Where does Parmigiano-Reggiano, the world king of cheeses, come from? And which peculiar characteristics of its manufacturing process make it a unique product? To answer these questions, Dalter Alimentari hosted last December for two days two British journalists: Sainsbury’s Magazine reporter Debora Robertson and Ellen Manning who writes “The Food Matrix” column for The I magazine (connected to The Independent). The visit has been arranged together with Sainsbury’s, which is Dalter Alimentari historical and most important partner. In order to meet British consumers’ requests, the company from Reggio-Emilia has implemented a particular type of supply chain by which Dalter is able to guarantee Sainsbury’s an excellent Parmigiano-Reggiano. The supply chain is based on three principles: farmers which provide milk, cheese dairy farms which transform milk into Parmigiano-Reggiano and Dalter Alimentari’s plant where the cheese is portioned, packaged and made ready to be marketed across the Channel. 
THE JOURNEY’S STAGES – The two journalists visited all three supply chain links. For the first stage they went to a farm: Azienda Agricola Orlandini Alessandro. This is one of 30 farmers which work with Dalter Alimentari. Later, Ms. Manning and Ms. Robertson visited cheese dairy farm Latteria Sociale del Cigarello, in which Dalter has invested more than one million Euros. The outcome is a cutting-edge structure with a daily production capacity of 66 Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels. The final stage of the two journalists journey was Dalter Alimentari’s plant in Sant’Ilario d’Enza, where the cheese is portioned and packaged following Sainsbury’s customers’ needs. Ms. Manning and Ms. Robertson have had the possibility to understand the link between Parmigiano-Reggiano and its territory of origin, appreciating the supply chain’s human element. That’s the secret of this cheese’s quality and excellence, which meet Dalter Alimentari innovation capacity as for packaging, production standards, health, hygiene and safety. The journey has also been characterized by a leisure moment. The two journalists have participated to a kitchen lab, in order to understand firsthand all Parmigiano-Reggiano’s potential uses, starting with Italian cuisine typical dishes.
