Production Regulations

Art. 1 | Name

The Protected Geographical Indication “Bresaola della Valtellina” is reserved for the delicatessen product that meets the conditions and requirements described in the hereby specification.

Art. 2 | Production area

“Bresaola della Valtellina” is processed in a traditional production area, which includes the entire territory of the province of Sondrio.

Art. 3 | Raw materials

“Bresaola della Valtellina” is produced exclusively from meat obtained from cattle between 18 months and four years of age. “Bresaola della Valtellina”, in its different cuts, is obtained starting from boneless bovine thighs and, more specifically, from the following meat cuts and muscles:

•  Topside

which corresponds to the posteromedial portion of the thigh muscles and includes the internal rectus, the adductor, and semimembranosus muscles;

•  Topside Without Cap

which corresponds to the topside without the adductor muscle;

• Silverside

which corresponds to the posterolateral portion of the thigh, the muscle involved is the vastus longuus;

• Eyeround

which corresponds to the posterolateral portion of the thigh muscles, the muscle involved is the semitendinosus muscle;

• Knuckle

which corresponds to the front of the thigh and is composed by the rectus, the vastus medialis and vastus intermedius muscles.

Art. 4 | Processing method

The muscles used for production are appropriately trimmed by removal of external fat and the tendinouus parts taking care to maintain the muscles integrity, because they form entirely and individually the pieces to be salted and dried. Salting is carried out by a method known as “dry.” Sodium chloride and/or spices and/or aromatic plants and/or natural flavoring are added to the beef. It is also possible to add: wine, sugar and/or dextrose and/or fructose, sodium nitrate and/or potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite and/or potassium nitrite (in doses up to 195 ppm, as limit of the amount of preservative added or anyway absorbed), ascorbic acid and/or its sodium salt.  The juice of the meat allows the development of a saline solution. Salting step occurs for 10-15 days, depending on the average weight of the pieces. Bagging step is performed by placing each piece of meat in a natural casing.  Using of an artificial casing is also permitted. The first drying step has an average duration of one week and it should allow a rapid dehydration of the pieces in the first days of treatment.

Art. 5 | Maturing

Maturing must take place in ideal weather conditions, to allow a slow and gradual reduction of humidity. It is conducted in air-conditioned rooms, where optimum air circulation is ensured, at an average temperature between 12 and 18 ° C. The maturing time, which includes the first drying step, takes from 4 to 8 weeks depending on the size of the product and market request. For bulk products that are not under vacuum packed, the maturing time can be reduced to 3 weeks. Techniques that provide an accelerated dehydration can’t be adopted neither for drying or maturing step. The product, during maturing, can be exposed to natural ventilation and humidity accordingly to the climate characteristics of the production area.

Art. 6 | Features

“Bresaola della Valtellina”, when placed on the market, should present the following organoleptic, chemical and physical features:

ORGANOLEPTIC FEATURES :

• consistence: firm, elastic
• aspect, when cut: compact and without splits
• colour: lean meat: regularly red, slightly darker on the edge; fat: white
• scent: delicate, slightly aromatic
• taste: pleasant, slightly savoury, never sour

CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES :

• TQ humidity:
Bresaola, from topside without cap, not packed under vacuum: moisture max 63%;
Bresaola, from topside without cap, packed under vacuum: moisture max 62%;
Bresaola, from eyeround, packed under vacuum: moisture max 60%;
Pre-sliced Bresaola, from all meat cuts, under vacuum or map packed: moisture max 60%.
Bresaola from all other types of meat cuts and/or packaging: 65% max.

• Fat: 7% max;
• Ashes: 4% min;
• Salt (sodium chloride) 5% max;
• Proteins:

Pre-sliced bresaola, from all meat cuts, under vacuum or map packed: 33% min.
All other types of packaging: 30% min.

Product characteristics:
“Bresaola della Valtellina” looks vaguely cylindrical in shape, although in some cases and for specific needs it can be pressed and look like a brick. “Bresaola della Valtellina” minimum acceptable weight is, for the different meat cuts, as follows:

• Topside:
not less than 3.500 kg;

• Topside Without Cap:
if bulk bresaola sold whole or cut in pieces: not less than 2.500 kg;
if pre-sliced and packed under vacuum or modified atmosphere bresaola: not less than 2.000 kg;

• Silverside: o not less than 1.800 kg;

• Eyeround: o not less than 1.000 kg;

• Knuckle: o not less than 0.800 kg.

Art. 7 | Controls

Without prejudice to the responsibilities assigned by law to the official veterinarian (USL) of the plant, who, under Chapter IV “production control” of the legislative decree of December 30, 1992, N° 537, ensures, through proper inspection, that meat products comply with the criteria established by the manufacturer and, particularly, that the composition corresponds to the label’s wording, especially if the commercial name used in Chapter V, Section 4 of the aforementioned legislative decree is used (the commercial name followed by a reference to the norm or national law which authorizes it), surveillance activities for the application of this product specification is conducted by the Ministero delle Risorse Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry), who may avail itself of a consortium of producers, in accordance with Art. 10 of EU Regulation N° 2081 of July 14, 1992, for the purpose of supervising the production and trade of “Bresaola of the Valtellina”

Art. 8 | Designation and presentation

Bresaola of Valtellina must show the following information on the label: the wording “Bresaola della Valtellina”, which is untranslatable and must be printed in letters that are clear, indelible, clearly distinguishable from any other caption presented on the label and immediately followed by the acronym I.G.P. (P.G.I.) and the symbol EU, both of them of the same dimension of the “Bresaola della Valtellina” characters and written, in the language of the trading country, in a form permitted by the European Community. Any qualification that is not expressly provided for can’t be added to the label. However, it is allowed using of claims referring to names, company names or trademark as long as they don’t have any laudatory meaning or can mislead the buyer. “Bresaola della Valtellina” can be sold in whole pieces, without packing or packed under vacuum, cut in pieces or slabs or can be sold sliced and under vacuum or MAP packed. The slicing and packaging steps must be performed under the supervision authority specified in art. 7, and exclusively in the production area specified in art. 2, to avoid that external temperature and humidity change could compromise during the transportation the product and the final features specified in art. 6 of this product specification.