
Article 1 
The specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ is hereby amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 2 
Annex II to this Regulation contains the Single Document setting out the main points of the specification.
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of 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, 18 June 2013.
For the Commission, On behalf of the President,
Dacian CIOLOȘ
Member of the Commission
ANNEX I

The specification for the protected designation of origin ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ is amended as follows:
The presentation of the link with the geographical area has been updated without changing the link.
The labelling provisions have been supplemented.

ANNEX II
SINGLE DOCUMENT  1. 
‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’
 2. 
France
 3.  3.1.  Class 1.4. Other products of animal origin (eggs, honey, various dairy products except butter, etc.)
 3.2. 
‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ is honey from honeydew collected by bees from Vosges fir trees. It is dark brown in colour with pale green highlights. It develops balsamic aromas and a very characteristic malty flavour and is free of bitterness and extraneous flavours.

It has a water content less than or equal to 18 %, an electric conductivity of over 950 microsiemens per centimetre and a hydroxymethylfurfural content of less than 15 mg/kg.

It is supplied in liquid form to consumers.
 3.3. 
—
 3.4. 
—
 3.5. 
The honey must be exclusively harvested, extracted, filtered and decanted in the geographical area.
 3.6. 
‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ must be supplied to consumers in glass containers with an identification mark which is destroyed on opening the container.
 3.7. 
The label shall bear:


— the name of the designation ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’,
— the European Union PDO logo.

These details must all be in the same visual field and on the same label. They shall be presented in clear, legible and indelible characters of a large enough size — the words ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ having the largest character size of all on the label — so as to stand out well against the space on which they are printed and to be clearly distinguished from all other written or graphic information.
 4. 

 Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)
All the municipalities in the cantons of: Baccarat, Badonviller, Cirey-sur-Vezouze.
 Department of Moselle (57)
All the municipalities in the cantons of: Fénétrange, Lorquin, Phalsbourg, Réchicourt-le-Château, Sarrebourg.
 Department of Haute-Saône (70)
 Canton of Champagney: Plancher-les-Mines, Plancher-Bas.
 Canton of Faucogney-et-la-Mer: Amont-et-Effreney, Beulotte-Saint-Laurent, Corravillers, Esmoulières, Faucogney-et-la-Mer, La Longine, La Montagne, La Rosière, Saint-Bresson.
 Canton of Melisey: Belfahy, Belonchamps, Ecromagny, Fresse, Haut-du-Them (Château-Lambert), Melisey, Miellin, Saint-Barthélemy, Servance, Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire.
 Department of Vosges (88)
All the municipalities in the cantons of: Bains-les-Bains, Brouvelieures, Bruyères, Charmes, Châtel-sur-Moselle, Corcieux, Darnay, Dompaire, Epinal, Fraize, Gérardmer, Lamarche, Le Thillot, Mirecourt, Monthureux-sur-Saône, Plombières-les-Bains, Provenchères-sur-Fave, Rambervillers, Raon-l’Etape, Remiremont, Saint-Dié, Saulxures-sur-Moselotte, Senones, Vittel, Xertigny.
 Department of Territoire de Belfort (90)
 Canton of Giromagny: Auxelles-Haut, Giromagny, Lepuix, Riervescemont, Vescemont.
 Canton of Rougement-le-Château: Lamadeleine-Val-des-Anges, Rougemont-le-Château.
 5.  5.1. 
The geographical area is characterised by the presence of the Vosges Mountains. In this heavily wooded mountain range, Vosges fir trees are by far the most abundant species. They are well suited to the soil, which is made up of an acidic substratum, granite and sandstone, and to the semi-continental climate, characterised by its humidity and coolness, which are favourable to the growth of the trees. The North-South orientation of the Vosges Mountains accentuates the characteristics of this climate, blocking clouds coming in from the west. This explains the abundant rainfall pattern (Foehn effect). Honey has long been produced in Lorraine. Various documents attest to awards won in competitions, most notably at a 1902 agricultural show.

Key operators from the Vosges beekeeping community have done everything to promote and highlight the value of this specific production sector.

This led to the recognition of the ‘Miel des Vosges-Montagne’ designation of origin in a ruling by the Nancy Regional Court of 25 April 1952, which later became the ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ registered designation of origin on 30 July 1996.
 5.2. 
In Le goût du miel (Gonnet & Vache, 1985), the authors distinguish ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ from other types of fir honey produced in France on account of its specific characteristics: darker colour, typical pale green highlights, very slow — if any — crystallisation, balsamic aroma and very characteristic malty flavour.
 5.3. 
‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ is a product that is very closely linked to its area of origin since it forms part of an uninterrupted chain from the Vosges fir. From this species, aphids extract the sap which they process into honeydew, which is foraged on by bees to produce this very characteristic honey.

Its production is very closely related to the location of the conifer forests specific to the Vosges region, from which beekeepers have been able to draw and preserve their specific character.

In literature (Gonnet & Vache, Le goût du miel, 1985) there are references to the unique character of ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’, which is associated in particular with the regional, climatic and soil conditions. Its specific characteristics stem from the fact that the bees forage on honeydew produced by aphids living on Vosges fir trees (Abies pectinata). It therefore draws its specific characteristics from the following factors: the species of fir which is foraged and the nature of ‘Miel de Sapin des Vosges’ (honeydew honey).

Clearly illustrating this close interaction between the environment and the product is the cyclical pattern to the production of honeydew, which is linked to the growth cycle of aphid populations. To this day, this phenomenon remains largely unexplained.

https://www.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDCMielDeSapinDesVosges.pdf
