Raw materials

Selecting the best raw materials is essential to obtaining high quality PGI Speck Alto Adige: it can only be produced with swine thighs carefully selected and put through a series of controls that verify the fat to lean ratio, weight, temperature, and PH control criteria. The ability to track the meat selected from the very earliest stages of production is a guarantee of safety and reliability.


The provincial commission for the protective mark has approved a new regulation for speck

Continuing the effort to constantly improve on quality, the Provincial Commission has recently approved a series of new regulations on the production and use of the PGI status of “Speck Alto Adige”. The Commission, appointed by the Provincial Council and chaired by Alderman Frick and composed of Aldermen Berger and Widmann, resolved, among other things, to introduce new regulations on the quality of the meat, a new outline for the sensory analysis and new rules for the graphic layout of the labels used on Speck Alto Adige. Pursuant to publication of the new set of rules - expected to take place in November - additional important innovations will be applied. These mainly involve implementation of new consortium fees in accordance with Law 526 and the ban on citing “Alto Adige” in the names of uncontrolled products, starting on January 1, 2005.

“Pustertaler -, Eisacktaler -, Vinschgerspeck” and similar descriptions will no longer be allowed.

In the past few years, the producers of Speck Alto Adige have increased their investment in advertising and improving the quality of Speck Alto Adige. This has resulted not only in achieving the coveted objective of increased sales of protected and controlled products, but has also led to a significant rise in names that reference Alto Adige, for instance “Speck delle Dolomiti, Speck Pusterese, Speck di Fié or Speck Burggräfler”. Unscrupulous producers have tried to take advantage of the image and good name of Speck Alto Adige without complying with the strict guidelines and controls required. The practice has been banned since 1996, the year when Speck Alto Adige was afforded the PGI status resulting in protection by the European Union. In the past, the Consortium could only inform consumers about the illegality of using these names, but today, it is compelled to perform supervisory activities, taking legal action when necessary. The Consortium has had this job since its official recognition by the state, which came about with Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies of 04/12/2003 and by a ministerial decree that lays down provisions that the Consortium must comply with. As a result, the Consortium previously compelled its members to remove any illicit indications from labeling and is now required to act outside its association to prevent any practice that can mislead consumers. “In adapting the labels, we will allow a time limit for finishing the material currently available," explained Franz J. Mitterrutzner, Director of the Speck Alto Adige Consortium. Of course, producers may continue to use the descriptions, provided their product is controlled. While the EEC regulation 2081/92 has safeguarded the Protected Geographical Indication from "suggestion or imitation" since 1992, this protection is now expressly implemented in a regional regulation. Franz Mitterrutzner of the Consortium feels that this was an absolute necessity, "because otherwise, our concept of quality would be irreparably damaged. Consumers who read these names on the labels believe they are buying Speck Alto Adige. If producers did not intend to insinuate the “Südtirol – Alto Adige” description - synonymous with quality and thus very attractive and widely advertised - then why else would they use these words. They could use a family name or another personal name.”

Speck, which has been produced in Alto Adige by traditional methods, can bear the name of our province only if it has passed strict quality controls; last year, 49% of total production of Speck Alto Adige by local producers passed these tests. Next year, a new law will not only ban uncontrolled speck from using the description “Südtirol - Alto Adige”, but also the use of any other indication that could lead the consumer to believe that the product is Speck Alto Adige. This includes geographic indications related to our province, names such as “Törggelespeck”, since it is a description native to the Alto Adige, or even use of mountain scenes typical of the province. Clearly, producers are allowed to use these indications provided they comply with the specifications required for Speck Alto Adige. Naturally, producers may cite their address on the label, since law allows this, but the typeface cannot be larger than 2 by 4 millimeters. “In 1990, Parma implemented a similar law for its province," notes Alderman Werner Frick.