The Producers Associations of PDO Cheeses
The Producers Associations are private entities formed by the producers themselves and by those who take care of cheese ripening too. They are appointed by a Committee which assigns the Designations in order to supervise production and marketing of PDO products.
The Designations are given to cheeses according to strict procedural guidelines which define production areas, processing techniques and sensory characteristics; they represent a quality trademark which protects cheesemakers and consumers.
The Control Plan
The Control Plan of Roccaverano PDO provides that all stages of the production process and all the operators involved are inspected. The following must be checked: location, adequacy of structures and/or plants, identification and traceability. Please find below the specific controls which pertain to each operator involved.
Farming: compliance of species and breeds, feeding, farming techniques, milk ready for sale.
Dairies: compliance of milk collection, quality of raw materials (milk, graft/enzyme and rennet), origin of milk and graft/enzyme, compliance of processes, products and labelling.
Affinage/Ripening specialists: compliance of quality and origin of the fresh product intended for ripening, as well as of processes, products, branding and labelling.
The finished product is subjected to conformity checks concerning its chemical, physical and sensory characteristics. On release for consumption, the Producers Association label must be applied on the underside of the cheese package. On the label there is the identification code of the cheesemaker and the label’s serial number. Only after labelling, the product will be marketed with the Protected Designation of Origin “Roccaverano”.