The indispensable theme of the tracing of the origin of the products emerged also during the Festival of Food Journalism. And in these months a lot has changed. After the solicitations of the Piedmont Region, partner of the Festival, the mandatory labeling of milk in Italy was also adopted following authorization by the European Union. But Piedmont also continues on the road to regional milk labeling. "Labeling - declares the Regional Agriculture Councilor Giorgio Ferrero - rewards not only the producers, who can enhance the quality, but also the transformers that have always used Piedmontese and Italian milk. And in some way it also rewards the intuition that the Region has had by establishing with Piemunto its own brand to guarantee Piedmontese milk, which some results have already achieved on a commercial level. On the other hand, the idea of quality and transparency that is behind the brand is the same that led the government to launch mandatory labeling for dairy products. Piemunto is somewhat the forerunner of labeling: a guarantee of the origin of a product like Piedmontese milk and of the cheeses that derive from it, able to satisfy the need for quality that is increasingly strong among consumers ". The Piemunto brand was a real novelty that, as we have seen, was a school. The origin labeling that guarantees the regional supply chain means certain controls, producers, processors and distributors that are committed to protecting the consumer through the transparency of the information protected by the brand. In order to expand the verification activities on the correct use of the brand and the origin of the product, the Piedmont Region has signed a collaboration agreement with the control structures of the Ministry of Agriculture operating in Piedmont. The "Piemunto" initiative also aims to provide producers with a promotional tool that can help the Piedmont milk and cheese market in practice, a territory in which 35% of milk is harvested and mostly processed by agri-food cooperatives. Precisely because of this transparency that meets the demands of consumers, dairy products with the Piemunto brand have been adopted by large retailers. "Thanks to the recognizability of the brand, placed in more than 100 Carrefour stores in Piedmont, over 170 “Piemunto” products have recorded an increase in sales at the Carrefour sales points of 10% in one year, with a peak of + 46% - explains Marco Selmo, Head of Free Service Products, Carrefour Italy - The success of Piemunto is the demonstration of how the modern consumer is informed and attentive to the enhancement of the supply chain. Like Carrefour Italia, we strongly believe in the value of transparency and information which, thanks to Piemunto, becomes a driving force for an effective contribution to the economic fabric of the territory which, through the growth of local producers, has the possibility of keeping traditions and excellence alive ”. Nova Coop, the leading consumer cooperative in the large-scale retail trade, has also joined the campaign in favor of Piedmontese "Piemunto" milk, offering members and consumers the opportunity to purchase in its 62 stores the products identified on the shelves with the logo of the initiative. Nova Coop makes the products that adhere to the “Piemunto” brand recognizable to consumers in the Lombard points of sale in Castano, Luino and Tradate. "The accession of Nova Coop, due to its specific vocation within the GDO - states the president of Legacoop Piemonte Giancarlo Gonella - The partner and consumer who visits the Coop stores can easily find the products of the suppliers that adhere to the initiative of the Piedmont Region through the "Piemunto" Logo. The decision to join the “Piemunto” project is well integrated with Coop's attention to autochthonous products, just think of the success of the “Ortoqui” project, dedicated instead to the typical and local fruit and vegetable productions of the North West area ”. In Nova Coop supermarkets and hypermarkets, there are 15 suppliers that have joined "Piemunto" and 9 are those present in all stores, with 261 products, of which 137 packaged and 124 at the cutting table, including some proposals already present in the excellent selection of Coop Fiorfiore, like the Toma di Maccagno. The consumer can therefore choose between 88 mature cheeses and 43 types of yoghurt produced starting from 40 different milk derivations.
