Thanks to the milk and dairy sector, Italy is the first in terms of the number of products with a Protected designation of origin. Italy ranks at second in terms of number of cheeses registered in the Community register (49 DOP plus 2 IGP), just after France, which counts 57 of those. However, the comparison with other European countries such as France and Spain cannot be merely numerical, but it must also takes account of the volumes produced. And in this case, the situation is quite different: Italy with more than 524 thousand tons of cheeses produced annually “double” France that produces less than half (231 thousand).
Italian cheeses are therefore more widespread in the tables of Europe. In fact, 7 of the 15 most common Protected designation of origin cheeses in Europe are Italians, in the order Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Pecorino Romano, Asiago and Taleggio which all together account for 90% of total production. Gorgonzola, therefore, is the first blue cheese in Europe.
