Within three months from the date of this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

Designations of origin and geographical indications of agricultural products

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari / Zampina di Sammichele / Zampina Sammichelina’

EU No: PGI-IT-03432 – 3 June 2025

1.   Name(s)

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari / Zampina di Sammichele / Zampina Sammichelina’

2.   Geographical indication type

PDO ☐ PGI ☒

3.   Country to which the defined geographical area belongs

Italy

4.   Description of the agricultural product

4.1.   Classification of the agricultural product in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature heading and code, as referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143

16 –

PREPARATIONS OF MEAT, OF FISH, OF CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS OR OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, OR OF INSECTS

1601 –

Sausages and similar products of meat, meat offal, blood or insects; food preparations based on these products

4.2.   Description of the agricultural product to which the registered name applies

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ is a fresh sausage made of bovine meat and sheep meat, to which are added grated mature cheese, peeled tomato fillet, pepper, salt and basil.

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ is a product that should be consumed cooked.

The meat mixture for ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ is packed into natural sheep casing with a diameter of 2/2,2 cm, which is coiled on itself 3-4 times to form a spiral that is 50-60 cm long, weighs 150-180 g and is held together with a metal or wooden skewer.

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ has the following characteristics:

a)   Organoleptic characteristics

Colour: vivid red, with a limited number of small white dots of fat, uniformly distributed in the meat mixture;

Texture: the meat, minced finely and mixed together, gives the product a texture that is soft but firm to the touch. After being cooked, the product maintains a good degree of firmness but the meat remains succulent and tender to the bite;

Aroma: characteristic of fresh minced meat, accompanied by the fresh and aromatic smell of basil, tomato and cheese;

b)   Chemical/physical characteristics and percentages

Total proteins	> 16 %
Total lipids	19-22 %
AW	09,6-0,98
pH	5,7-6,3
Moisture	55-58 %
Sulphites	none

4.3.   Derogations on sourcing of feed (for products of animal origin designated by a Protected Designation of Origin only) and restrictions on sourcing of raw materials (for processed products designated by a Protected Geographical Indication only)

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4.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All steps in production take place in the identified geographical area: trimming and mincing, mixing, packing into casings.

4.5.   Specific rules concerning packaging, slicing, grating etc. of the agricultural product the registered name refers to

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ PGI is packaged in food trays heat sealed with anti-fog film. Protective atmosphere packaging may also be used.

The packaged product must be kept at a temperature of 4 °C + 2. During the logistics stage only, a temperature of + 6 °C may be tolerated.

The finished product is packaged in the facility where it is produced, within the administrative boundaries of the municipality of Sammichele di Bari, since ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ PGI is a fresh product and is therefore perishable. If the finished product is not packaged at origin, transporting it causes negative organoleptic changes that undermine the required qualities.

Within the administrative boundaries of the municipality of Sammichele di Bari, ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ may also be marketed for sale loose, provided that it is placed in dedicated compartments or receptacles bearing a clearly visible label containing the same information as the packaged product.

4.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the agricultural product the registered name refers to

It is compulsory for the protected geographical indication ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ to appear on the label in clear and indelible lettering, clearly distinguishable from any other wording on the label, and must be followed immediately by the words ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ [Protected Geographical Indication] and/or the abbreviation ‘IGP’ [PGI] and the European PGI symbol.

Any further description is prohibited; however, the use of names, company names or private or public brands is permitted, provided that they do not constitute praise of the product and are not such as to mislead the consumer.

The ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ Protected Geographical Indication logo is the following composition of symbols and words:

5.   Concise definition of the geographical area

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ PGI is produced within the administrative boundaries of the municipality of Sammichele di Bari.

6.   Link with the geographical area

The application for the recognition of ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ PGI is justified by the product’s reputation and its fame linked to its specific characteristics.

The municipality of Sammichele di Bari is located in a hilly zone that lies between the provinces of Bari and Taranto and covers around 80 000 hectares, extending to the Murgia Sud-Orientale (South-East Murgia) area right as far as the Comprensorio dei Trulli e delle Grotte (District of Trullo Houses and Caves), at an elevation of between 250 m and 500 m above sea level.

As far back as the 19th century, there was a butcher’s shop conducting business in Sammichele di Bari, and the old town street where it was located was called ‘Via del Beccaio’ (‘Butcher Street’), as can be seen in the Provisional Land Registry of 1809.

The early years of the 20th century yield more precise details of the presence and exact locations of butcher’s shops in Sammichele di Bari, which have in some cases remained unchanged to the present day, testifying to the continuity of an activity that is often handed down from father to son.

There are various theories as to the origins of ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ but the most accepted one is that which links the product to the Comunità Sammichelina (Community of Sammichele). This would mean that its production dates back to the second half of the 18th century, when animals were slaughtered in low numbers and meat could be sold for only a brief period of time since not all butchers had ice stores in which to keep it.

At that time, ‘poor meats’, that is cuts from sheep at the end of their productive lives, were affordable even for the less well off, and ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ specifically was prepared using meat from the deboned forequarter of such sheep. In a March 1924 commercial agreement signed between the Kingdom of Italy and Czechoslovakia, reference is made to Zampina and other sausages, which were exported from Italy and subject to a handling fee upon entry to Czechoslovakia.

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ stands out from the majority of commonly sold fresh sausages owing to the distinctiveness of its recipe. In comparison with how other fresh sausages are produced, ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ is characterised by the exclusive use of prime cuts of bovine meat and sheep meat, with the meat mixture not including any pig meat.

The ingredients added to the mixture of minced bovine meat and sheep meat – namely grated mature cheese, peeled tomato fillet, salt, ground pepper and fresh basil leaves – are another characteristic making the product stand out.

These specific organoleptic and nutritional characteristics have helped to make ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ one of the most famous and highly valued products of Apulian gastronomy, so much so that, starting as far back as the 1960s, every butcher’s shop in Sammichele di Bari has fitted out a small room adjoining the shop to serve grilled ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ accompanied by a good red wine.

As a result, Sammichele di Bari has become a reference point for food tourism in Puglia.

Between 1967 and the present day, the fame of the product has been further strengthened by the festival devoted to it, a historic event that has helped to consolidate its reputation over time. By Municipal Executive Decision No 299 of 28 October 1967, the municipality of Sammichele di Bari allocated a sum of 350 000 lire to finance the first Sagra della Zampina e del Bocconcino (Zampina and Bocconcino Festival), scheduled for 31 October that year.

Since its earliest years, articles reporting on the event have been published in daily newspapers such as La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, with articles such as ‘La Zampina di Sammichele’ on 23 September 1983 and ‘Zampina di Sammichele dolce profumo di arrosto’ [‘Zampina di Sammichele, the fine aroma of roast meat’] on 27 September 1997. Subsequently, the event has received coverage on both local and national television and radio.

There are also numerous articles online documenting the long tradition of this festival, which has been unstoppable since 1967 and even overcome events such as cholera, mad cow disease and Covid. An article on bariviva.it states: ‘Unstoppable since 1967, not even cholera, mad cow disease and Covid have been able to halt it. The hero of this story is the Sagra della Zampina di Sammichele di Bari, which is being held for the 58th time this year.’ Other sources in the tourism sector, such as turismo.it, describe the festival as the perfect occasion for tasting the ‘traditional coiled sausage’, thereby creating an inextricable association between it and Sammichele di Bari. ‘Festivals in Puglia. Zampina di Sammichele di Bari Puglia, aroma of grilled zampina. The traditional coiled sausage takes centre stage at the festival in Sammichele di Bari.’

The famous food and wine expert Luigi Veronelli wrote an article about Zampina di Sammichele di Bari in the 28 September 1974 edition of Panorama magazine, defining it as a ‘Homeric food’, or in other words a dish that is humble but deeply satisfying. At the time, Zampina was made with offcuts of sheep meat, which Veronelli described as a humble food but with of great sensorial value, thus helping to boost the reputation of Zampina at national level.

‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ also began being mentioned in specialised magazines such as Le guide di dove in 2006 and Gambero rosso in 2007, having also been discussed by US writer and traveller Nancy Harmon Jenkins in her book ‘Flavors of Puglia’, published in 1997 by Broadway Books of New York. In her book, the author wrote that ‘...the town of Sammichele is famous for zampina, a type of veal sausage, very long and thin, that is cut into shorter sections for cooking. These segments are then curled round themselves, pinwheel fashion, before being set on the grill to crisp and brown over glowing embers’.

The reputation and fame of ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ are widely recognised and documented online, where countless articles, blogs and guides celebrate its name and the traditional way it is produced.

In a 2018 article published on barinedita.it, ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ is listed among the distinctive products of the Bari area: ‘defining them generically as sausages is not enough, given that the way they are made is far more complicated than that... The latter is produced also using tomato and pig meat, as well as having a distinctive spiral shape’ . Along with the article is a photograph showing the product being grilled.

Its characteristics are also celebrated on other websites. According to a 2017 article on Agrodolce.it: ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari is a much-loved traditional product. A sausage coiled into a spiral and at its best when grilled: that is the definition of zampina, the product that typifies Sammichele di Bari, a rural municipality surrounded by farms and estates in the Bassa Murgia area.’

Another article published in the same year on ViviGreen.eu confirms the fame of this ‘distinctive sausage’, stating: ‘Zampina di Sammichele is a distinctive sausage, coiled into a spiral, which is generally cooked on the grill, releasing all of the delicious aromas that fill the streets of the town.’

For years now, ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ has also been sold outside the region and is served in some prestigious restaurants, including a deli chain that regularly serves ‘Zampina di Sammichele di Bari/Zampina di Sammichele/Zampina Sammichelina’ to customers at its shops in Arcore, Bergamo, Brescia, Busto Arsizio, Como, Genoa, Milan, Modena, Novara, Seregno and Turin.

Reference to the publication of the product specification of the geographical indication

https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Ff%252F8%252FD.32749a1b4c10cf2dab73/P/BLOB%3AID%3D3335/E/pdf?mode=download

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).