Carne Salada del Trentino PGI

The European Commission has registered the protected geographical indication ‘Carne Salada del Trentino PGI’ in the Register of geographical indications of the European Union, with implementing regulation (EU) 2025/1993.

Over 500 years of tradition

Carne Salada is a typical product of Trentino gastronomic tradition, whose origins date back to the 15th century. The first documentary evidence is found in ancient cookery texts and city statutes, which describe methods of preservation of beef by means of salting and seasoning, techniques necessary in a mountainous territory with harsh winters and limited availability of natural or modern refrigerators.

One of the best known references is De Arte Coquinaria (circa 1470) by Maestro Martino da Como, a Renaissance cook working in Venice, where the practice of salting and flavoring meat from alpine areas was already widespread.

Later registers and administrative documents from Trentino of the 17th and 18th centuries refer to 'carne salada' or 'carni salate', confirming its spread as a preservation method and as a prized food for nobles and merchants.

Social and economic role

Food reserve

Carne Salada was born in the valleys of Trentino, where cattle breeding was predominant. Cows were raised both for milk and for meat, and the adult cattle with developed musculature provided substantial cuts, ideal for preservation by salting. Thanks to this method, Carne Salada represented a durable and nutritious food, essential to face the long mountain winters and guarantee families a stable supply of quality proteins.

Barter goods

Besides its role as a food reserve, Carne Salada had a strategic role in trade. Its ability to preserve itself for a long time allowed the sale or the exchange with other regions Italian and the Tyrol area, enabling the inhabitants of Trentino to obtain goods not locally available, such as spices, fabrics, or tools. This exchange also strengthened the reputation of the product, transforming Carne Salada into a symbol of gastronomic excellence and cultural identity of the region.

Modern evolution

During the 20th century, the production of Carne Salada maintained traditional salting and curing methods but progressively organized into groups of producers Trentinian cured meat producers to ensure quality, traceability, and recognition of the product's historical and cultural values.

With official registration to the PGI in 2025, Carne Salada del Trentino consolidated its reputation not only as a traditional product but also as a excellence recognized at the European level, linking ancient preservation practices with modern quality, safety, and territorial enhancement regulations.

Carne Salada del Trentino PGI: production regulations

The food products designated as ‘Carne Salada del Trentino’ must necessarily:

• be produced by producers registered with the protection consortium of the homonymous PGI; as well as

• comply with the specifications described in the dedicated disciplinary below.

Denomination

The Protected Geographical Indication «Carne Salada del Trentino» is reserved for the product that meets the conditions and requirements established in this specification.

Product characteristics

Carne Salada del Trentino is a cured meat obtained from beef, processed in cuts top round, hip tip, bottom round, and eye round, flavored and left to mature in brine according to specific methods.

At sale, the product must have the following characteristics:

• shape: (a) whole with a shape recalling the profile of the cut, resulting irregular, oblong or tapered; (b) pressed in casing or elastic net, cylindrical or parallelepiped shape; (c) portionedwith a shape variable depending on the cut, also cylindrical or parallelepiped in the presence of pressing; (d) pre-sliced in slices of regular shape, excluding the initial/final portions of the cut used;

• weight: the whole or portioned product weighs from 0.2 kg to 6.0 kg;

• consistency: firm, compact, not flaccid, with moderate resistance to chewing;

• appearance on cutting: uniform ruby red color, with possible dark red shades near the outer surface; white streaks due to fat infiltrations are allowed;

• delicate aroma, characteristic.

• taste moderately savory, with a note of mature meat;

• aroma slightly spicy.

• chemical characteristics: maximum moisture 73.50%; minimum protein 20.50%; maximum sodium chloride (NaCl) 4.00%; maximum fat 7%; pH: minimum 4.6.

Production area

The production area – that is, the transformation of fresh beef – coincides with the entire territory of Autonomous Province of Trento, excluding the municipalities of Castello Tesino, Cinte Tesino and Pieve Tesino.

The origin of the raw material is not mandatory. Producers are therefore free to use beef coming from regions and countries other than Trentino and Italy.

Proof of origin and traceability

The traceability of Carne Salada del Trentino IGP is entrusted to the recording of material flows (input and output) by each operator at every stage of the process.

All operators involved in the production chain (producers, portioners, pre-slicers and packers) must therefore:

• be registered in lists managed by the control body, and

• timely communicate the quantities produced.

All operators are subject to the controls arranged by the Protection Consortium according to the established plan.

Production method

Raw material. Carne Salada del Trentino is obtained from deboned bovine muscle masses (topside, rump, silverside, eye of round), coming from animals aged between 18 and 48 months.

The processing is divided into the following stages:

• trimming: removal of visible fat, intramuscular membranes and external tendinous parts, without making incisions that compromise the uniformity of salting;

• salting, flavoring and maturation: the meat is immersed in brine with salt, pepper and other permitted spices, kept at a controlled temperature (between 0 °C and +7 °C approximately), and left to mature for a minimum period (not less than 15 days). During maturation, manipulations (movements, light pressing) may be performed to promote the uniformity of the brine and aromas;

• subsequent processes (portioning, slicing, packaging) must comply with the product uniformity criteria, ensuring that each portion comes from a single muscle bundle.

Packaging and labeling

The product whole o portioned must be marketed vacuum-packed, the pre-sliced vacuum-packed or in modified atmosphere. In case of sale in the bulk it is instead mandatory to affix a seal that allows traceability and control.

Every label must report, in addition to mandatory information:

• the name «Carne Salada del Trentino»

• the acronym ‘IGP’ or the wording ‘Protected Geographical Indication’

• the European PGI symbol

• the official logo of Carne Salada del Trentino PGI bearing the acronym ‘CS’ a silhouette of a bovine head and a mountain peaks background, blue on white background.

In presentation, labeling, and advertising, it is forbidden to use qualifications not provided by the disciplinary rules, unjustified laudative terms, or indications that may mislead the consumer.

Registration and protections

‘Carne Salada del Trentino PGI’ has been registered in the European Union register of geographical indications by application of the procedure established by the new regulation (EU) 2024/1143, which replaced the previous quality scheme for agricultural products under regulation (EU) 1151/2012.

In the absence of opposition, the registration becomes effective twenty days after the publication of the implementing regulation, that is, on 21 October 2025. From that date, the indication ‘Carne Salada del Trentino’ in the EU is reserved exclusively for products made in full compliance with the PGI disciplinary.

The Consortium of ‘Carne Salada del Trentino IGP’ guarantees traceability, controlled origin, and compliance with the conditions established in the regulation itself, as well as enhancing the related products.

Dario Dongo

Photo courtesy Fratelli Corrà Srl 

References

• Ballerini, L., & Parzen, J. (Eds.). (2005). The art of cooking: The first modern cookery book. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520232718. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Cooking-Cookery-California-Studies/dp/0520232712

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1993 of 25 September 2025 on the registration of the geographical indication Carne Salada del Trentino (PGI) in the Union register of geographical indications pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/1993/oj

• Martino da Como. (ca. 1470). Book of the Art of Cooking (Edoardo Mori, Ed.). Provincial Library of Bolzano. https://www.mori.bz.it/gastronomia/Mastro%20Martino%20-%20Libro%20de%20arte%20coquinaria.pdf

• Autonomous Province of Trento (n.d.). Production regulation — Carne Salada del Trentino IGP. https://www.provincia.tn.it/content/download/23932/423507/file/Disciplinare_’Carne_Salada_del_Trentino’.pdf
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.  http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj