Old Italian meat speciality wins protected origin label
Pitina, a cured meat product, made from goat, sheep, roe deer, fallow deer, red deer or chamois (only one may be used in the process of manufacturing) and fat parts of pork: belly or shoulder, has been declared protected geographical indication (PGI) product by the European Union.
The meat speciality has its origin in the northern part of Italy and must respond to certain requirements such as moisture under 55%, salt under 3.5% and no more than 28% protein. Also, the recipe allows only certain herbs to be used as spices: juniper, caraway or wild fennel, fennel seeds, musk milfoil, along with a mixture of sea-salt or rock salt or a mixture of the two, along with pepper, garlic, and wine.
"All phases in the production of 'Pitina’, from the removal of external fat from the raw material to the maturing of the product, take place in the geographical production area that comprises the municipalities of Andreis, Barcis, Cavasso Nuovo, Cimolais, Claut, Erto Casso, Frisanco, Maniago, Meduno, Montereale Valcellina, Tramonti di Sopra and Tramonti di Sotto", mentions the official EU Journal.
The specificity of ‘Pitina’ is based on the intrinsic properties and the originality of the product, which can be summed up in the unusual use of game, sheep or goat meat, not seen anywhere else in the Alps, and in preservation methods which, unlike other preparations based on meat, do not involve casings or a rind, but a thin layer of maize flour which, together with judicious smoking, allows the product to age and prevents it from drying out.
The product was enlisted in the Arcigola Slow Food's first list of endangered products. Since 1969, there is a festival held in July in Val Tramontina by the Pro Loco association. From now on, the item can be commercialized only under the product logo and EU symbol.
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