Reggio Emilia The last, desperate move to block PGI recognition (protected geographical indication) all’erbazzone. Browse Turin, the company which has its headquarters in Buttigliera d’Asti and which took over Righi Sfoglia a few years ago, does not yet consider the game on which its commercial future is being played out, considering the importance of the herbazzone in the production logic. The Municipality of Reggio, in collaboration with the Association of Reggio Emilia producers, has long given its support to ensure that our savory pie takes on even more the trappings of Reggio Emilia
. Reasoning that Sfoglia Torino does not agree with. The practice had arrived months ago at the Ministry of Agriculture which would have approved the matter in a very short time, if compliance had not materialized within a few weeks. Observance regularly presented by Sfoglia Torino and extended practices.
In April, however, the Ministry decided to ignore the Piedmontese company, agreeing with the Association. The last step is now Brussels, headquarters of the European Commission. The wait, in recent weeks, has been unnerving, and a show was even staged at the Correggio theatre, in the presence of the President of the Region Bonaccini and, among others, Marco Ligabue (brother of the rocker Luciano) and Paolo Cevoli as ambassadors. Yesterday, however, the Association made public a further stage of the story: «Last 4 June the provision of the Ministry of Agriculture which had recognized the IGP to Erbazzone Reggiano was challenged before the TAR of Lazio – the words of the defense lawyers Giuseppe Pagliani and Gianluca Dallari–. The Association expresses its profound disappointment at this legal action brought forward by the Sfoglia Torino company, i.e. the current owner of the well-known Righi brand”. It is clear that Sfoglia Torino’s interests are not to make Reggio the only home of the Erbazzone, under penalty of failure to centralize production in Piedmont. The accusations by the Association (which includes well-known local businesses such as Fattoria Italia, Nonna Lea, Bottega Gastronomica and several others) continue: «It seems truly incredible that a company, moreover the owner of a historic Reggio Emilia brand , attempts to interrupt the positive process, recently endorsed by the Ministry of Agriculture, – continue the two lawyers –. The Association considers this particularly serious if we consider that all the local institutions united and headed by the national Government also aim to quickly achieve the approval of Brussels to complete the path begun years ago for an important local agri-food production, such as historic Erbazzone Reggio Emilia”. «The Association, our intermediary, will certainly appear in the proceedings to defend the contested provision – conclude Pagliani and Dallari – and will fight in all the appropriate forums to ensure that the Erbazzone Reggio Emilia is recognized as having the important protection of the protected geographical indication ».l © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
