San Daniele Consortium cured meat ventured abroad, to the South American market, especially looking to Brazil, conscious of health regulations and willing to share profits with importers who help the Italian ham maker to penetrate foreign supermarkets and high-end restaurants. Recently, the company won a court case against a Brazilian private label company which marketed the Italian ham but did not keep the promises of its agreement because, in reality, it was under control.
THE LEGAL CASE – The Italian consortium has asked the court to fine the Brazilian company, for each infraction, ruling that San Daniele ham is a Pdo (protected designation origin), meaning that, it is tied to a specific geographical area with unique environmental characteristics. Therefore, it must follow a specific law that, in addition to regulating all workmanship phases, also bans the use of chemicals, additives, and preservatives. The Brazilian court also said Italy’s San Daniele is legally protected and the Consortium won the legal dispute. In a related development, the Friuli Consortium’ president, Mario Cichetti, declared that, “The ruling by the Sao Paolo court has created a very important legal case for the protection of our Italian specialties and premium foods”.