A peasant "poor man's dish," one of the most beloved in the Reggio Emilia tradition. A product passed down through generations, deeply rooted in culture, families, and the identity of communities, as well as local businesses. It's Erbazzone Reggiano, which, after a long process, has officially obtained the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) designation. The procedure for this official recognition was adopted by the EU Commission on March 20 and will be published in the European Official Journal in the coming days.

Emilia-Romagna's already extensive selection of PDO and PGI products has thus grown to 45, confirming Emilia-Romagna as the leading European region for certified quality products.

The process of obtaining Erbazzone recognition began in 2019, when five Reggio Emilia-based companies—Nonna Lea, Fattoria Italia, La Bottega Gastronomica, La Vecchia Resdora, and Big—strongly believed in the project of elevating Erbazzone production to Protected Geographical Indication status. In 2022, they formed the "Associazione Produttori Erbazzone reggiano" (Erbazzone Reggiano Producers Association) to begin the recognition process, with the support and involvement of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

"This is a long-awaited result, one we worked on as a team, and it represents a huge recognition for the Reggio Emilia region, for its producers, and for the entire Emilia-Romagna agri-food system," commented Regional Agriculture Councilor Alessio Mammi at today's press conference. "We're talking about the recognition of a historic recipe, which tradition dates back to the Middle Ages; an everyday food that speaks to the region and its inhabitants. With the Protected Geographical Indication, this economic and cultural heritage will finally be protected and promoted at the European level and can be promoted more forcefully. I want to emphasize," concluded the councilor, "that Emilia-Romagna is known as the Food Valley of Italy, with a value of €3.9 billion for the PDO Economy alone, while its entire agri-food production is worth €37 billion, of which more than €10 billion is exported worldwide."

"This journey has been a long time coming, from a challenge that some Reggio Emilia businesses wanted to undertake to highlight an extraordinary product: protecting it and at the same time promoting it," emphasized Matteo Cugini , vice president of the Reggio Emilia Erbazzone Producers Association. "The PGI is an achievement for the entire region, one we believed in from the very beginning and committed ourselves to achieving, aware of the goodness of Erbazzone, its versatility, and the quality of the raw materials used to prepare it. Today is a day to celebrate, because the Geographical Indication will be the beginning of a new journey, capable of giving greater visibility to the product and its promotion."