COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

(Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143)

‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’

EU reference number: PDO-IT-0338-AM01 – 24.7.2026

1.   Name of product

‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’

2.   Geographical indication type

☑

PDO

☐

PGI

3.   Sector

☑	Agricultural products

☐

Wines

☐	Spirit drinks

4.   Country to which the geographical area belongs

Italy

5.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

Name

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND FORESTRY – (PQA) 1

6.   Qualification as standard amendment

The amendments are standard amendments within the meaning of Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 as they do not include a change in the name, do not risk voiding the link and do not entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.

7.   Description of the approved standard amendment(s)

Title

Article 2 of the product specification and point 4.2 of the summary. Amendment to the shoot classification table

Description

The amendment sets out the data in the table more clearly and corrects the mistake by which shoots of 14 to 15 mm were omitted.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 3 of the product specification. Amendment to the title

Description

The title of the article has been updated with references to packaging also included.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 4 of the product specification and point 4.4 of the summary

Description

The title has been updated and the text of the Article rewritten. Any items not relevant to the product specification, but related to the control plan, have been deleted.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification. Amendment to the title

Description

The title of Article 5 has been updated, referring to the production method.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification and point 4.5 of the summary, updating the transplanting period

Description

The transplanting period has been updated, and extended to June for the root tubers and September for the plantlets.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification and point 4.5 of the summary. Correction of a mistake

Description

The mistake has been corrected by which the name of the local ecotype was omitted.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification and point 4.5 of the summary. Removal of the obligatory analysis

Description

The obligation to carry out a full soil analysis every five years has been removed.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification and point 4.5 of the summary. Revision of the rules on spreading fertilisers

Description

The doses and time periods for the spreading of organic and chemical fertilisers have been revised.

☑	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification. Updated legal references

Description

Part of the text has been updated, removing an obsolete regulatory reference.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 5 of the product specification. Correction to the maximum harvest period

Description

The maximum harvest period has been corrected in the second year of planting based on root tubers.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 6 of the product specification. Amendments to the title

Description

The title of the Article on the link with the environment has been updated.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 7 of the product specification. Removal of an Article

Description

Article 7 has been removed, in accordance with Article 49 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

Title

Article 8 Amendment to numbering and title

Description

The title of the Article and the numbering have been updated.

☐	The amendment affects the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

Designations of origin and geographical indications of agricultural products

‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’

EU Referenden number: PDO-IT-0338-AM01 – 24.7.2026

1.   Name(s)

‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’

2.   Geographical indication type

☑

PDO

☐

PGI

3.   Country to which the defined geographical area belongs

Italy

4.   Description of the agricultural product

4.1.   Classification of the agricultural product in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature heading and code, as referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143

0709 20 – Asparagus

4.2.   Description of the agricultural product to which the registered name applies

The protected designation of origin (PDO) ‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’ refers to shoots of asparagus produced in the demarcated production area, descended from the local ecotype ‘Comune – o Chiaro – di Bassano’.

1.   Aesthetic characteristics

In order to qualify for the PDO ‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’, the shoots must be:

(a)	white in colour. The bracts and the base may be slightly pink and rust-coloured, provided this does not extend to the tip (the first three centimetres), can be removed through normal peeling by the consumer and does not account for more than 10 % of the product in the bundle;

(b)

well formed; straight; intact; with a compact tip; the shoots must not be hollow, split, peeled or broken. The fact that they are not very fibrous is a quality characteristic of Asparago Bianco di Bassano. This means that, at the packing stage, the sides tend to split, so much so that slight cracks are allowed, provided they occur after harvesting and do not affect more than 15 % of the product in the bundle; the shoots may be slightly curved;

(c)	soft; shoots showing incipient signs of woodiness are not allowed;

(d)	fresh appearance and smell; free from foreign smell or taste;

(e)	healthy – showing no signs of rodent or insect damage;

(f)	clean, without soil or any impurities;

(g)	free of surface moisture and be sufficiently dry after being washed and chilled in cold water, free from chemical additives.

The cut at the base must be as clean as possible and at right angles to the stem.

2.   Sizing

Sizing depends on the length and diameter. The central diameter of the shoots is measured at the mid-point cross-section. The minimum central diameter is 11 mm, including the tolerance.

The shoots must be packaged in a way that ensures that the average diameter of the shoots in each bundle differs by no more than 10 mm.

The bundles are classified according to the central diameter of the shoots they contain. The length of the shoots must conform closely to the classification and be in accordance with the following table:

Central diameter	Length
11 mm to 14 mm inclusive	18 cm to 20 cm
Diameter greater than 14 mm	18 cm to 22 cm

4.3.   Derogations on sourcing of feed (for products of animal origin designated by a protected designation of origin only) and restrictions on sourcing of raw materials (for processed products designated by a protected geographical indication only)

—

4.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All stages of production, preparation and packaging of Asparago Bianco di Bassano must take place within the demarcated production area.

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

Every pack must contain bundles of the same size; each bundle must be homogeneous. The shoots must be sold packaged in tightly-bound bundles weighing between 0,5 and 4 kg.

Shoots at the outer part of the bundle must correspond in appearance and size to the average of the bundle; the shoots must be of uniform length.

By tradition, after the asparagus shoots have been cut to the same size at the base, the bundles must be tightly bound using a ‘stroppa’ (a young willow branch or aftershoot). Each bundle must bear a label affixed to the ‘stroppa’ showing the PDO mark ‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’ and the bundle identification number to ensure traceability. The bundles must be arranged uniformly in the packaging.

The bundles may be placed in containers made of wood, plastic or other suitable materials.

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

The following information must appear, direct or on a label, on the outside of each pack:

—	ASPARAGO BIANCO DI BASSANO DOP [PDO],

—	producer name,

—	company name and address of packager,

—	date of packaging and the following commercial details:

—	quality class (EU standard),

—

size,

—	number of bundles,

—	average weight of bundles.

The label bears the logo, the PDO and the serial number identifying, for traceability purposes, the product and the producer.

The label, which constitutes a guarantee of the PDO of the product, is attached, on the ‘stroppa’, on the upper half of the bundle.

Logo:

5.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The production, preparation and packaging area of ‘Asparago Bianco di Bassano’ includes the following municipalities in the province of Vincenza: Bassano del Grappa, Cartigliano, Cassola, Mussolente, Pove del Grappa, Romano D’Ezzelino, Rosà, Rossano Veneto, Tezze sul Brenta e Marostica.

6.   Link with the geographical area

Summary of the link

The environmental conditions and growing techniques for plants for the production of Asparago Bianco di Bassano, responsible for the product’s typical characteristics, are as follows.

1.   Soils

Soils in the Asparago Bianco di Bassano production area have a loamy or sandy-loam texture, a subsoil rich in gravel, good permeability and contain a fair amount of organic matter. The pH tends to be around 5,5-7,5 (subacidic-neutral soil). The area concerned is of alluvial origin, being located in the Valsugana, through which the Brenta river flows.

It owes its characteristics to the physical and chemical composition of the detrital, gravelly, sandy and silty material carried by the waters and deposited in the flood plain.

2.   Climate

The climate in the production area of Asparagus Bianco di Bassano is heavily influenced by the Brenta river, which traverses Valsugana, and the shelter afforded upstream by the Venetian Prealps and the Grappa range.

The average annual rainfall is around 1 000 mm, with peaks occurring in April-May and September-October.

The average temperature ranges from 2,5° to 23°, with the lows and highs occurring in January and July respectively.

Among the major meteorological factors, there is the wind that travels south from the Upper Valsugana, creating a microclimate in the production area, characterised by low residual humidity, a lower incidence of fog, and fairly stable soil temperatures.

All of these characteristics enable the plant to acquire a complex, broad and deep root structure made up of large rhizomes and thick roots. This promotes a very high absorption rate of nutrients and the production of sugars. In turn this leads to the swift growth of well-sized shoots, entirely edible or only slightly fibrous.

In the Republic of Venice the asparagus was a highly prized food, as confirmed by the records kept of banquets held in honour of the nobility as far back as the early 16th century. By the 17th century it was widely grown in the gardens of Terraferma. Travelling through Bassano on their way to the Council of Trent (1545-63) church dignitaries had occasion to taste the local product, and in a number of cases wrote in praise of its nutritional qualities.

Legend tells that Saint Anthony of Padua brought asparagus seeds from Africa. In Bassano to placate the tyrant Ezzelino, the encounter had a positive outcome.

Returning to Padua, on the road linking Bassano and Rosa, he scattered the seeds among the hedges, making that land forever after the most renowned and fertile for growing the shoots.

In a famous painting by the Venetian artist Giovambattista Piazzetta (1682-1754) of ‘The Supper at Emmaus’, in the Claveleur Museum of Art, a plate of asparagus can clearly be seen, prepared according to the traditional recipe of Bassano: asparagus and egg, salt and pepper, oil and vinegar. In his work of 1847, Alcuni cenni dell’Agronomia e della Industria Bassanese [Some observations on the agriculture and industry of Bassano] page 14 (Annex 5), Professor Terrazzi describes the quality of local agricultural production, claiming ‘the asparagus of Bassano, so white, so good, so flavoursome, does not require any further praise. It is the most beautiful and pleasing gift of the new season’.

The ‘asparagus’ entry of the Italian Agricultural Encyclopedia (1952) expresses the general opinion that in other places too ‘the asparagus grown is the one from Bassano, the perennial favourite of the peoples of Argenteuil, as it is best adapted to the climate, and also for its excellent organoleptic qualities’.

Electronic (URL) reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/3343

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(1)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 of 30 October 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules concerning the registration and the protection of geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (OJ L, 2025/27, 15.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/27/oj).