(Jun 4th) Prosciutto di Parma has reached a new goal: it has been given DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) by Norway. The official ceremony was held a few days ago at the Italian Embassy in Oslo, at the presence of Ambassador Antonio Bandini, of Matmerk, the Norwegian Agricultural Quality System and Food Branding Foundation, and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which has awarded a plaque to the Italian Consortium. The meeting was also attended by the local press and the industry and food producers in the country. The event is the last stage of a long verification conducted by Matmerk. A delegation from the Norwegian agency has, in fact, visited the Consortium and its production area with the goal to get closer to an Italian PDO product and its territory of origin. “We are proud of the PDO designation in Norway,” said Federico Desimoni, from the Italian Consortium. “It is a very significant step that could make the way for other PODs. This recognition is part of our strategy to protect our product and trade mark outside Europe: now the brand Prosciutto di Parma is recorded in about 90 countries.”(red)
