Following this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’

EU No: PGI-FR-03290 – 18.7.2024

1.   Name(s) PGI

‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’

2.   Member State or third country

France

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code

—	04 – DAIRY PRODUCE; BIRDS’ EGGS; NATURAL HONEY; EDIBLE PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INCLUDED 0409 – Natural honey

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) refers

‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ (Picardie lime honey) is a honey produced by bees of the Apis mellifera species from the nectar of flowers of the Tilia sp. species. It is a monofloral honey.

It is presented in either runny or crystallised form.

—	Chemical characteristics:

Electrical conductivity [mS/cm]: ≤ 0,7

Water content (%): ≤ 18

Hydroxymethylfurfural content (mg/kg): ≤ 10 after extraction

—	Pollen characteristics:

‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ has a pollen spectrum composed of pollens from various botanical species. However, the presence of the three pollens chestnut, lime and bramble is desirable because they are markers of the geographical area of the PGI. At least one of these is a predominant or secondary pollen in ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’.

Some Picardie lime honeys may not have any predominant or secondary pollens. In such cases, at least one of the marker pollens must be present as an isolated pollen. Lime trees produce only a little pollen, which explains why it is not present in large quantities.

The table below shows the pollens most frequently found in ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’. These pollens are present in different combinations and proportions.

Dominant pollens (> 45 %)	Secondary pollens (Between 15 % and 45 %)	Isolated pollens (< 15 %)
Lime Chestnut	Lime Chestnut Bramble	Asteraceae, fruit, Poaceae, sunflower, Ranunculaceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, clover, viper’s bugloss, vetch, Oleaceae, bramble, ribwort, lime, Apiaceae, dandelion

—	Organoleptic characteristics:

Consistency: homogeneous (no separation into phases), liquid or crystallised

Pale, straw yellow colour, with greenish tints

Aroma: herbal with fresh, mentholated notes of medium to high intensity

Taste: refreshing and mentholated or pharmaceutical, astringent, medium sweetness, medium acidity

Persistence in the mouth: medium to high

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

—

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

All the production stages, from the placing of beehives to harvesting from the supers, take place in the geographical area.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—

3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

—

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area covers:

—	324 municipalities in Aisne;

—	585 municipalities in Oise;

—	22 municipalities in Somme;

—	539 municipalities in Pas-de-Calais;

—	11 municipalities in Val d’Oise.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The link with the origin is based on the specific quality of ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ and on its reputation.

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

Situated in the south of Hauts-de-France and north of Ile-de-France, Picardie benefits from a cool maritime climate with a continental gradient towards the east. This is conducive to stands of broadleaved trees, which need moisture.

Picardie has significant forest coverage, located on the tertiary plateaux of the Paris Basin and composed mainly of broadleaved trees (92 % compared to 71 % nationwide), covering 17 % of the land in Picardie with unevenly distributed woodland. The large wooded areas are situated in the southern half: the Parc Naturel Régional de l’Oise-Pays de France on the left bank of the river Oise covers 60 000 ha, 20 000 ha of which is forest, encompassing the forests of Halatte, Ermenonville, Chaalis and Chantilly, and municipal forests.

Lime trees account for 3,2 % of the regional stock, covering a surface area of 7 600 hectares. Data from the Centre Régional de la Propriété Forestière (Regional Centre for Forestry Ownership) rank lime trees as the 8th most important species in Picardie, owing to the soil and climate conditions, which are conducive to the growth of this tree species. It is a species listed in forest stands together with chestnut and black locust trees, and concentrated in specific areas.

The small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata), a wild spontaneous species common in France only in the North-East and the Pyrenees, is the most important species in Picardie, as opposed to the large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos). It is distinguished by the shape of its leaves and has a different melliferous capacity. The small-leaved lime produces more than 500 kg of nectar per hectare, compared with approximately 200 kg for the large-leaved lime.

The seasonal migration of beehives takes place between June and July, just before the lime trees come into bloom: beekeepers place the beehives during the flowering season, after which they harvest the lime honey in order to ensure its purity. The experience of beekeepers shows that the presence of lime trees is a necessary condition, but is not always sufficient in itself. In order to obtain a lime honey, it is important not to have an abundance of certain other species in full flower which would affect the specific characteristics expected of ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ is a monofloral honey produced by bees essentially from the nectar of lime flowers (Tilia sp.), and is distinguished from other lime honeys by its lighter colour and fresh, mentholated taste.

5.3.   Causal link

The abundance of lime trees in the large forest areas in southern Picardie, particularly the small-leaved lime, which produces more nectar than the large-leaved lime, offers fertile ground for the production of a monofloral honey.

The temperate maritime climate of Picardie, with mild summers and moderate winters, is conducive to a long flowering season for lime trees. The choice to migrate the beehives to areas with a higher concentration of small-leaved limes, associated with this prolonged flowering, allows beekeepers to harvest honey from nectar of higher purity and with a higher sugar content, resulting in a lighter colour and a fresh, mentholated taste which is more pronounced than that of other lime honeys, which are darker in colour with a slight taste of caramel linked to their origin (nectar from flowers and honeydew combined).

Historically, the Dictionnaire portatif du commerce of 1770 names the ‘yellow honey of Picardie’ alongside honeys from other regions as deserving of distinction. More recently, the Inventaire du patrimoine culinaire de la France (Picardie region) published in 1999 refers to the lime honeys of the region, presenting their history and linking it to certain practices and know-how.

Today, the honey is recognised and used by prestigious restaurateurs to make honey-based products (pastries, etc.). Reference is often made to it in literature (the publication Plurielle (adj. féminin) Qui révèle la gastronomie des Hauts-de-France, Porteplume editions, 2023: ‘With its unique mentholated notes, Picardie lime honey is considered to be one of the purest in France’) and in the press (Réussir – L’Action Agricole Picarde, 2021: ‘it has a homogeneous texture, a herbal aroma with fresh or mentholated notes, and a refreshing and mentholated taste’), with reference to its distinctive mentholated character. It regularly wins medals at the Concours Général Agricole (General Agricultural Competition) held as part of the Paris International Agricultural Show, and in 2015 received the Award for Excellence, in addition to gold and silver medals in 2019, 2020 and 2024.

The historical reputation of ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ is also showcased by the Parc Naturel Régional Oise – Pays de France, which outlines in its tourist brochures the use of the lime tree in the production of honey and presents ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ as a flagship product from local forests.

For several years, involvement in the ‘Miel de tilleul de Picardie’ sector has been growing. In 2018, it comprised around 15 beekeepers producing 35 tonnes.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-MielTilleulPicardie-CP010425.pdf

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).