In Spain we can also pride ourselves on our wealth of great agri-food products with some meats with PGI. Although most of the time they go unnoticed by the consumer. The one who goes to the supermarket or the Butcher shop of your neighborhood in search of simply some meat cut for your recipes. Clients rarely stop to identify the the origin or the product label. But the pieces with the hallmark have more story to tell. Do you want to discover it?
Food quality and awareness
First of all, it should be remembered that the seal of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) is granted by the European Union for those products whose quality is differentiated. Why? Well, in large part because they are linked to a territory and this aspect gives them some own qualities or characteristics, distinctive of foods from other areas. These particularities are strictly controlled as a guarantee and guarantee for the market.
But the key to knowing what you buy is even further back, in that exact origin of the food. Two good examples that it is necessary to better value each choice of a meat product are the Galician beef and lamb from Aragon. These two meats with PGI They represent a cattle work that has been maintained for centuries.
Because, in a traditional way, cattle and sheep farming it has supported many families in rural settings. Some that have dedicated themselves with great effort, care and even patience to obtain exceptional meat pieces. In addition, since they earned the European distinction with that seal, they have always maintained respect for the specification set by the Regulatory Council. It offers the guarantee of that quality.
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In summary, the meats with PGI They are not just any, but behind them there is much more than a mere product. There are the well cared for animals, the ranchers who make a living from them and, ultimately, the rural development from many regions. This is important that you know so that the next time you go to buy you act with food awareness, knowing how you are helping to energize an important sector.
Stories behind these PGI meats
To go even deeper into who is behind these different meat products, worthy of knowing and enjoying at the table, here are some stories from farmers. Those who with their daily work bring to the market select meats with PGI. Both in Galicia and Aragon, cows and lambs offer a magnificent raw material that later seduces the most exquisite meat lovers.
The usefulness of grazing
Alberto Riba is a 44-year-old Aragonese farmer who continues with the pastoral tradition of his family, always attached to the PGI lamb from Aragon. A seal that he considers very important so that “a lamb that does not have the maximum guarantees for the consumer never reaches the market”. The traceability 100% controlled is an endorsement that is corroborated by "very exhaustive" controls.
Together with his wife, Riba takes care of a herd of 600 sheep in the mountainous region of Matarraña (Teruel). In addition, he was one of the founders of a cooperative that today groups together more than 700 pastors. But beyond producing such quality meat, the work of utility of grazing:
«In winter we clean the edges of fields, fallen pines ... If we don't do it, nobody does it. Then in spring we cut grass and in summer we collect straw to feed the animals in winter. They always come first.
"Added value to meat"
For its part, Angel Santos is a 40-year-old rancher who for just seven years has been running a business dedicated to beef with his mother in the town of Cold (Lugo). Although he studied to be an administrator, he opted to work in animal exploitation, following in the footsteps of his grandparents. In total, it has 70 head of cattle that graze on the 50 hectares where he grazes every day with also some 40 calves. "First we take them to suckle and then we spend the night with the cattle grazing in the open air," he says.
This pastor believes that the seal of Galician Veal PGI «Brings a valor added to meat and that difference is noticeable. For this reason, from Gastronomic Information we also encourage you to consume this type of product. You are not only paying for an exquisite food, but you are helping the traditional pastoral activity not disappear. Purchase meats with PGI, enjoy the quality.
