QUALITALY

DIC. GEN. 2017

XIII

second courses and they allow to keep

the price/portion ratio under control.

But they have long preparation times.

If they are fresh, you have to take into

account the time to shell them and

also that they are not always available.

If they are dried, the problem is the

soaking time. In both cases, cooking

times can be rather long.

Canned legumes (and more generally

all canned greens) can be a viable

alternative. “These are vegetables

preserved in a light pickling liquid

(with about 1% salt) - explains

Silvia Galeazzi, marketing manager

at Conserve Italia, the supplier

for Cooperativa Italiana Catering

of Qualitaly products -, also

called preserving liquid. They are

preserved in cans thanks to the use

of heat, with a sterilizing treatment

that kills bacteria and germs that

could be present in the vegetables”.

STARTING FROM FRESH OR DRIED

PRODUCTS

Maurizio Davide, quality engineering

manager of the company, explains

the production process. “The

first thing is to prepare the raw

ingredients, that can be fresh or

dehydrated (dried). Starting from the

fresh products harvested on the field,

after reception in the plant, there

are various steps to take: cleaning,

ventilation to take off leaves and

green residues, washing using

drinking water, stoning, separation

through vibration, electronical

classification, calibration and further

electronical classification.

For dehydrated raw ingredients,

some of these operations are not

necessary because the vegetables

arrive at reception already cleaned

and calibrated, but they needs

appropriate time to rehydrate before

being processed. After ventilation, the

product is floated to the rehydration

tanks where it is kept for a few hours

before being electronically selected”.

Each raw material is identified by

a product specification which is

part of the supply contract signed

by the supplier. It describes and

quantifies the characteristics and the

main qualitative parameters that the

vegetable must have and it also defines

aspects such as OGM absence and the

remaining quantity of chemicals using

in the growing process.

Many of the raw ingredients

(sweetcorn, peas, beans, greenbeans,

cheakpeas) are provided by member

producers and grown near the

processing plants. The supply chain

is very short. For products that are

not grown in our country or that

are grown in very small quantities

(cannellini beans, Spanish white

beans, etc.) the raw products,

generally dried, are bought abroad

from specialized companies that must

comply to specific supply regulations.

Products arrive from the Americas

(Argentina, the USa, Canada, Mexico),

a few countries in Central Europe

(Poland, Hungary) and Turkey.

The real processing, which includes

canning and sterilizing, begins

with blanching, which is a thermal

treatment in hot water (80-90 C) to

extract the air from the vegetable

tissues and to help a variation of

consistency. After this, foreign

materials are disposed of and

after a manual selection, done by

experienced staff, the vegetable is

canned and topped with preserving

liquid. After cans are sealed and

coded, they are sterilized with a

thermic treatment under steam

pressure at a temperature of 121 °C

for about 20 minutes. During the

process, there are various control

checks. The finished products have a

minimum shelf life of four years.

The Qualitaly range includes Borlotti

Beans, Cannellini Beans, Spanish White

Beans, Peas, Greenbeans and Sweetcorn

in 3kg jars. Giorgio Frigo at Cooperativa

Italiana Catering comments: “These are

the products that chefs use the most.

We chose Conserve Italia as our partner

because it is one of the main producers

in the sector, but also because it is a

Cooperative, just as we are”.

AT PAGE 30

IN THE CUPBOARD

Mortadella Bologna,

all the taste in one

slice

Bedeschi Salumi, a historical

‘salumificio’ in Emilia, is the

Mortadella Bologna PGI (Protcted

Geographical Indication) for the

Qualitaly label

By Elena Consonni

People who think that production

regulations are a modern invention

ignore the history of the Mortadella

Bologna. This salami originated in

the XVI century and it was given

the name Bologna by Cardinal

Farnese, who published in 1661 an

announcement where he coded the

production of the salami.

This aniticipated the modern

regulations, that limit its production

to Emilia Romagna, Piedmont,

Lombardy, Veneto, the Province of

Trento, Tuscany, Marche and Lazio.

The regulations describe the product

in detail: the ingredients that can be

used to make it, the process to make

it, the characteristics of the finished

product and its packaging.

All these characteristics belong to

the Qualitaly Mortadella Bologna

Pgi, produced by Badeschi Salumi, a

historical ‘salumificio’ founded in 1964

in Vigarano Mainarda (FE). Its original