Official holder of the Parmigiano-Reggiano D.O.P. trademarks, the Consortium for the Protection of Parmigiano-Reggiano is the official watchdog for, amongst other things, correct use of the trademarks. This why it has devised and registered the "wheel and slice" trademark with the words PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO on a blue background, to enable visual identification and recognition of the Parmigiano-Reggiano when sold cut up. The application of this "PARMIGIANO REGGIANO" trademark shows that the cheese has passed the selection examinations for compliance with the D.O.P. requirements, and has been recognized as a first-class product. The wheels are marked with the origin (stamped on in dot writing) and the oval trademark is branded by fire.
Organic farming is a production method which is defined and governed by EEC Regulation 2092/91 and, at a national level, by Ministerial Decree 220/95. There are no synthetic chemicals used in organic farming, i.e. fertilizers, weed-killers, fungicides, insecticides, pesticides in general, nor any GM organisms. The crops are protected in a primarily preventive manner, by selecting the species that are most resistant to disease and intervening with appropriate farming techniques. The fertilizers used in organic farming are of the natural kind authorized and specified by European regulations.
The livestock must be fed according to their natural requirements with vegetable products obtained using organic farming methods, preferably grown on the same farm or in the district where the farm is located. Organic breeding is linked very closely to the land. The number of animals that can be bred on the farm depends on how much land is available. The use of breeds obtained via genetic manipulation is not permitted.
N.O.P. certification concerns a product's entire production chain and it is therefore compulsory for farms that wish to market their own organically grown products directly via US sales channels. The United States does not recognize the equivalence of its own production/processing standards with European ones. There are many differences between the two, and European standards are divided up according to business type.
A "typical" product is one that comes from a particular geographic area: in fact, every area has specific characteristics whose influence on the local agricultural produce is determining. The European Union has drawn up a system to protect typical products, both within the union itself and internationally. The system in question allows consumers to recognise typical products and protects producers against imitations. These products are defined by the European Community as quality products. In this case, the quality is determined by strict links with the geographical area of production and a traditional production approach which involves certain natural and human factors that distinguish the product in question.
CSQA and ICEA have worked together to draw up a reference document for the voluntary certification of organically farmed products produced entirely on one farm. When a single farm manages to produce a product completely by itself, this results in less handling, shorter processing/packaging times and therefore, lower costs. Milk and its by-products must be obtained using solely milk from the farm taken from animals fed on livestock feed of which at least 70% is produced on the farm.
The ISO 9000 series standards were drafted by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) to establish international requirements for quality management systems. The concept of a quality management system refers to "the part of an organisation's management system which aims, with reference to quality objectives, to reach results that will fully meet the needs, expectations and requirements of all the parties concerned."The standard takes into account all the processes related to quality management: from reviewing the contracts received from the customers to delivering the finished product. The aim is to provide a universal basis for the management of quality systems, regardless of the type of business or the economic sector in which it will be applied.
