Services
Services offered by the Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana
The competence of the Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana consists in providing services intended to protect, protect and improve the production and marketing of Provolone Valpadana DOP. It also provides its services to the members and private companies, public and private entities that request it.
In particular the services provided by the Consorcio are:
- Assistance to members: technical, legal and organisational;
- Supervision activities relating to: shipping of authorizations for the pre-order and its use as an ingredient, technical/operational support in fulfillment operations and distribution to charitable organizations and verification of conformity of the product at sales points;
- Research and development;
- Organization of training activities for members;
- Promotion of Provolone Valpadana DOP cheese;
- Brand of curated Provolone Valpadana DOP.
The Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana has identified and described, in the corresponding Management Manuals, the variables that must be supervised, controlled and verified to guarantee that the services provided conform to the specifications. The performance specifications of the different services have been defined and approved by the Administrative Council.
Assistance
The Consortium provides assistance on issues relating to the production and marketing of Provolone Valpadana, in particular the collaboration is carried out in terms of:
- technical assistance;
- legal assistance.
All assistance requests are registered in the corresponding documentation; if someten to the attention of the distinguished managers, according to the type of assistance requested, and is concerned with the resolution.
The Consortium carries out, upon specific request, controls on the Provolone Valpadana products to verify the conformity of the process and the product with the requirements foreseen in the Regulations of the PDO Queso “Provolone Valpadana”.
The control activities consist of:
- verification of the production process in the factories of these associated companies.
- Effective planning activities of the selected product. Report activity prior to the museum and subsequent transmission to the analysis laboratory if necessary.
Surveillance
The surveillance activities carried out by the Provolone Valpadana Protection Consortium are referred to:
- the expedition of authorizations for the pre-packaging of Provolone Valpadana DOP and for its use as an ingredient in food compositions;
- technical/operational support in the operations of shipping and distribution of Provolone Valpadana DOP to charitable organisations;
- verification of product conformity at sales points. This activity is also carried out by other partners.
Research and Development
The Consortium brings together investigation and development projects
For this purpose, you will proceed to:
- identify and register the basic requirements: proposals, requirements of the producers of Provolone Valpadana PDO and/or legislative requirements;
- identify and enumerate in sequence the different phases and/or activities in the project phase that must be brought to bear and establish the responsibilities for their execution;
- assign suitable resources to you for the project phase or for the execution of the investigation projects and their development in their entirety;
- determine the teams and the form in which they should interact in the project phase process;
- define the methods and tools that should be used to document the process of the project phase in different phases and/or activities;
- determine the implementation and control methods in the execution of the investigation and development projects;
- locate the people responsible, the time and tools suitable for reviewing, verifying and validating the results of the project phase.
Some projects developed by the Consortium:
- the creation of a system to control the desarrollo of superficial mohos;
- the qualitative characteristics of the cheese and its organoleptic influence on Provolone Valpadana DOP;
- the abandonment of the preservative E239;
- the experimental production of this Provolone Valpadana DOP in the pilot factory;
- the study for the characteristics of the PDO and PGI Lombard products with the objective of valorising the suitability and peculiarity of the products with analytical determinations and sensorial analysis;
- the valorisation and character of Provolone Valpadana through innovative technological systems to identify a method oriented towards molecular character;
- the creation of a “Manual of correct operational practices for the production and sale of Provolone Valpadana PDO”
Training
Organization of training activities for members
The Consortium for the Protection of Provolone Valpadana through:
- on its own protection activity;
- periodic contacts with the producers;
- the problems stated by the assistance activity;
- external relationships;
meets the training needs of its Customers.
Accordingly, training topics are planned and, if necessary, the project and execution of the programmed training activities are delegated to external entities.
Promotion
The Consortium promotes Provolone Valpadana DOP through the press, television, radio, cinema and holidays, with the aim of valorising its image and informing the consumer about its qualities.
Over the years, market studies have been carried out, regarding the repositioning of the product, innovative ways of presenting it to consumers and the search for sales in new markets.
Marked
The Consortium offers a service to valorise the cured Provolone Valpadana DOP.
The owners of spicy Provolone Valpadana DOP can request from the Consorcio, starting from the eighth month of curing, the brand "PVS" acronym of "Provolone Valpadana Stagionato".
To be able to obtain this brand, you will need to pass a selective exam relating to the external aspect of the shapes, the structure of the dough, the color and the organoleptic exam.
Once the required requirements have been established, the classification must be attributed to the common forms of any defect, whether external or internal, with the application of the “PVS” seal and the “Certificación Provolone Valpadana Stagionato” (Certificación Provolone Valpadana Stagionato).
