The nutrition of lactating cows, dry cows, and heifers over seven months of pregnancy is a cornerstone of the Grana Padano PDO production chain as it can directly influence, along with other factors, the quality of the milk and therefore of the resulting cheese.
As required by EU Regulation 2024/1143 , the Commission has recognized geographical indications as a key flagship initiative promoting prosperous rural areas , given their contribution to the economic diversification of rural areas and the strong link between a product and its territorial origin. Therefore, a product specification must contain elements that establish the link between the geographical environment of origin and the intrinsic quality or characteristics of the product.
For Grana Padano DOP these aspects are reported in Article 4 (the text of this article is reported in the box published on these first two pages), compliance with which is monitored by a control body, which for this cheese is Csqa Certificazioni srl.
The inspection body draws up a Control Plan approved by Masaf and, through the phases of recognition, surveillance, product sampling, and additional activities, verifies compliance with the requirements set out in the Specifications. Regarding nutrition, the Grana Padano cheese production specifications (see this first box) list the permitted foods in Article 4.
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Source: The Zootechnical Informer