FOR US WHO CARE ABOUT OUR HEALTH

What do we think the quality of a cheese is? Its excellence, of course; the nutrition capacity that we, as consumers, really emphasize; but also the safety regarding its processing that means hygiene and health for all of us. In other words, our aim is that the cheese that we eat is processed in cleaned environments, by accurate staff, able to carefully examine it and prevent on time all the possible pollution factors..

The European Union has kept requiring the food safety for years, so the member States became a whole in aiming to protect their citizens from the altered food and from the lack of hygiene. The protection of the health is at the first place: this is what the several regulations, food rules, the instructions for good hygiene, declare, and this motto was totally supported by the Consortium for the Protection of the Provolone Valpadana.

It is in this way that the dairymen and all the staff of the dairies and those who work for the processing of the Provolone Valpadana have declared war on the possible hygenic-sanitary dangers, that also unintentionally would cause problems in the cheese and maybe risks for our health. The key is the responsibility that each person who produces, processes, transports, packs the Provolone Valpadana takes.

Thanks to Europe and its decisions these people know what to do, because they decided to follow more than a program of work that explains how to avoid dangerous mistakes. The most important one is the HACCP, an acronym that is not known to us the common people, but it is well-known by the people working in the food factories and that allows to recognize all the cases and the moments in which, in each task, the cheese could be rotten and the seriousness of the risk.

Then there are the regulations that define how to make each piece of cheese “traceable”, so that it is possible to reconstruct all the phases, from the shelves to the milk used to produce it, in order not to loose the information of possible problems.

With these instructions, how cannot we feel safe? More than reassured, because, if we think about it, not only we do know what to do in order to avoid problems to the cheese, the staff of the Provolone Valpadana, is not exempt from frequent inspections. Therefore “self-control” and “audits” (also official audits, carried out by qualified bodies that certify the quality) are keywords to achieve good results. And actually those who produce Provolone Valpadana have also a handbook (the perfect Manual of correct operative practice) that includes all the rules, clearly explained. All this it is in order to obtain a good and healthy cheese, that is too say Provolone Valpadana P.D.O., tasted and guaranteed. Of course, Consortium’s word of honour.

 

MANUAL OF CORRECT OPERATIVE PRACTICE