The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a EU quality scheme to promote and protectagricultural products and foodstuffs that draw their qualities or properties significantly, or exclusively, from the geographical environment, including natural and human factors, within which they are produced. The true product cannot be manufactured outside the designated area.

In order for a product to have the PDO label, it has to be produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area, using recognised know-how. Producers of PDO products must follow strictly the product specification, and their compliance is ensured by relevant inspection and certification bodies.

The DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil specification is as follows.

 

Art. 1 Designation

The protected designation of origin “Lametia” can be granted only to extra virgin olive oil meeting the product specification requirements.

 

Art. 2 Olive variety

The DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil must be obtained from the Carolea olive variety that must cover at least 90% of the groves. Other olive varieties can be used up to 10%.

 

Art. 3 Geographical area

The DOP Lametia extra virgin olive oil must be produced with olives coming from the olive-producing areas of the Lamezia Terme Valley, in the province of Catanzaro, which includes all, or almost all, the territories of the following nine municipalities: Curinga, Filadelfia, Francavilla Angitola, Lamezia Terme, Maida, San Pietro a Maida, Gizzeria, Feroleto Antico and Pianopoli.

 

Art. 4 Cultivation methods

Olive orchards have to be planted and grown according to typical traditional methods that can give the product the qualities or unique characteristics described in the specification.

Hence, in order to be considered as suitable for the DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil production, the orchards have to grow on porous, deep or very deep, sandy or moderately loose-packed oils made exclusively of alluvial deposits constituted by recent and current continental deposits.

Soils have to have overall high permeability. As for new orchards, they have to be planted only on permeable, thick, loose or moderate loose-packed soils with good surface and deep water drainage.

Planting density, training system and pruning have to be the same as those that are frequently used in the designated area or such that they do not alter the olive and oil properties.

In particular, beyond traditional training, new orchards can be planted at a density of up to 400 olive trees per hectare (2.5 ac). The maximum crop production cannot exceed 130 quintals (22,046.2 lb) per hectare in specialized farms. For joint or heterogeneous orchards, the Calabrian Region technical authorities determine the maximum crop production/ha based on the actual olive tree-planted area.

Even in exceptionally good years, the oil yield has to be calculated through accurate selection, provided that the overall production does not exceed the above maximum limit of 20%.

Optimal harvest time is between veraison and January 15thHarvesting methods have to comply with Ministry Decree No. 573 of 4 November 1993. Fruits are harvested all at the same time.

 

Art. 5 Oil production methods

Oil extraction and packaging procedures have to be performed within the designated geographical area as described in Art. 3 above.

Olives designed for the production of the DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil can be harvested mechanically or manually.

Maximum oil yield cannot exceed 20%.

Only mechanical and physical oil extraction processes can be used in order to obtain a final product that preserves as much as possible the olive original features.

 

Art. 6 Oil requirements upon entering the consumer market

 

Upon entering the consumer market, the DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil has to meet the following requirements:

• colour: from green to light yellow;
• smell: fruity;
• taste: delicate and fruity;
• minimum panel test score: > = 6.5;
• maximum total acidity 0.5 grams per 100 grams, expressed as oleic acid;
• peroxide value: < = 14.00 meq 02/kg;
• K232: <=2,00;
• K270: <=0,20;
• total polyphenols: >=170.

Other chemical and physical parameters that are not expressly mentioned have to comply with present EU regulations.

For every oil campaign, the Consortium collects and stores at ideal conditions a suitable number of DOP “Lametia” extra virgin olive oil representative samples to serve as reference material for the organoleptic assessment.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry has the power, upon request of those who are interested, to prescribe additional chemical and physical or organoleptic requirements in order to obtain a better qualitative characterization of the product.

 

Art. 7 Designation and presentation

 

No additional attributes other than those expressly mentioned in the product specification can be added to the designation given in Art. 1, including the following adjectives: excellent, first-rate, selected, superior, genuine.

The use of additional geographical or toponymical names or indications referring to municipalities, villages or districts included in the designated production area described in Art. 3 is forbidden.

However, the use of names, company names, private brands is permitted, provided that they do not express praise or are misleading for the buyers since similar in sound to other geographical names, and above all to geographical names of oil-producing DOP areas.

The use of company, estate, or farm names, as well as reference to the packaging system is allowed, provided that the product is obtained exclusively from olives harvested in the farm’s orchards and the extraction and packaging processes have taken place in the farm.

The DOP logo must appear on the label in distinct, indelible characters in a colour that contrasts markedly with the colour of the label and in such a way that distinguishes it clearly from all other wording.

The DOP Lametia extra virgin olive oil has to be packed in glass bottles or tin-plated cans of not more than 5 l.

The label must bear the olive campaign year.