The Voice of the Consortium

Interview with Renato Zaghini, President of the Grana Padano Consortium

Grana Padano is the most widely consumed PDO cheese both in Italy and worldwide. Almost a quarter of Italy’s cow’s milk becomes Grana Padano PDO and every year more than 2.7 million tonnes of milk are processed into this cheese. Over the last twenty years, it has ensured the best value for homogeneous cow’s milk with the most remunerative farmgate milk prices, bringing wealth to the entire supply chain in a fair and socially sustainable manner. Over 5,2 million wheels, weighing an average of 34 kg, were produced in 2022, of which around 44% (2,3 million wheels) were exported. Germany remains the top market after Italy, with over 583.000 wheels reaching German tables. Dating back to 1954, the Grana Padano cheese Protection Consortium – Consorzio Tutela Grana 3adano q is a non-profit organisation, which brings together producers and curers to protect and promote Grana Padano PDO cheese in the world. It ensures that every wheel of cheese is made according to the 3roduction 6pecifications so that it can be awarded its PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status and be fire-branded with the *rana 3adano mark whilst also protecting it against fraud in Italy and abroad. The Protection Consortium is based in Desenzano del Garda, in the province of Brescia in Lombardy, in the heart of the Grana Padano cheese production area that involves five regions in order of production: Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-romagna, Trentino and

Piedmont. The main producing provinces are, in order: Mantua, Brescia, Cremona, Piacenza, Vicenza, Padua, Lodi and Bergamo. Today, 127 production companies with 142 cheese factories and 148 cheese ripeners are members of the Consortium. In addition, 200 companies are authorised to package Grana Padano in portions and to grate it. 19 companies are authorised to use the PDO in compound processed products (CET). The President of the Consortium is Renato Zaghini, born in 1956, a true Mantuan, from Bagnolo 6an Vito, a village of Must over five thousand souls in the province of Mantua. He has maintained strong ties with his homeland and is also the producer of an excellent *rana 3adano at the Caseificio Europeo, of which he is president. Very down-toearth, of few words, with deep values, Mr. Zaghini, as President of the Consortium gives an image of stability and concreteness.

We interviewed him.

President Zaghini, what does the Consorzio Grana Padano do and what are its goals?

Historically, the task of the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano was to supervise the production and trade of the cheese. Today, the Statute stipulates that the Consortium must protect and promote the designation (name) in Italy and abroad, exercising constant supervision over the production and trade of Grana Padano. We actively collaborate with Bodies, Organs

and 2ffices - public or private, national, communitarian, supranational or foreign - with regard to the application of the regulations for the protection of PDO cheeses. We carry out research, both technical and marketoriented, aimed at furthering the progress of production and marketing methods and means, and defend the designation, distinctive signs and consortium rights in general, also via courts, and to prevent or repress breaches and/or acts detrimental to the interests of the Consortium and/or Consortium members.

Presiding over the Consortium represents an immense responsibility, both from a practical and symbolic point of view: how should one act to effectively protect a significant and representative heritage such as Grana Padano?

Responsibility is the key word here and it is the most appropriate one to guide any action aimed at safeguarding our heritage. Acting responsibly means doing so in a reasoned, serious and above all, ethical way. Sustainability is another key concept. All our activities must be sustainable in all respects: environmentally, economically and socially. We are a Consortium representing a supply chain that employs 50,000 workers and covers a vast territory, every action of ours must bear these elements in mind, taking responsibility for their protection.

You mentioned the topic of sustainability. Where do the Consortium’s dairies stand on this subject?

Sustainability is now considered one of the indispensable characteristics of a food product, on a par with its wholesomeness and goodness. The focus has shifted from the nutritional aspects of a food, then to the health aspects, and now it seems to be the turn of sustainability, which is becoming, in my opinion, perhaps a little too much an element of marketing and not of substance. My impression is that too often there is confusion, that is, we limit ourselves to thinking of sustainability only as a form of respect for the environment, which is certainly an important, fundamental and indispensable element for those who produce anything today. But sustainability is also economic and social. What we try to do as a Consortium is to spread among Consortium members and in the supply chain an integral culture of sustainability which means respect for workers and their needs, respect for suppliers and, most importantly, respect for the territory by reducing the environmental footprint.

In the field of activities aimed at ensuring quality and improving the production process of the supply chain, what is the Consortium doing?

As far as this subject is concerned, the Consortium is always looking for ways to optimise and improve

processes and it does so in a Cscientific’ manner. In fact, the Consortium has a specific 6cientific Commission made up of 9 university professors and an external animal welfare expert who work with the Consortium. The Commission deals with issues relating to sustainability, animal welfare, the quality and wholesomeness of Grana Padano, quality improvement and the protection of the 3'2. 6cientific research activities are carried out both on the Grana Padano product and on the production process, involving the entire supply chain (from fodder crops to product packaging). Currently, just to mention the main projects, we have collaborations with the University of Milan (DEFENS), and we are developing a system to recognise similar or counterfeit cheeses with the Istituto Agrario San Michele all’adige - Edmund Mach Foundation. We are also carrying out an in-depth study on the mineral profile of *rana Padano PDO cheese, with the CREA - Centro di Ricerca Zootecnia e Acquacoltura (CREA-ZA) in Lodi. There is an on-going study of the relation between the fat-to-casein ratio of the milk in the boiler and the fat content of the Grana Padano cheese obtained, with the CREA-ZA Livestock and Aquaculture Research Centre (CREA-ZA) in Lodi (MI), which is also monitoring the resilience factors in the Grana 3adano agro-livestock farms. Furthermore, the “6acro Cuore” 8niversity of 3iacen]a is supporting us in a scenario analysis to improve the resilience of the Grana Padano PDO cheese supply chain in the medium/long term.

What are the core values that the Grana Padano Consortium is committed to spreading and maintaining?

From the very beginning, the Protection Consortium finds its purpose in the desire to safeguard and support over time the great cultural, food, historical and socio-economic heritage of which the Grana Padano PDO chain is an expression. The founding values of our supply chain can be traced back to the gratitude for the generous and fruitful land and to the recognition of the farmers’ work that harvest it; to the memory of our history, ancient and recent, that has forged an identity to be handed down to the next generation to a fair profit redistribution and to strive to become, tomorrow, better than today.

Is there a way to virtuously combine the constant innovations of technology and the established strength of tradition?

Yes of course, and the formula is closely linked to the previous answers. There is a way to combine tradition with innovation, if we always act responsibly and according to the values that belong to our community.