CSQA Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI

Recognition as a bottler of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is the qualification that authorizes an operator to package this product by affixing the PGI logo on the label. It is not obtained by a simple registration: it requires enrollment in the list of operators recognized by the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, passing the checks provided for in the control plan and undergoing periodic audits by the designated certification body-in this case CSQA Certificazioni Srl.

The term “bottler” is the technical name in the specification for the person who fills, seals and labels the finished product-regardless of the container format. Thus, the recognition applies to traditional bottle packaging as well as to single-serving formats: sachets, stick packs, doypacks. The specification rules are the same for any format: the packaging technology changes, not the compliance requirements.

The production specification

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is a Protected Geographical Indication recognized by the European Union under EC Reg. 583/2009. The product specification – updated by Provision of April 13, 2023, published in Official Gazette No. 92/2023 – analytically defines every aspect of the product: the type of grape must allowed, proportions with aged wine vinegar, physicochemical parameters (acidity, relative density, net dry extract), organoleptic profile, and geographic requirements for each stage of production.

Packaging must take place in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia-the same provinces where the product is produced and aged. San Prospero (MO) falls within the geographical area specified in the specification. The packaging site identification number – 228181 – appears on the label next to the PGI logo and is publicly verifiable at the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

The control plan DPC030 and CSQA

The DPC030 control plan-drafted by the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture-defines the methods and frequency of checks to which all recognized operators are subject: producers, processors and bottlers. The verifications concern the traceability of raw materials, production and packaging records, product conformity to the parameters of the specifications, and the correctness of labeling.

Certification body and recognition data

The recognition as PGI bottler was resolved by the Certification Executive Committee of CSQA Certificazioni Srl on 04/11/2024, to take over the role previously held by the operator Italpak for the same packaging site. CSQA Certificazioni Srl – headquartered in Thiene (VI) – is one of the most authoritative agrifood certification bodies in Italy, active in the control of numerous Italian and European PDOs and PGIs, accredited by ACCREDIA with PRD N° 014B recognition. It is the same body that issued for the San Prospero plant the FSSC 22000 and UNI EN ISO 22000:2018 certifications, guaranteeing a single interlocutor on several certification areas.

Recognition is verifiable at the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and in CSQA records at csqa.it/companies-certified.

Purpose of recognition

Recognition is granted for the San Prospero (MO) production unit for the following role, in accordance with the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI Production Specification and Control Plan DPC030:

Bottler – packaging of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI. Packaging site number: 228181.

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