It was a long-awaited result. It is now reality. The “Tuscan Bread” becomes PDO: the Quality Committee of the EU Member States have given the green light to the recognition of the Protected Designation of Origin in this typical regional product.

“It is a critical step – reads a note – waiting for the last formal seal of the Commission and publication in the Official Journal of the European Union”. “It ‘a major achievement, the result of a collective effort – the President of the Tuscany Region Enrico Rossi said- for the achievement of which I thank, as well as the technicians of the region, the general manager Diego Canga Fano and Commissioner Phil Hogan. We look forward to declare victory, because we can do it only with the publication in the Journal, but we have to be satisfied”.

“The Consortium for the Promotion and Protection of the Tuscan Bread – added Rossi – he has never stopped working to reach this milestone and the Tuscany Region has immediately supported the effort of the producers in all evaluation steps, in particular by the Union European. The Tuscan Bread is in fact as famous as particular: wheat flour, water, natural yeast and strictly without salt “. “The products with a designation of origin – said the President Rossi – enhance the specificity of places, the protection of local production, the recognition to the knowledge developed by local people. The goal of the Tuscan Bread PDO will be to cover in the first instance the consumption of bread Tuscan style in our region that is around 800,000 tons per year, and then increase the export demand (especially in the central and northern regions) exceed one million tons, raising the need for more than one million quintals of Tuscan soft wheat. “Expecting so the ability to export to other regions and even outside of the national territory, are to study systems that maintain unchanged the organoleptic characteristics of the bread, through an innovative packaging system developed by the Universities of Pisa and Florence. in this way a strong increase in production is expected in both the agricultural sector, the first processing (milling) that the secondary market.

From an economic point of view, the recognition of the PDO Tuscan Bread will allow to pay the wheat with a minimum of 250 euro per tonne (compared with the 160 set by the Commodity Exchange of Bologna for soft wheat). Making bread all the wheat produced in Tuscany would be obtained over 700 thousand tons of bread, or nearly 100% of the total quantity marketed today as Tuscan bread. In addition, it is estimated that the demand for Tuscan bread will bring the Tuscan farmers to produce wheat for amounts around 75,000 tons, an increase of 3,000 jobs. A breath of fresh air for a growing industry.

Source: cronachedigusto.it