaén’s reputation in the oil sector is backed up by the numerous acknowledgements awarded to the extra virgin olive oil produced in the province.

Further evidence of its reputation lies in the fact that the restriction on geographical marks contained in the EU legislation on the marketing of olive oils has not prevented certain producers from running the risk of using and registering the place name ‘Jaén’ in their trademarks. A review of the archives at the Spanish Patents and Trade Marks Office (OEPM), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reveals that this place name has been included in a total of 68 distinctive marks. See also the sanctioning procedures launched by the Regional Government of Andalusia against olive oil packaging firms for non-compliance with European legislation due to the unlawful inclusion of the place name ‘Jaén’ on their labels.

The following references provide evidence that the name is used in popular parlance and for commercial purposes, and is always linked to a prestigious, high-quality product:

An article from the La Vanguardia newspaper from Barcelona on 9 August 1938 describing how Spanish riches were being pawned off to cover the costs of the Spanish Civil War: ‘… The preponderant currency is German war material. Any Spanish wealth that has not already been distributed and given away has been promised: olive oil from Jaén, oranges from Valencia…’.

A report from page 6 of Barcelona’s La Vanguardia newspaper on 14 June 1970 on a visit by French President de Gaulle to Spain, including a stop in Jaén: ‘… Moments before his departure, the French President took an interest in “Aceite de Jaén” and his entourage contacted the Territorial Union of Countryside Cooperatives to provide them with two tins of pure olive oil…’.

An interview in the El País newspaper on 5 November 2014 featuring Lucio Blázquez, founder and owner of ‘Casa Lucio’, a lynchpin of Madrid’s high-end restaurant scene, where he reveals the secret behind the establishment’s emblematic ‘huevos rotos’ (literally, ‘broken eggs’) dish: ‘A coal fire, good frying pans and the raw material: potatoes from Galicia, eggs from a farm in Ávila and oil from Jaén’.

4.	An article published in the Prnoticias digital newspaper on 14 September 2016 about an international sales platform in which its Vice-President for Europe explains that it includes ‘over 500 product references, from Iberian ham to oil from Jaén’.

A review from the Seville edition of the ABC newspaper on 30 November 2007, stating as follows: ‘The “Casa de Jaén” in Seville became a torch-bearer last night for the world-famous virgin olive oil from Jaén, which those in attendance were able to taste and savour (…) There is no need for surveys to confirm it. It is a case of “liquid gold”. There is no doubt that oil from Jaén tops the ranking of best oils in the world…’

6.	Camilo José Cela, Nobel Prize for Literature, mentions oil from Jaén in his book La cruz de San Andrés (‘Saint Andrew’s Cross’). ‘… they brought oil from Jaén and wheat from Palencia and Valladolid and she earned her living by distributing it among the buyers…’

7.	Almudena Grandes, Spanish National Fiction Prize, mentions oil from Jaén in her book Inés y la alegría (‘Inés and the Joy’): ‘… the pantry at Casa Inés held ninety litres of the extraordinary olive oil produced in the mountains south of Jaén.’

8.	Article entitled ‘The olive oil in Jaen is one of the most renowned products of Andalucia and whole Spain.’[sic] on a blog entry posted on 12 December 2016 on the Ruralidays.com holiday rental web portal.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://juntadeandalucia.es/sites/default/files/inline-files/2022/09/Pliego_Aceite_Jaen_consolidado_BOJA_1_0.pdf

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

(2) OJ L 248, 5.9.1991, p. 1.