Commission Regulation (EC) No 2155/2005 of 23 December 2005 amending the specification of a designation of origin appearing in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 (Miel de sapin des Vosges) (PDO)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (1), and in particular Article 6(3), the second indent of Article 6(4) and the third paragraph of Article 9,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, France has requested the amendment of the specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’, registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 (2).

(2) The purpose of the requested amendment is to alter the method of assessing the colour of the honey, which is currently carried out by measuring its intensity according to the Pfund scale.

(3) Following the amendment, the criterion of the colour of the honey will be verified on the basis of an organoleptic examination conducted in relation to a reference sample with characteristic colour. This method is considered to be more reliable.

(4) The request for an amendment has been considered and the amendment has been deemed to be a minor one. This is due to the fact that the amendment does not alter the characteristics of the designation of origin, since the characteristic relating to colour is maintained. The only difference is the method of assessing that colour.

(5) For the protected designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’, the ‘description’ in the specification, provided for in Article 4(2)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, should be altered by deleting the reference to intensity on the Pfund scale.

(6) In accordance with Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 383/2004 (3), the Commission is publishing the summary in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(7) The amendment is considered also to comply with Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92. Consequently, the alteration of the description for the product bearing the name ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ must be registered and published. The summary should therefore include the details, contained in the specification, of the colour of the honey bearing the designation.

(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Regulatory Committee on the Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The procedure provided for in Article 6(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 shall not apply to the amendments referred to in Article 2.

Article 2

The specification for the designation of origin ‘Miel de sapin des Vosges’ is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 3

A summary of the main points of the specification is given in Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2005.

For the Commission Mariann FISCHER BOEL Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 148, 21.6.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 704/2005 (OJ L 118, 5.5.2005, p. 14).

(3) OJ L 64, 2.3.2004, p. 16.