Zone of Production
The zone of production for olive oil with the denomination of origin "Les Garrigues" is constituted by a group of villages located in the southern part of Lleida province, and corresponds to the administrative districts Les Garrigues (Spain), El Segrià (Spain) and L'Urgell (Spain).
Varieties
The permitted olive varieties are: Arbequina and Verdiell. Of the two varieties, at least 90% of the olives from which this oil is elaborated must be of the Arbequina variety.
Type
It is possible to distinguish two different types of olive oil with the "Les Garrigues" denomination of origin. Their qualities are mainly determined by their respective picking seasons:
Fruity: the product of early picking. This olive oil has a greenish colour, quite a lot of body, and is slightly bitter.
Sweet: the product of later picking. This oil is yellow and more free-flowing.
Characteristics
The "Les Garrigues" denomination of origin only applies protects the highest quality virgin olive oils. These have acidities below 0.5% and a maximum peroxide index of 15%.
Commercialisation
The packaging of this product must be non-metallic. The maximum capacity of its packaging must not exceed 5 litres, and all packages must carry a numbered label issued by the Consell Regulador (Regulating Board). As well as meeting all of the usual statutory requirements, the product label must carry the words "Denominació d'Origen Protegida Les Garrigues" (Protected Denomination of Origin Les Garrigues), the logotype of the denomination and the E.U. symbol.
Quality Control
The Consell Regulador, in its role as official certifying body, guarantees that all products receiving Protected Denomination of Origin status meet the requirements established by its regulations.
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It should be noted that these are 3 of a total of only 5 products with protected denomination of origin status in the whole of Catalonia.
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Information provided by:
Generalitat de Catalunya