Focus on a market, that of kosher products, which is worth $150 billion worldwide, but also offer a quality product adapted to the many needs of an increasingly diverse and globalised clientele: these are the reasons that led the Bertinelli farm, producer of Parmigiano Reggiano Dop, to start production of the kosher version: the first kosher cheese rounds (the company plans to produce 5,000 per year), given that production was launched in October, will be available at the end of 2015, and most have already been sold.
“In the Jewish religion, dietary laws and food are strictly encoded by the Holy Books – explains Nicola Bertinelli, who along with his father today runs the farm -. The challenge of reconciling the specification of a unique product such as Parmigiano Reggiano DOP with the Kashrut proved to be extremely complex: all stages are involved, from cow breeding, which must follow certain rules, to milking, performed under the supervision of a rabbi who verifies the Chalav Yisrael nature of the milk, which can only come from Kosher animals. Even the animal rennet with which we produce Parmigiano Reggiano DOP must be Kosher certified. In the dairy, the production process is constantly monitored by the Mashgiach Temid. Furthermore, with regard to systems and infrastructures, the entire process route has been sanitised to conform with Jewish standards”.
The Bertinelli farm is the first in the world to be certified Kosher for the production of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, both by the OU – the Orthodox Union (certification is under ratification and will be made official in April) and by OK Kosher Certification, among the most authoritative Kosher certification bodies, while in Italy it has obtained the recognition of the rabbi of Milan.
Recognition was facilitated by the fact that Bertinelli manages all production stages in house. “The products of our fields are used for the nutritional requirements of the livestock in our cow sheds. This is extremely important because the cheese is made “in the shed” and not in the dairy. To obtain a good cheese, it is necessary to start with a healthy diet for the cows: only those who have control over the entire chain can be certain that the livestock is fed in the proper way, i.e. with fresh fodder, rich in “good bacteria” that gives flavour and aroma to the Parmigiano Reggiano”.
Alongside the Kosher Parmigiano Reggiano the farm will produce a lactose-free fresh cheese, again Kosher: the first rounds of this product will be available starting from the summer of 2015.
Worldwide there are approx. 13.5 million people of Jewish faith, of which just under 40,000 in Italy. In the USA, kosher products – over 90,000 – represent 28% of food products sold in supermarkets: 56% of consumers are not Jewish.