Consider once again the edict of Duke Ranuccio I Farnese discussed above. Territoriality is inherent to the very need to provide protection for a food product. This element is equally present today, and indeed has been significantly enhanced through detailed regulatory measures imposing strict requirements on producers if their cheese aims to bear the Parmigiano Reggiano mark. Parmigiano Reggiano is a qualified gastronomic product, classified under EU protection categories as a PDO—Protected Designation of Origin16. The PDO designation represents the highest degree of qualitative recognition for a product linked to its territoriality. The founding acts and internal regulations of the Consortium further demonstrate how this requirement—relating to territory as a qualified and qualifying legal space—appears repeatedly17. Article 7 of the Consortium’s Statute—its founding act under Article 2602 et seq. of the Civil Code and Article 14 of Law no. 526 of 21 December 1999— states: “The production area of ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ cheese is constituted by the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna (on the left bank of the Reno River), and Mantua (on the right bank of the River Po). The production area and the characteristics of the product are defined in the Production Specification.” The Production Specification further reiterates these PDO boundary delimitations and imposes additional rules making territoriality an indispensable requirement18. For instance, it prescribes that, where a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano is to be portioned or grated, such operations must be carried out exclusively “within the area of origin in order to guarantee quality, traceability and control.” In this case, therefore, the requirement of territoriality applies twice: at the stage of producing Parmigiano Reggiano and at the stage of portioning or grating. Even though still PDO, the product would lose the right to such designation if subsequent processing took place outside the boundaries defined by the Specification. 16 See again F. Albisinni, Strumentario di diritto alimentare europeo, cit., p. 315 ff.; see also F. Albisinni – L. Costato – T. Georgopoulos (eds.), European and global food law, Wolters Kluwer, 2025. 17 The Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium was established in 1934. The current statute was amended by the Extraordinary General Assembly of 15 October 2024 and approved by MASAF by decree of 24 December 2024, published in the Gazzetta ufficiale della Repubblica italiana, General Series, No. 19/2025. 18 The Statute and the Production Specification are available on the Consortium’s website (www. parmigianoreggiano.com). 415 TERRITORY AND GASTRONOMIC PRODUCTS OF EXCELLENCE: AN INDISSOLUBLE UNION
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