The Consortium for the Protection of Liquorice of Calabria PDO - the first in Europe with a double denomination, both for the licorice root and for the extract (the first falls under the spices, the other among the products elaborated for confectionery) - has chosen CSQA as control body.The Licorice di Calabria PDO supply chain involves 15 producers/pickers, 1 primary processing company and 4 transformation companies, with a volume of around 900 tons per year of root certified as PDO.
The licorice groves , both spontaneous and cultivated, cover about 1,300 hectares in the provinces of the Calabrian region and in territories up to 600 meters above sea level.
In 20 years the number of people employed in the collection and processing of liquorice has gone from 100 to 300: an entrepreneurial story of redemption which has found the lever to enhance its peculiarities in the recognition of the PDO.
The incomparable nature of Liquirizia di Calabria PDO is contained in its chemical composition and is conferred by its particular organoleptic properties, which make it a unique product in terms of taste and characteristics.
"All our knowledge of licorice" declares Antonio Massarotto Director of the Consorzio di Tutela Liquirizia di Calabria PDO "is given by man's experience, gained in about 4 centuries of history. Our goal today is to support this knowledge with scientific investigations to improve the product and give greater quality certification to the Liquorice of Calabria PDO". (Source: https://terraevita.edagricole.it/ )