Pecorino Siciliano PDO - Production regulation

Production regulation

It's the document he collects all the operating instructions that manufacturers must be comply with.
These rules represent the particular characteristics of the certification and are placed as a guarantee of quality for the consumer who purchases the certified product.

Under Article. 4, par. 1, of Regulation (EC) no. 510/2006, to obtain a protected designation of origin, an agricultural or food artifact must comply with a production specification.

Download the production specification

mark Pecorino Siciliano PDO The Italian law 2081/92 defines the general organization of a production specification :
The name of the DOP certified product
The indication of the raw materials and the main physical, chemical, microbiological characteristics
The delimitation of the geographical area that characterize the link with the territory
The manufacture method and operating procedures, in particular traditional techniques linked to the places of origin
Labeling and terms related to the PDO mark
Further national or community provisions

Protected designation of origin

The PDO Mark, Protected Designation of Origin , is a trademark registered with the European Community dedicated to high quality products closely linked to the places of origin and its traditions.

The history, the tradition and the manufacturing methods identify the DOP trademark of Sicilian Pecorino, it states the three fundamental elements: raw sheep's milk, the feeding of free grazing animals and seasonality.
A strong link with the territory gives the specificity to the DOP product.
In the production regulation the origin territories are clearly indicated, outside these areas the cheese cannot be produced, first of all for reasons of legal protection, but mainly for the whole set of features including the climate, raw materials and traditions, which combined together create a unique and inimitable cheese elsewhere.