COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

(Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143)

‘Salame Felino’

EU PGI-IT-0597-AM01 - 12.3.2025

1.   Name of product

‘Salame Felino’

2.   Geographical indication type

☐	Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)

☒	Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)

☐	Geographical Indication (GI)

3.   Sector

☒	Agricultural products

☐

Wines

☐	Spirit drinks

4.   Country to which the geographical area belongs

Italy

5.   Member State authority communicating the standard amendment

MASAF (Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry)

6.   Qualification as standard amendment

The amendments to the PGI product specification:

—	do not include a change in the name of the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication, or in the use of that name;

—	do not risk voiding the link to the geographical area referred to in the single document; or

—	do not entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.

7.   Description of the approved standard amendment(s)

1.   Amendment to Article 4

Amendment 1

The amendment concerns Article 4 of the product specification; it does not involve an amendment to the single document.

Description: The amendment adds slicers to the categories of PGI operators subject to the control system.

Reason: The amendment is necessary because the sliced product is one of the forms in which Salame Felino may be marketed in accordance with the product specification.

The amendment does not affect the single document.

2.   Amendment to Article 5

Amendment 2

The amendment concerns Article 5, paragraph 1, of the product specification and point 3.3 of the single document.

Description: The amendment replaces the reference to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 with a reference to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

Reason: The amendment updates the references to the European Union legislation in force on the grading of pig carcasses.

The amendment affects the single document.

3.   Amendment to Article 5

Amendment 3

The amendment concerns Article 5, paragraph 1, of the product specification and point 3.3 of the single document.

Description: The amendment replaces the criterion of the average live weight per batch of 160 kg ± 10 % with an individual carcass weight of between 110,1 kg and 190 kg, specifying that this must be ascertained at the time of slaughter.

Reason: The elimination of live weight and the inclusion of the criterion of individual carcass weight allow for a more precise check on the eligibility requirements for each pig slaughtered, as it is a more transparent, accurate, targeted and generally better method. The increase in pig weight is linked to the current trend in European pig farming resulting from improved genetics, animal welfare and nutrition.

The amendment affects the single document.

4.   Amendment to Article 5

Amendment 4

The amendment concerns Article 5, paragraph 1 of the product specification; it does not involve an amendment to the single document.

Description: The amendment inserts the criterion for calculating the age of pigs for the purpose of slaughter.

Reason: The amendment clarifies the product specification for operators and for control purposes.

The amendment does not affect the single document.

5.   Amendment to Article 5

Amendment 5

The amendment concerns Article 5, last paragraph, of the product specification; it does not involve an amendment to the single document.

Description: The amendment removes the words ‘referred to in Article 7’.

Reason: The amendment is necessary because Article 7 of the new product specification contains a different provision.

The amendment does not affect the single document.

6.   Amendment to Article 7

Amendment 6

The amendment concerns Article 7 of the product specification; it does not involve an amendment to the single document.

Description: The amendment removes the provision on the control body.

Reason: This is a necessary update to bring the product specification into line with the European Union legislation in force.

The amendment does not affect the single document.

7.   Amendment to Article 8

Amendment 7

The amendment concerns Article 8 of the product specification; it does not involve an amendment to the single document.

Description: The amendment renumbers Article 8 as Article 7.

Reason: The amendment is necessary given the product specification’s new article structure.

The amendment does not affect the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Salame Felino’

EU No: PGI-IT-0597-AM01 - 12.3.2025

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) (of PDO or PGI)

‘Salame Felino’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Italy

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code

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

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

When released for consumption, ‘Salame Felino’ PGI must be cylindrical, with one end fatter than the other. Its outer surface must be of a whitish/greyish colour and slightly powdery owing to the surface development of a small quantity of indigenous mould.

‘Salame Felino’ PGI must have the following characteristics:

—	weight: between 200 g and 4,5 kg;

—	size: irregular cylindrical shape, between 15 cm and 130 cm long;

—	organoleptic characteristics: when cut, the slices must be firm but not springy; they must be homogeneous and lean, ruby red in colour, free of blemishes, and have a mild and delicate flavour;

—	chemical and chemico-physical characteristics: total protein min. 23 % collagen/protein ratio max. 0,10 water/protein ratio max. 2,00 fat/protein ratio max. 1,50 pH > 5,3 total lactobacilli > 100 000

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

There are no provisions either in the product specification or in the single document published in OJ C 19 of 20.1.2011.

‘Salame Felino’ PGI is produced from pig meat in the manner described below:

—	the animals used must be purebred pigs of the basic traditional Large White and Landrace breeds or animals derived from those breeds, as improved by the Italian Herd Book;

—	also allowed are animals derived from the Duroc breed, as improved by the Italian Herd Book;

—	animals of other breeds, crossbred or hybrid, are also allowed, provided that their carcasses come under classes U, R or O, as defined in the pig carcass classification table in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, as amended;

—	in line with traditional practice, pigs carrying unfavourable traits, and in particular porcine stress syndrome (PSS), are in any case excluded; nowadays, such traits can be objectively detected in animals post mortem and in cured products;

—	purebred Belgian Landrace, Hampshire, Pietrain, Duroc and Spotted Poland animals are in any case not permitted;

—	the genetic types used must be capable of achieving high weights and good efficiency, and in any case an individual carcass weight of between 110,1 kg and 190 kg;

—	the minimum age at slaughter is nine months;

—	boars and sows must not be used;

—	the pigs must be slaughtered in an optimum state of health and completely bled;

—	the cuts of meat used to produce ‘Salame Felino’ PGI must be pieces of choice muscle or fat tissue such as the forward part of the belly (testa di pancetta) and/or minced meat from under the shoulder (trito di banco / sottospalla). The meat used must not have undergone any freezing.

The muscle and fat tissue must be carefully cleaned, with the soft adipose tissue and larger pieces of connective matter being removed.

The meat (muscle and fat tissue) used for ‘Salame Felino’ PGI must be put into a cold store set to a temperature of not less than -1 °C and fitted out in such a way as to allow the muscle tissue to dry out well.

The mix must be minced using a meat grinder (fitted with perforated plates with 6-8 mm holes).

The meat must then be mixed with salt (2 %-2,8 %), whole pepper and/or pepper pieces (0,03 %-0,06 %) and ground garlic.

Use may also be made of:

—	dry white wine, up to a maximum of 400 cl per 100 kg of meat, so as to accentuate the aroma and flavour;

—	sugar and/or dextrose and/or fructose: 0 %-0,3 %;

—

fermentation starter cultures: such starter cultures must be used in line with best practice, taking into consideration the specific characteristics of the starter cultures for ‘Salame Felino’. Their function is to develop the product’s aroma and flavour through their lipolytic and proteolytic effect, stabilising the colour and limiting acidification;

—	sodium and/or potassium nitrate (maximum 300 mg/kg), sodium and/or potassium nitrite (maximum 150 mg/kg), ascorbic acid and its sodium salt (maximum 1 g/kg).

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

The specific steps in production are:

—	mincing with a meat grinder;

—	mixing the mince and the added salt, pepper and garlic; wine, sugars, fermentation starter cultures, sodium or potassium nitrate, sodium or potassium nitrite and ascorbic acid and its sodium salt may also be used;

—	filling the mix into natural hog casing;

—	tying with twine (not netted);

—	drying and curing.

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

‘Salame Felino’ must be sliced and packaged under the surveillance of the authorised body in line with the provisions of the control plan.

Indeed, owing to the delicate nature of the product, and because the slicing and packaging stages are potentially harmful, it is essential that the period during which the slices remain in contact with the air is as short as possible, so as to prevent them taking on a brown colour.

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

‘Salame Felino’ PGI may be released for consumption either whole, with only the label and possibly the seal; thickly cut, in vacuum packs or in a protective atmosphere; or sliced, in vacuum packs or in a protective atmosphere.

The name ‘Salame Felino’ followed by the term ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ [Protected Geographical Indication] or the abbreviation ‘IGP’ [PGI] (translated into the language of the country in which the product is marketed) must appear on the label in clear, indelible characters that can easily be distinguished from any other text, followed by the Community logo and the company mark.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The ‘Salame Felino’ PGI production area is the administrative territory of the Province of Parma.

5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

The ‘Salame Felino’ PGI production area, which covers the whole Province of Parma, is characterised by the presence of both hilly and flat areas, as well as lakes and salt mines.

The geographical area was defined by making reference to an in-depth historical reconstruction of the production practices that gave rise to the creation of this typical product. These practices are linked to the age-old traditions of pork butchery and curing which have been facilitated by the presence, since antiquity, of salt mines and distinctive climatic conditions resulting from the presence of specific levels of humidity, exposure to marine air currents and the concentration of large wooded areas.

In the Parma hills, it has always been possible to combine the techniques of the plain with the salt of Salsomaggiore.

The phrase ‘techniques of the plain’ means those methods for processing and curing pig meat that developed as far back as the Etruscan and Roman period owing to the presence of pig farms dedicated, among other things, to supplying food for the Roman legions. In the hills around the plain, these techniques were combined with the opportunity to make easier use of the salt from the Salsomaggiore mines as a result of the hills being the traditional focal point for processing the salt, which, being a precious substance, was processed in areas that were located far from communication routes and were thus more secure from possible raids.

Indeed, because of the presence of these salt mines, the salting and processing of pig meat have, since the 14th century, led to the manufacture of products that are recognised at both national and international level.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

‘Salame Felino’ PGI differs from other products in the same commercial category owing to its firmness and non-springy consistency, its uniformity, and its ruby red colour. Its flavour is mild and delicate.

Unlike the vast majority of salamis on the market, ‘Salame Felino’ is packed exclusively in natural casings (i.e. never synthetic ones). It is free of lactose and powdered milk and has a moderately high pH, with the resultant improvement in the organoleptic qualities.

5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

‘Salame Felino’ PGI’s reputation is attested to by a copious bibliography of references and citations.

The first references date back as far as certain Latin authors of the 1st century AD (Apicus — De re coquinaria). ‘Salame Felino’ was well known in the courts that subsequently established themselves in the capital, from the Farnese to the Bourbons to Duchess Marie Louise.

The oldest depiction of the product seems to be found in the decoration of the interior of the Baptistery of Parma (1196-1307). On the frieze slab dedicated to the Aquarius sign of the zodiac, two salamis can be seen at the hearth on a rotating saucepan stand. These salamis are of a size and shape that can still be found today and are the same as those of ‘Salame Felino’ PGI.

A 1766 census of the pig population revealed that the Marquisate of Felino was the most lively pig market in the district. Dating from the same period are price lists for the Felino area quoting prices for lean and fatty salami. Reports of customs and culinary traditions for the early 19th century reveal that there was a distinctive method of processing pig meat into salami in the area around the town of Felino.

The entry ‘Salame Felino’ appeared in the Italian dictionary in 1905 and, in 1912, the production of salami in Felino was examined in the Ministry of Agriculture’s report on economic performance for the year.

Since 1927, the relevant local public institutions have granted salami produced in the Province of Parma the name ‘Salame Felino’. Indeed, this name must obviously have already enjoyed particular renown and reputation, and thus been particularly recognisable, if the Office and Provincial Council of the National Economy felt that promoting its commercial use was a means of boosting the prosperity of the province. Still today, the fact that the production of ‘Salame Felino’ is rooted in the territory of the Province of Parma can be seen through research and studies into the area’s gastronomic culture. Indeed, many articles have linked ‘Salame Felino’ to the province’s gastronomy, citing it as one of Parma’s most highly appreciated sausage meat products, the quality of which is inextricably linked to the centuries-old tradition that developed and is maintained unchanged only in the valleys of the Province of Parma. To this should be added the many events that continue to be organised both in Italy and abroad by both the local and the provincial authorities of Parma in honour of ‘Salame Felino’, with stands being set up to offer tastings and information material on the characteristics of the product and its historical production in the Province of Parma.

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fe%252F5%252FD.3526679936c72412af8b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D18907/E/pdf?mode=download

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(1)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/27 of 30 October 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules concerning the registration and the protection of geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (OJ L, 2025/27, 15.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/27/oj).