Production specifications of the “Salame Brianza” Denominazione di Origine Protetta
Art. 1 Name
The name “Salame Brianza” Denominazione di Origine Protetta is reserved to salami products that meet the conditions and requirements established in these production specifications.
Art. 2 Production area
Pig farms for the production of “Salame Brianza” must be located in the territory of the following regions: Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Piedmont.
The pigs, born, reared and slaughtered in the above regions, must meet the production characteristics already established by the Decrees of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Crafts of 18/12/1993 for Parma and San Daniele prosciutto.
The pig feeding is split into two phases: The foodstuffs allowed for pigs of up to 80 kilograms in body weight are those that can be used during the fattening period, in suitable concentration, as well as those presented below in descending order. The presence of dry matter from cereals must not be less than 45% of the total; soy flour (up to a maximum of 20% of the dry substance of the ration); maize silage (up to 10% of the dry substance of the ration); corn gluten feed (up to 5% of the dry substance of the ration); pitted carobs, distillers (up to 3% of the dry substance of the ration); lipids with melting point higher than 36°C (up to 2% of the dry substance of the ration); fish meal, protein lysates (up to 1% of the dry substance of the ration); buttermilk* (up to a maximum of 6 litres per animal per day).
The foodstuffs permitted in the fattening phase are listed below in descending order. The presence of dry substance from cereals in the fattening phase must not be below 55% of the total; corn and grain feed and/or maize corn (up to 55% of the dry substance of the ration); sorghum, barley (up to 40% of the dry substance of the ration); wheat, triticale, oats and minor cereals (up to 25% of the dry substance of the ration); bran and other wheat-processing by-products (up to 20% of the dry substance of the ration); dehydrated potatoes, pressed and ensiled beet pulp, soy flour (up to 15% of the dry substance of the ration); sunflower flour (up to 8% of the dry substance of the ration); cassava, molasses (**), coconut extraction flour, corn germ extraction flour, peas and/or other legume seeds (up to 5% of the dry substance of the ration); dried beet pulp (up to 4% of the dry substance of the ration); sesame flour (up to 3% of the dry substance of the ration); linseed cake, apple and pear residue, grape or tomato skins used as supplements, lucerne meal, beer and/or torula yeast, lipids with melting point higher than 40 degrees centigrade (up to 4% of the dry substance of the ration); whey (*) up to a maximum amount of 15 animal/day; buttermilk(*) up to a maximum amount of 250 g animal/day of dry substance.
The by-products of cheese making are provided by local dairies in the delimited geographical area.
-A maximum presence of linoleic acid of 2% of the dry substance of the diet is permitted.
-Maximum tolerances of 10% are permitted.
-(*) Whey and buttermilk together must not exceed 15 litres animal/day.
-(**) If associated with distillers’ dried grains the total nitrogen content must be less than 2%.
-Dehydrated potato and cassava together must not exceed 15% of the dry substance of the ration.
-“Buttermilk” means the by-product of processing butter; whey milk means the by-product of curds.
The pigs must weigh no less than 160 kg, plus or minus 10%, be aged no less than nine months, having the characteristics of Italian heavy pigs defined in accordance with EEC Reg. no. 3220/84 on the commercial classification of pig carcases. From those pigs, the uncleansed shoulders are obtained of at least 5 kilometres, having the necessary characteristics for the production of “Salame Brianza”.
The slaughterer is responsible for the qualitative correspondence and origin of the cuts. The slaughterhouse certificate, which accompanies each batch of raw materials and certifies their origin and type, must be retained by the producer. The respective controls are performed directly by the Supervisory Authority indicated in Art. 7 below.
The processing of “Salame Brianza” must take place in the traditional production area located in the territory of Brianza bordered to the north by the Monte Ghisallo spurs, to the south by the Villoresi Canal, to the east by the deep furrows of the Adda River and to the west by the Comasina State Road, with its 2 km outer band.
Art. 3 Raw materials
“Salame Brianza” is made up of pork meat mixture: shoulder, boned and trimmed using a suitable technique, scrap cuttings and ground ham, pancetta and/or throats without soft fat, salt, crushed and/or ground.
The following may also be used: wine, sugar and/or dextrose and/or fructose and/or lactose, starter ferment, sodium and/or potassium nitrate at the maximum dosage of 195 parts per million, sodium and/or potassium nitrite at the maximum dosage of 95 parts per million, ascorbic acid and its sodium salt, garlic in minimum dose.
Art. 4 Processing method
“Salame Brianza” must be produced, including packaging, slicing and portioning, in the delimited area identified in Art. 2, with the following processing methodology: the pork shoulders to be sent for cleaning must weigh no less than 5 kilograms and must be cleaned carefully following a suitable technique, removing the larger connective parts and soft fatty tissues. The cleaned shoulders, together with the ground ham, scrap cuttings and throats without soft fat, are placed in cold storage at freezing or refrigeration temperature.
Thereafter, the meat is ground using a meat grinder having dies with holes of 4-4.5 mm or 7-8 mm.
All ingredients are mixed using machines under vacuum or at atmospheric pressure.
“Salame Brianza” must be stuffed into natural or artificial intestines possibly tied with string or placed on a net.
“Salame Brianza” is heat-dried (temperature between 15° and 25°C) or cold-dried (temperature between 3° and 7°C); no accelerated fermentation techniques may be used. The drying must allow for rapid dehydration of the superficial fractions during the initial days of treatment.
Art. 5 Curing
Curing must be conducted in rooms which guarantee a sufficient air exchange at a temperature between 9° and 13°C. The curing time, a period also including drying, varies based upon the diameter of the fresh salami, as indicated in the following table: 
“Salame Brianza” DOP must be packaged, sliced and portioned in the delimited production area indicated in Art. 2, under supervision by the authorised control structure so as to guarantee the product quality. Salame Brianza, in fact, is particularly sensitive to external agents, particularly light, oxidation from the air and heat. The preparation of Salame Brianza for slicing necessarily involves removing the intestine casing and consequently the direct exposure of the edible part of the product to the external environment. The exposure of the product to external agents in uncontrolled conditions alters the characteristics of Salame Brianza as any exposure of the product not protected by the intestine casing makes it extremely susceptible to oxidation phenomena, colour alterations, more rapid loss of moisture and aroma, with consequent deterioration of the external appearance, consistency and flavour compared to the original characteristics. In addition, the transportation of Salame Brianza intended for slicing, vacuum packaged and without intestine casing, may give rise to: the formation of precipitates with layers of salt crystals; excessive elasticity of the product, due to the migration of salt and water that make it lose compactness; shape defects; and loss of typical aroma, due to so-called “stripping”, i.e. aromatic alteration of fatty acids. Therefore, in order to preserve the original product characteristics, Salame Brianza must be sliced and packaged immediately after the curing period in the same production location.
Art. 6 Characteristics
“Salame Brianza” at the time of release for consumption has the following organoleptic, chemical and chemical-physical and microbiological characteristics:
ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS
external appearance: cylindrical shape;
consistency: the product must be compact with a non-elastic consistency;
appearance when cut: the slice is compact and homogeneous, with adipose fraction and no rancid portions; there are no clear aponeurotic fractions;
colour: uniform ruby red;
odour: delicate and characteristic aroma;
flavour: very sweet and delicate flavour, never sour.
CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL-PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
total proteins: min. 23%;
collagen/protein ratio: max. 0.10;
water/protein ratio: max. 2.00;
fat/protein ratio: max. 1.5;
-pH: higher than or equal to 5.3.
MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
total viable count: >1×10 to the seventh colony forming units/gram with prevalence of lactobaciliaceae and coccus.
Art. 7 Controls
The control over the conformity of the product with the production specifications is performed by a control structure compliant with the contents of Articles 10 and 11 of (EC) Regulation no. 510/2006.
Art. 8 Designation and presentation
The protected designation of origin “Salame Brianza” must be indicated in clear and indelible characters, readily distinguishable from other wording that appears on the label and must immediately be followed by the words “Denominazione di Origine Protetta”.
Both the aforementioned terms are untranslatable.
The initials DOP may also appear in another part of the label in the same visual field. For the product intended for international markets a mention may be made of “Denominazione di Origine Protetta” in the language of the destination country. Those indications are combined inseparably with the designation identification logo. 
It is prohibited to add any qualification not expressly permitted.
However, indications may be used that refer to company names or private trademarks provided that they do not have commendatory meaning or mislead the purchaser, as well as any names of pig farm companies from which the product derives, provided that the raw material originates entirely from the aforementioned farms.
If the logo is directly printed on the label of the producer firms, the quantities of labels, controlled by the Body indicated in Art. 7, must correspond to the quantities of raw material sent to production of “Salame Brianza”.
“Salame Brianza” may be marketed loose or vacuum packed or in modified atmosphere, whole, in blocks or sliced. The packaging, slicing and portioning operations must occur under the supervision of the control structure indicated in Art. 7.
