Elisa Pedrazzoli
‘If raw material is not optimal, it is impossible to get a perfect product, just as we want it’. This is the winning thought expressed by the holders of the Salumificio Pedrazzoli, a family business which produces cold cuts at San Giovanni del Dosso (in the province of Mantua). This company has acted for 60 years according to the principle of full transparency, and today it is a leader in the production of organic cold cuts, in addition to the line of traditional sausages.
Pedrazzoli family’s evolution led them from being farmers and slaughterers to become transformers. They work according a closed-loop supply chain, with their own pig-farming which provides genuine and 100% Italian raw material, respecting rigorous sanitary standards. These standards are fixed by the criteria of HACCP, as well as the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Certifications, IFS, and FS 22000. Their goal consists in proposing an exclusive, craft, wholesome, and traditional product, reinventing the ancient recipes of the land of Mantua.
Tradizionale, Q +, and Primavera Lines
Mauro Pedrazzoli
The President Mauro Pedrazzoli leads the company. His cousin Stefano, their respective wives, and his son Emanuele and his daughter Elisa cooperate with him. Approximately 19 thousand pigs are raised, slaughtered, and processed every year - 11 thousand for conventional production and 8 thousand for the organic one – for an annual production of 25,500 tons of meat. Fully traceable products are realized, most of which with a reduced salt intake and free of preservatives, flour, and chemical additives. The production is divided into: fresh meat and such processed fresh products as sausages, ‘cotechino’, and cold cuts: salami, bacon, coppa, lard from pig’s cheek, ham, mortadella, baked goods, and cooked gastronomic specialties. Three lines are produced. They include about forty products for coeliacs, too:
- the ‘Salumificio Pedrazzoli’ Line, also called conventional or traditional, divided in ‘I Tipici’, ‘I Classici’, ‘Le Specialità’, ‘Le Pancette’, ‘I Cotti’, ‘Le Mortadelle’, ‘I Crudi’, ‘I Ricorrenza’, and ‘I Freschissimi’;
- the Q + Line includes nine extra-selected products, whose names are a tribute to the wet places of the Po Valley and its rural tradition;
- the ‘Primavera’ Line, the first range of meats from organic farming in Italy.
Emanuele Pedrazzoli
More and More Export
Elisa Pedrazzoli, Responsible for Foreign Trade, explains: «Our strength is just our entirely organic line of cold cuts. We started it in 1996. At that time, this decision was daring and in the forefront, and most operators thought it was against the general trend. It has required substantial investments and it has been made possible by a rather far-sighted entrepreneurial vision. We have been among the first ones who believe in organic farming, and this has rewarded us, even on international markets». So, today it is possible to find the organic Pedrazzoli line, which represents about 40% of total company sales, in Germany as well as in France, England, Greece, Denmark, and the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Austria and Sweden, but also in Canada, Japan, Russia, and New Zealand. Elisa specifies: «Export concerns over than half of the proceeds of sales of our seasoned products. The most popular products are salami, mortadella, and row ham, of which the best known is undoubtedly the Parma ham. We want to continue to expand, and we are moving to make sure that all our products may become popular on the markets of United States and Brazil, too. There are also good opportunities in Denmark, where the market is very sensitive to organic and preservative-free products, and we are also planning development projects in some Countries outside the EEC, such as Japan and Russia, where we intend to expand our distribution network».
