“It will be an important edition for the historic regional event that features Venetian, Italian and international dairy products. Caseus has been the promotional showcase for our DOP cheeses for twenty years , from Asiago to Provolone Valpadana, a symbol of Venetian agri-food excellence throughout the world. Just think that the economic impact of DOP IGP in the North-East is worth over 11 billion euros and Veneto, with 89 recognized and certified products in the food and wine sector, leads the national ranking for economic value with 4.84 billion euros . Numbers that demonstrate the power developed by the DOP economy , which is the result of non-delocalizable supply chains and the expression of a collective heritage of environmental, historical and cultural factors”.
This is how the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia , presented the twentieth edition of Caseus , scheduled for 5 and 6 October in Piazzola sul Brenta, at Villa Contarini, with over 500 competing cheeses, 145 exhibitors, 111 meeting opportunities and the Festival of Venetian DOPs.
Present at the press conference were the organizers of the event, the president and the director of the Regional Association of Milk Producers of Veneto, the Regional Council with the Councilor for Agriculture, Federico Caner , who recalled the impact of the milk supply chain.
“We know exactly where every liter of Veneto milk comes from and we have reduced the use of antibiotics thanks to the Platelet Lysate, a process used to treat mastitis in dairy cows. By doing this treatment we have already achieved the objectives set by the European Union, which set a 50% reduction in the use of antibiotics in animal care by 2030,” Caner emphasized . “So, this quality, good and safe milk is transformed into cheeses of absolute excellence that add to the records of wine, with 14 Docg, 29 Doc and 10 Igt: all ambassadors of the territory’s identity and that represent a whole with the regional tourist offer.”
Veneto Agricoltura will also be present at the event, with the regional stand “Casa Veneto”, together with CSQA, Bioagro, Intermizoo, the PPL Consortium (Small Local Productions) of Veneto and the Academy of Truffles in the World.
The event will start with traditional cheesemaking on a wood fire to create “La forma del Presidente”, which will be aged and then brought to Vinitaly 2025 for tasting. The cheese that will be produced this year is “Il Marcesina”, a unique cheese made with a mixture of indigenous ferments and milk starters selected by Bioagro specifically to characterize a product linked to a specific territory (the Marcesina plain), which enjoys a unique microclimate (it is a very cold place despite the not very high altitude, due to the particular position and conformation of the territory) which determines a pasture different from all the others. In addition, a truffle-flavored cheese will be created by Bioagro and the Academy of Truffles in the World.
During the event, a protocol will be signed between the Veneto Region and the Veneto Chefs Union , to develop a collaboration in the tourism/restaurant and food and wine-cultural sector that will have as its objective the promotion of the product-territory binomial and the valorization of young professionals.
New this year will be the lessons for children on the Cheesemaking of organic Cansiglio milk into fresh cheese, organized by Veneto Agricoltura with the support of the Cheesemaker of the Year 2023, Irene Piazza.
Source: Veneto Region