Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Re: Earthquake M 5.9 - NORTHERN ITALY - 2012-05-20 02:03 UTC (EMSC, edited)
Italy earthquake hits parmesan production
Cheese producers near quake's epicentre fear for 300,000 parmesan wheels that crashed to the ground in warehouses
guardian.co.uk, <TIME pubdate="" datetime="2012-05-22T12:29EDT">Tuesday 22 May 2012 12.29 EDT</TIME>
The magnitude 6 earthquake that hit northern Italy at the weekend, killing seven people and toppling historic churches, castles and clock towers, has also taken a huge toll on the country's culinary culture.
Parmesan cheese producers near the quake's epicentre in flat farmland north of Bologna said 300,000 massive wheels of the cheese that were ageing on tall shelves in warehouses crashed to the ground.
"All the shelving toppled over like huge dominoes and only 20 to 30% of my wheels survived unscathed," said Ivano Chezzi, the manager of one facility where 90,000 wheels were aging.
After ageing for 12 to 24 months, three million 40kg parmesan wheels worth almost ?2bn (?1.6bn) are sold each year from the region. Two-thirds of the output stays in Italy, and the rest ? about 40,000 tonnes ? is exported.
"The wheels that fell represent 10% of annual production," said a spokesman for the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium. Half of them might now be lost, he added, costing the business ?80m, including the cost of repairing storage warehouses.
More...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/22/italy-earthquake-hits-parmesan-cheese-production
Italy earthquake hits parmesan production
Cheese producers near quake's epicentre fear for 300,000 parmesan wheels that crashed to the ground in warehouses
guardian.co.uk, <TIME pubdate="" datetime="2012-05-22T12:29EDT">Tuesday 22 May 2012 12.29 EDT</TIME>
The magnitude 6 earthquake that hit northern Italy at the weekend, killing seven people and toppling historic churches, castles and clock towers, has also taken a huge toll on the country's culinary culture.
Parmesan cheese producers near the quake's epicentre in flat farmland north of Bologna said 300,000 massive wheels of the cheese that were ageing on tall shelves in warehouses crashed to the ground.
"All the shelving toppled over like huge dominoes and only 20 to 30% of my wheels survived unscathed," said Ivano Chezzi, the manager of one facility where 90,000 wheels were aging.
After ageing for 12 to 24 months, three million 40kg parmesan wheels worth almost ?2bn (?1.6bn) are sold each year from the region. Two-thirds of the output stays in Italy, and the rest ? about 40,000 tonnes ? is exported.
"The wheels that fell represent 10% of annual production," said a spokesman for the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium. Half of them might now be lost, he added, costing the business ?80m, including the cost of repairing storage warehouses.
More...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/22/italy-earthquake-hits-parmesan-cheese-production