- 20/11/2017
- Posted by: Marta
- Categories: Questions and Answers, News
Dear Dongo lawyer,
Our cooperative produces in Mugello, north of Florence, a cow's milk caciotta that we would like to call “Tuscan caciotta”.
We would therefore like to understand if we can use this name, and how to behave in milk origin declarations. Since we use local raw materials and also from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, that is, of contiguous origin but also different from the "Grand Duchy of Tuscany".
Many thanks
Andrea
The lawyer Dario Dongo, Ph.D. in food safety, answers
Dear Andrea,
In Tuscany there are some caciottas that fall within the MiPAAF dm 18.6.2015. In particular, sweet and seasoned caciotta, both made from cow's milk. If they are traditional products, there may be recipes and preparations registered, for example with the CCIIAA. Which, in principle, is not a problem.
The only product SCTI is recognized at European level it is instead the Pecorino Toscano DOP.
Without disturbing other disciplinary, the indication of origin or provenance 'Tuscan caciotta' can therefore be used precisely as it is true and demonstrable.
All the more reason as more detailed territorial indications they are recognized as legitimate in the milk origin decree of 9 December 2016.
The circumstance then that the origin of the milk has a wider regional extension is not an obstacle, since the origin of the product it is attributed to the place of its last substantial transformation.
I suggest moreover, with a view to transparency and enhancement of the cheese, to add specific voluntary information on the label. Yes to show that - in the context of the 'Italian origin' - the origin of the milk transformed in Mugello is that of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Which, it goes without saying, also embraces the Emilia-Romagna region.
Best wishes and see you soon
Dario
