A recent investigation on Report Rai 3 has raised some doubts regarding the control plan for the certification of PDO Parma ham. These are added to the previous notes of the writer, whose gravity is perhaps even greater although still ignored. (1)
1) PDO food products of animal origin, origin of feed
Regulation (EU) 664/2014 – which integrates Regulation (EU) No. 1151/2012 on PDO, PGI and TSG with regard, among other things, ‘to some rules on origin’ – provides that:
-‘in the case of products of animal origin whose name is registered as a protected designation of origin, the feed comes entirely from the defined geographical area;
– insofar as it is not technically possible to guarantee the entire provenance from the defined geographical area, feed which does not originate from that area may be added, provided that
-the quality or characteristics of the product which are essentially due to the geographical environment are not compromised;
-feeds which do not come from the defined geographical area cannot in any case exceed 50% of dry matter on an annual basis’ (2,3)
2) PDO Parma ham, what are the controls on feed?
The general director of the control body delegated to certify the PDO product – Maria Chiara Ferrarese of CSQA, in a phone call recorded by Report journalists – admitted however that:
-the control plan omits checks on the pigs’ feed, since according to the ‘association’ the requirement of the origin of the feed is a ‘problem’ for everyone;
-the controllers therefore limit themselves to reading the ‘self-certifications’ from the breeders on the appropriateness of the feed to the requirements of the PDO, without checking the feed suppliers.
The tests on feed producers, it should be noted, they are instead foreseen (as is required) in the control plans of other large Italian PDOs such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano (4,5).
3) Classification of carcasses
The classification of pork carcasses, as the author has been denouncing for several years, is another crucial phase in the production chain of PDO Parma ham, the controls of which have been absent for about 5 years:
-the quality of the ham is strictly linked to the characteristics of the pigs, which must not be too lean (otherwise the salt, during the seasoning phase of the thighs without an adequate covering of fat, penetrates the meat and makes the ham dry and salty), nor too fat (in compliance with tradition); (6)
-the classification of carcasses in slaughterhouses is therefore essential to select only the pigs suitable for the production of hams of the DOP circuit. In this way, to guarantee the organoleptic properties that should always distinguish them, as regards softness and flavour;
-the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, in agreement with the sector representatives, had planned in 2013 the installation of ‘dataloggers’ in slaughterhouses for the exact measurement and recording of data relating to all carcasses. Only to then backtrack, with a decree by the then minister Gian Marco Centinaio, in 2018; (7)
-following the two subsequent ‘Prosciuttopoli’ scandals, the Parma Quality Institute (IPQ) was placed under special administration and then closed. The Ministry of Agriculture thus entrusted the certification of PDO Parma to CSQA, at the beginning of 2020, without however authorising the supervision of the classification of carcasses previously covered by IPQ. (8)
4) MASAF, responsibility
The ministry of ‘food sovereignty’ and agriculture (MASAF) is responsible for:
-verify the adequacy of the PDO control plans, with respect to EU legislation and the respective production specifications;
-authorize the aforementioned control plans.
The central administration, nevertheless:
– accepted without ojection the control plan of PDO Parma ham, despite the serious shortcomings in the verification of the origin of the feed, the requirements of which are established in a European regulation; (9)
– failed to assign to the body responsible for the controls for the certification of Parma ham DOP the tasks of verifying the classification of pork carcasses.
5) Parma Ham Consortium, what responsibilities?
The Consortium for the protection of PDO Parma ham, on 19 June 2014, had sent its members a circular in which it communicated the entry into force in the following three days of the EU regulation that introduced the obligation to use local feed. Advising that, starting from 22 June 2014, the farms in the supply chain would have to ‘immediately comply with this requirement’.
There is no evidence of further news and reminders, from the Consortium, to comply with the aforementioned legislation. To the point that both the pig breeders for the PDO circuit, whose area extends to 11 Italian regions, and the farmers have in fact remained unaware of it.
Nor is there any news of any initiative by the Protection Consortium to ensure effective compliance with the carcass classification requirements through the installation of data loggers and the assignment of controls to a third and independent party.
6) Impact on Italian agriculture
Corn in the pig ration expresses at least 50% of the dry substance. Compliance with the EU rules on the duty to use local feed to feed the animals of the PDO circuit should therefore have triggered a virtuous circle.
In the ten years following the release of Regulation (EU) 664/2014, the agricultural area dedicated to corn in Italy has instead halved. Until reaching the historical minimum record, and the dependence on foreign supplies for 70%, in 2023. (10)
7) Provisional conclusions
The clues seem to converge on the deliberate and widespread violation of the European rules that govern the integration of the supply chain in the territory and the quality guarantee of the first Italian PDO in the meat sector.
The offences that could take place include, among other things, it is worth noting, the crime of fraud in commerce. Where products are marketed that do not meet the quality and value requirements set for the PDO.
The fraud damages the dignity of the country system, as well as the rights of Italian farmers. But Coldiretti and its ministers – Francesco Lollobrigida last but not least, ça va sans dire – do not seem to be interested in the phenomenon.
#VanghePulite
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) Report, 2024/2025 season. The virus and the enemy at home. RAI 3. Video https://tinyurl.com/46fbubwt
(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 with regard to (…) certain rules on provenance (…). Consolidated text at 8.6.22 https://tinyurl.com/3n3rd97c
(3) Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 has since been consolidated into Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 which repeals it. See Dario Dongo. DOP and IGP. The new EU rules by Coldiretti and the Grana Padano case. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 18.3.24
(4) Albo Mangimisti, the territory also in the concentrate. Alleva web. 16.10.24 https://tinyurl.com/h87mpcz9
(5) The Grana Padano Forage and Feed Register is born. Grana Padano. 18.5.23 https://tinyurl.com/mr43edbs
(6) See paragraph 2.2 (Fat requirements) in the previous article by Dario Dongo. Parma and San Daniele PDO hams, high yield or superior quality? The great chaos. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 28.8.21
(7) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Pig market, mystery about the classification of PDO carcasses. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 11.3.21
(8) Dario Dongo. Parma and San Daniele DOP ham, which controls? GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 29.8.23
(9) Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 on geographical indications for wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as on traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products https://tinyurl.com/mvwz3399. Article 47.2
(10) Corn, Italian production at an all-time low: 550.000 hectares of crops lost in the last fifteen years. Feed and food. 2.3.23 https://tinyurl.com/mpkr7xbj
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
