ANNEX I

PRODUCTS LISTED IN ANNEX I TO THE EC TREATY, INTENDED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

Other animal products (eggs, honey, various milk products except butter, etc.)

FRANCE

Miel d’Alsace (PGI)

ANNEX II

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

‘MIEL D’ALSACE’

(EC No: FR/00150)

PDO (  )    PGI (X)

This summary has been drawn up for information purposes only. For full details, in particular the producers of the products covered by the PDO or PGI concerned, please consult the complete version of the product specification obtainable at national level or from the European Commission.

1.

    Responsible department in the Member State

Name	:	Ministère de l’agriculture et de la pêche — direction des politiques économique et internationale — bureau des signes de qualité et de l'agriculture biologique
Address	:	3, rue Barbet de Jouy F-75349 07 SP
Telephone	:	(33) 149 55 81 01
Fax	:	(33) 149 55 57 85

2.

    Group

2.1.	Name : Confédération régionale des apiculteurs d’Alsace

2.2.	Address : Espace européen de l’entreprise 2, rue de Rome F-67300 Schiltigheim Telephone : (33) 388 19 16 78 Fax : (33) 388 18 90 42 E-mail : alsace-qualite@alsace-qualite.com

2.3.	Composition : producer/processor (X)    other (  )

3.

    Type of product Class 1.4 Honey

4.

    Specification (summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1.    Name ‘Miel d’Alsace’

4.2.    Description A product made by bees from sugars produced by plants in the form either of exudates of flowers (nectar) or of sap gathered by aphids (honeydew). Each product is characterised by its maximum water content, conductivity, acidity, HMF, colour and distinctive taste.

Honey made from silver fir is brown in colour with green lights, smell is mildly resinous and aroma balsamic.

Honey made from chestnut is light to dark brown in colour, smell is reminiscent of overripe apples and taste is tannic and slightly stringent.

Honey made from acacia is light-coloured, smell is fragrant of acacia flowers, aroma is reminiscent of false acacia and taste reminiscent of the hive.

Honey made from lime is light to dark yellow in colour, smell is mentholated and taste slightly bitter.

Forest honey has a distinctive intense colour, subtle aromas due to the mixture of honeydew and nectars, a flavour that is intense and a taste that is slightly stringent.

Multi-flower honey is light to dark coloured, aromas are complex owing to the mixture of nectars, taste is very sweet.

4.3.    Geographical area The production hives must be installed in Alsace. In the case of honey from silver fir, the perimeter is limited to the Alsatian slopes of the Vosges and Jura mountain ranges. Chestnut honey is gathered in the hills south of the Vosges (Lower Rhine and Upper Rhine in the forests of Brumath and Haguenau). Lime honey comes from the forests of Hardt (Upper Rhine).

The honey collection areas, a determining factor for quality and specificity, are defined, but extraction can take place outside the area provided that traceability is ensured.

4.4.    Proof of origin Bee-keepers and production sites are identified, registered and checked. Production sites must be located in Alsace. Traceability of the honey is ensured through the keeping of records of labels which are checked against harvest declarations and stocks.

Proof of origin is also checked through microscopic analysis of 30 % of all Miel d’Alsace production, by designation.

4.5.    Method of production Hives are placed in an area in which the forest or floral species are found that correspond to the type of honey sought: acacia, lime, pine, chestnut, forest or multi-flower honey. The honey is extracted when ripe without heating, is decanted, stored and packaged. Each batch is subjected to a physico-chemical and sensory analysis. The honey must also comply with the physico-chemical and organoleptic criteria set out in the specification.

4.6.    Link

Distinctive features linked to the product: Each type of honey develops its own physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics, which are defined in the specification and correspond to the floral diversity of the region. The diversity of Alsatian honeys stems directly from the diversity of the prevailing ecosystems. Alsace comprises several areas: an area of mountains covered with softwoods, an area made up of hills and plateaux with vines, meadows and beech and chestnut forests, and a plain consisting of cropped land and meadows. The resulting diversity of ecosystems hence allows harvesting to take place from early spring to early autumn, providing a wide variety of products.

Past and present reputation: Records of honey production in Alsace go back as far as the seventh century. — in the 16th century, among the various works published was a treatise on apiculture (1580) which remained a reference for almost two centuries, — the second half of the 19th century saw a new phase in the development of Alsatian apiculture; by the beginning of the 20th century there were more than 50 000 hives in Alsace, — Alsatian apiculture today is made up of a very large number of bee-keepers (currently close to 4 000) who are members of pyramid-shaped and decentralised unions. The regional show held at Colmar for the honeys from Alsace attests to the vitality of Alsatian honey production.

4.7.    Inspection body

Name	:	Certiqual (Association certifying Alsace quality products)
Address	:	Espace européen de l’entreprise 2, rue de Rome F-67300 Schiltigheim
Telephone	:	(33) 388 19 16 79
Fax	:	(33) 388 19 55 29
E-mail	:	certiqual2@wanadoo.fr

4.8.    Labelling The words Miel d’Alsace must figure on the label together with a reference to the type of honey (acacia, lime, silver fir, chestnut, forest, multi-flower).

Freshness, quality and taste guaranteed, compliance of characteristics certified by Certiqual F-67309 Schiltigheim.

4.9.    National requirements —