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18.6.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
160/65
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 584/2011
of 17 June 2011
approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register of
protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Grana Padano (PDO))
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
8045 Zürich, Switzerland was forwarded to the
Commission by the Swiss authorities. In its letter dated
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
6 April 2010, the Commission invited the interested
Union,
parties to hold appropriate consultations.
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 of
(4) Given
that
an
agreement
was
reached
within
6
months
20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications
including minor amendments to the specification, the
and designations of origin for agricultural products and
Commission must now issue a decision.
foodstuffs ( 1 ), and in particular the first subparagraph of
Article 7(4) thereof,
(5)
In the light of the above, the amendments should be
approved and the amended single document should be
Whereas:
published,
(1) In
accordance
with
the
first
subparagraph
of
Article
9(1)
of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, the Commission has
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
examined Italy’s application for the approval of
amendments to the specification for the protected desig
Article 1
nation of origin ‘Grana Padano’ registered under
The amendments to the specification presented in Annex 2
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 ( 2 ).
concerning the name in Annex 1 to this Regulation are
hereby approved.
(2) Since
the
amendments
in
question
are
not
minor
within
the meaning of Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No
510/2006, the Commission published the amendment
Article 2
application in the Official Journal of the European Union,
The amended single document in Annex 2 to this Regulation
as required by the first subparagraph of Article 6(2) of
shall be applied.
that Regulation ( 3 ).
Article 3
(3) Pursuant
to
Article
7
of
Regulation
(EC)
No
510/2006,
a
statement of objection from the company Chs & Co
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
Ksehandel GmbH, Inhaber Urs Reichen, Grubenstr. 39,
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 17 June 2011.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO
( 1 ) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.
( 2 ) OJ L 148, 21.6.1996, p. 1.
( 3 ) OJ C 199, 25.8.2009, p. 24.

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L 160/66
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.6.2011
ANNEX I
Agricultural products intended for human consumption listed in Annex I to the Treaty:
Class 1.3. Cheeses
ITALY
Grana Padano (PDO)

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EN
18.6.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
160/67
ANNEX II
SINGLE DOCUMENT
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006
‘GRANA PADANO’
EC No: IT-PDO-0217-0011-26.7.2006
PGI ( ) PDO (X)
1. Name
‘Grana Padano’
2. Member
State
or
third
country
Italy
3. Description
of
the
agricultural
product
or
foodstuff
3.1. Type of product (Annex III)
Class 1.3 – Cheeses
3.2. Description of the product to which the name in point 1 applies
Hard cheese made from cooked paste; it is matured slowly, manufactured throughout the year and used whole or
grated; it is produced from raw, partially skimmed milk from cows, milked twice a day, whose basic diet consists of
fresh or dried fodder; milk used may come from one milking or from two milkings mixed together. The cheese is
cylindrical in form with a slightly convex or virtually straight heel, and with flat faces featuring a slightly raised edge.
It has a diameter of 35 to 45 cm and the heel is 18 to 25 cm high, depending on technical production conditions.
Weight: from 24 to 40 kg; rind: hard and smooth, 4-8 mm thick.
The paste is hard, with a finely grained structure, flaky from the middle out and with barely visible eyes. The
minimum fat content of the dry matter is 32 %. The colour of the rind is dark or a natural golden yellow and the
paste is white or straw-coloured. The paste has a fragrant aroma and a delicate taste.
3.3. Raw materials (for processed products only)
Raw cow’s milk, natural whey and calf rennet.
The milk comes from cows reared in the geographical area defined in point 4.
3.4. Feed (for products of animal origin only)
The basic feed for the dairy cattle, consisting of green or preserved fodder, is fed to lactating cows, dry cows and
heifers over 7 months old.
Milk cows are fed primarily with feed produced on the home farm or in the ‘Grana Padano PDO’ production area.
No less than 50 % of the dry matter of the daily ration must be made up of feed with a ratio of fodder to feed of no
less than 1, by reference to the dry matter.
At least 75 % of the dry matter of the fodder in the daily ration should come from feed produced in the production
area of the milk.
The authorised feeds are listed in a positive list which includes:
— fodder: fresh fodder, hay, straw, silage (not permitted for ‘Trentingrana’ production),
— raw materials for feed, by category, which may be added to the fodder: cereals and their derivatives, oil seeds and
their derivatives, tubers and root vegetables and products derived from them, dehydrated fodder, derivatives of
the sugar industry, legume seeds, fats, minerals, additives.

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L 160/68
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.6.2011
3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area
The production and maturing operations must take place on the territory of the production area defined in point 4.
3.6. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.
Grating and related packaging must take place within the production area defined in point 4 since fresh grated
cheese is a highly sensitive product and the preservation of its organoleptic characteristics requires it to be packaged
immediately in conditions such as to avoid any drying out; furthermore, immediate packaging in packs bearing the
designation of origin is more likely to ensure the authenticity of the grated product, which by nature is more difficult
to identify than a whole cheese (as confirmed by the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-469/00).
The use, for the production of grated ‘Grana Padano’, of cheese left over from the cutting and packaging of ‘Grana
Padano PDO’ marketed in pieces of varying and/or fixed weight, as blocks, cubes, bite-sized pieces, etc., is permitted
only under the following conditions: the maximum proportion of rind must be 18 %; traceability of the whole
‘Grana Padano PDO’ cheese from which the leftover cheese comes must be ensured at all times; where leftover
cheese is to be used later and/or transferred from one establishment to another, it must be sorted by registration
number and month of production; it may be transferred only within the same farm or between farms of the same
group and only within the area of origin. The marketing of leftover cheese for the production of grated ‘Grana
Padano’ is therefore prohibited.
3.7. Specific rules on labelling
The official mark attesting to the product having met the requirements justifying the use of the ‘Grana Padano’
Protected Designation of Origin, and which must therefore appear both on the whole wheel and on all the packaging
of ‘Grana Padano PDO’ cheese in portions and grated, consists of a rhomboid shape over which the words ‘GRANA’
and ‘PADANO’ are stamped in upper case letters. In the upper and lower corners of the rhomboid, which are
rounded, are inscribed respectively the initials ‘G’ and ‘P’.
The marking bands which cold stamp the origin mark on the wheels at the moulding stage are made up of a
number of rhomboidal diamond shapes which contain within them the alternating words ‘GRANA’ and ‘PADANO’,
and bear the cheese manufacturer’s identification references and the month and year of manufacture.
Only ‘Grana Padano PDO’ produced in the Autonomous Province of Trento, made using milk from cows fed
throughout the year with fodder which does not include silage of any kind, qualifies for use of the special
‘Trentingrana’ marking bands, consisting of a line of rhomboidal diamond shapes split by the word ‘TRENTINO’;
in the centre, between the outlines of stylised mountains, the word ‘TRENTINO’ appears right way up and in vertical
rotation.
Identification of origin is completed with the affixing of a casein nameplate bearing the words ‘Grana Padano’, the
year of manufacture and an alphanumeric code which unambiguously identifies each cheese wheel.
‘Grana Padano’ cheese which has been matured for at least 20 months after being moulded – within the production
area – may be described as ‘RISERVA’. Classification in the category ‘Grana Padano RISERVA’ is shown by a second
brand, affixed to the heel of the cheese at the request of the operators, in accordance with the same rules governing
the affixing of the PDO mark. The mark in question is composed of a circle with the word ‘RISERVA’ written across
the centre. In the upper half are written the word ‘OLTRE’ [more than] and the number ‘20’, and in the lower half
appears the word ‘MESI’ [months].
The following additional categories are applicable in the case of packaged products: ‘Grana Padano OLTRE 16 MESI’
and ‘Grana Padano RISERVA’.
On the packaging containing cheese of the category ‘Grana Padano OLTRE 16 MESI’, the ‘Grana Padano’ logo also
bears the words ‘OLTRE 16 MESI’ on a single line between two parallel lines.
On the packaging containing cheese of the category ‘Grana Padano RISERVA’, the brand RISERVA appears in
addition to the ‘Grana Padano’ logo.
4. Concise
definition
of
the
geographical
area
The production area for ‘Grana Padano’, whole or grated, consists of the territory of the provinces of Alessandria,
Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Verbania, Vercelli, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Mantova on
the left bank of the Po, Milan, Monza, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese, Trento, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona,
Vicenza, Bologna on the right bank of the Reno, Ferrare, Forlì Cesena, Piacenza, Ravenna and Rimini, as well as
the following municipalities in the province of Bolzano: Anterivo, Lauregno, Proves, Senale-San Felice and Trodena.

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EN
18.6.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
160/69
5. Link
with
the
geographical
area
5.1. Specificity of the geographical area
The production area for ‘Grana Padano PDO’ is largely contiguous with the region of the Po plain, that is to say the
geographical area of the Po river plain, characterised by fairly flat water meadows with alluvial soil of fluvial-glacial
origin and well supplied with water, which is one of the most fertile areas of the world and among the best suited
for growing fodder.
In particular, these soil characteristics, together with the area’s microclimate, favour the production of maize, which
represents the greatest proportion of the fodder for the cows whose milk is intended for ‘Grana Padano PDO’, since
it can make up up to 50 % of the dry matter ingested.
The reclamation and irrigation of the Po plain since the 11th century has given rise to the local development of
cattle rearing. The resulting availability of substantial quantities of milk which was surplus to the daily needs of the
rural population prompted the need to transform it into a durable cheese. Even today, the large supply of local
fodder, in particular maize, linked to the vast supply of water, is an essential element for maintaining cattle rearing
and milk production.
5.2. Specificity of the product
The specificity of ‘Grana Padano PDO’ may be ascribed to the following elements:
— size and weight of the cheese,
— particular morphology of the paste, linked to the production technique, characterised by a granular texture which
gives rise to its typical flakiness,
— white or straw colour, with a delicate flavour and fragrant aroma, due essentially to the widespread use of waxy
corn in the fodder fed to the cattle,
— water and fat content largely similar to the protein content,
— high level of natural breakdown of the proteins in peptones, peptides and free amino acids,
— resistance to lengthy ripening, even beyond 20 months.
5.3. Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the
reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)
The causal link between ‘Grana Padano PDO’ and its area of origin may be traced to the following factors.
— The high irrigation potential of the Po plain and the resulting availability of fodder, including mainly waxy corn,
which is responsible for the specific characteristics of the white or straw colour, flavour and aroma of the paste
as set out in point 5.2.
— Indeed, the direct result of using corn or waxy corn silage is the inclusion in the cows’ diet of fewer colorants
such as carotene, anthocyanins and chlorophyll than if using a feed based on straw of various kinds or green
fodder essences. This is a direct effect of storage in silos.
— The use of raw milk, which has the effect of including in the process of cheese-making lactic bacteria typical of
the area.
— The use of natural whey, which creates an unbroken microbiological link with the production area. In fact, the
milk, which turns to whey and thus to natural whey inoculum, is the link in the chain joining the cheese-making
process to the production area and also ensures the continued and constant inclusion of lactic bacteria typical of
the area of origin, to which are due the main special characteristics of ‘Grana Padano PDO’ cheese.
The causal link between the characteristics of the product and its area of origin is also provided by the ‘casaro’
(cheesemaker) who has since time immemorial been of central and fundamental importance in the manufacture of
‘Grana Padano PDO’.

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L 160/70
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.6.2011
Even today, the task of transforming milk into ‘Grana Padano PDO’ is entrusted to cheesemakers rather than to
technicians or scientists.
Reference to publication of the specification
The Government has launched the national objection procedure in respect of the proposal to amend the ‘Grana Padano’
protected designation of origin.
The full text of the product specification is available:
— at the following site:
http://www.politcheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/335
or
— by going direct to the home page of the Ministry (www.politicheagricole.it) and clicking on ‘Qualità e sicurezza’ (upper
right-hand corner of the screen) and finally on ‘Disciplinari di Produzione all’esame dell’UE [regolamento CE n.
510/2006]’.

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