{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2020-2018/annex/division-1/division-3/division-3.3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2020-2018/annex/division-1/division-3/division-3.3.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2020/2018",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2018 of 9 December 2020 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle (PDO))",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2020-2018",
  "path": "annex/division/1/division/3/division/3.3",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "3.3",
  "heading": "Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)",
  "text": "Only raw whole cow’s milk, collected over two separate milking sessions, is used to make this cheese. The milk may be thermised or pasteurised.\nThe cheese is made according to the traditional practice of using a whey starter culture.\nThe milk used to make ‘Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle’ comes from herds of cattle belonging to the Bruna [Brown], Frisona [Friesian], Pezzata Rossa [Red Pied] or Jersey breeds and crosses thereof, where at least 60 % of the total dry matter fed to the dairy cows is grass and/or hay from meadows offering a wide variety of vegetation.\nThe cows’ diet may also include cereal-based (maize, barley, wheat, oats) and legume-based (soya, broad beans, field beans, field peas) concentrates, meal or flakes, which may also be administered as complementary feed. Carob and cereal processing by-products – common wheat bran and middlings, durum wheat middlings – can also be used, provided that they do not exceed 40 % of dry matter. Finally, the cows’ diet can be supplemented with vitamin and mineral complexes.\nTo avoid compromising the quality characteristics conferred on ‘Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle’ by its link with the local area, at least 60 % of the products used to feed the cows must come from the area described in point 4. This percentage requirement is met using grass and/or hay from meadows located within the identified area. It is the portion of the feed which is associated with digestible fibre, broadly defined as ‘forage’ (grass and/or hay, pasture, etc.), and it has a major impact on the chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the milk.\nGiven its geographical, soil and climate conditions, the geographical area has never been – and will never be – suitable for growing cereals such as maize or oilseed crops such as soya from which to obtain protein feedstuffs. As it is not possible to substitute these feedstuffs with high-quality fodder from within the area, the use of complementary concentrates and feedstuffs from outside it must be allowed. These products are easily broken down and dissolved in the rumen (grain size smaller than 0,8 cm – i.e. incapable of stimulating ruminal contractions) so they provide energy (mainly from reserve carbohydrates such as starch) and readily available protein for the rumen microbiome. However, as their role is limited to the physiological function of supporting the microbiome, they have no impact at all on the properties of the milk or of the ‘Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle’. Therefore, it is the compulsory grazing for the time it is actually possible (150 days), and the diet rich in fodder produced in the area, which are the aspects of the diet that help determine the chemical and sensorial properties of the raw material and of the finished product. These are therefore two fundamental elements linking the raw material, the finished product and the territory.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2020/2018/annex/division/1/division/3/division/3.3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:42:15.013316+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}