The cows employed for IGP meat production have to meet  certain conditions and requirements established in a suitable Disciplinary according to laws written in the 2081/92 EC (European Community) Rule. 

Specifically the meat is produced by Chianina, Marchigiana and Romagnola breeds between 12 and 24 months old cows. The cattle must be born in Italia in cattle-breeding registered in the National Genealogic Book so to verify the pureness of breed.

Every animal must be identified according to what is previewed by the existing Rule. The Production Disciplinary previews that animals 

must be naturally milked until the weaning eve. 

Afterwards the food basis must concern fresh fodder or even preserved and coming from herbaceous growings typical of the growing area (Central Appennini) inside which the fatting phase and eventually the butchering must happen.

The cattle destined to meat production is checked up before butchering by expert people suitably trained by C.C.B.I. and working to care and export the brandmark. 

Those expert people even brand the “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” (White Veal from Central Appennini) in order to grant the acknowledgement during every phase of dealing out. The meat is sold in cuts or in sealed boxes and always in agreed shops. Those engage themeselves in keeping the “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” meats separated from the others and voluntarily subject themselves to further important check-ups. Only those shops can show the “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” brand mark. 

Every shop must show even the copy of Check Paper in order to have the information available for consumers.

The inspection for the right application of the Production DIsciplinary of “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” is done by the Ministery for Agricultural and Wood Policy that previewed a third Check commission in order to have the controls independent and on time: that is the 3A-PTA 

Technological and Agri-food Park of Umbria (Parco Tecnologico Agroalimentare dell’Umbria).

The A.N.A.B.I.C. is the National Association of Italian Meat Cows Growers (Associazione Nazionale degli Allevatori di Bovini Italiani da Carne). It was founded in 1961 

and legally acknowledged in 1966, it was born with the aim of promoting and applying all those procedures of amelioration, increasing and diffusion of Italian native cow breeds: Marchigiana, Chianina, Romagnola, Maremmana and Podolica. The ANABIC was created by the meeting of the single National Breeds Association, has achieved their own know-hows about selection and  instituted the original National Genealogic Book of Italian Meat Cow-Breeds. 

The main activity of genetic amelioration is placed by teh Association side by side to various promotional events, the editing and dealing out of Specialized press, the collaboration in research and experimentation programs, with qualified State Organizations and Universities Institutions, the technical assistance to foreign operators interested in the growing of Italian Breeds. 

Thea seat of ANABIC lays in  S.Martino in Colle, in the quiet Umbrian countryside only 8 km far from Perugia city. 

Italian Cows for meat production

The Italian meat Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Maremmana and Podolica cow breeds as descendant from a unique original stock are spread over the whole Italian “boot”, mainly in the Centre-Southern regions. 

The farms that follow the Cow-Veal line are small or medium sized and placed mainly in hill and mountainside areas. Now the native breeds count 120.000 head of cattle in selection as a whole. 

Their excellent productive and reproductive features, the excellent meat quality made them famous all over the world, where they are successfully grown both in pureness and cross-breed.

The specialized breeds

Marchigiana, Chianina e Romagnola breeds were used in the past to work in the fields and  for many year they have been selected for meat production. 

Thatspecialization appears clear if you look at their own somatic conformation.

The muscleness is very developed in every body part above all in the rear side rich in precious cuts. 

The trunk is cilindric, well developed in its largeness, length and depth. 

The skeleton is solid and light, the yoke is reduced and the skin is thin; all that means very high meat  productivity. The excellent conformation goes well with other precious features such as birth ease, the vitality of veals, the good mother attitude and precocity.

The National Genealogic Book 

with the control stations is the fundamental instrument for theamelioration of cattle breed; it is articulated in five sections, one per each breed. 

It gathers the personal, genealogical, morphological, productive and reproductive data of selected cows  in informatic archives. 

Those pieces of information, besides being used for genalogic certification aims, contribute to determine the genetic value of reproducers, they allow to set suitable mating plans and to provide growers with all the useful pieces of information to ameliorate their own cattle breeds.

The Central Bureau of the Book work care off the Association, with functions of coordination and control  of the work done by the Province Offices placed by the APA and spread over the whole national territory.

The hypertrophic line

Since 1993, in the origina land of Marchigiana breed some samples with muscle hypertrophy have been found. 

That marker that was already detected eversince the last century in several cow meat breeds, mainly shows itself by a muscle development much higher than the normal samples, thus causing an important increase of meat production.

As it is a rather complex marker, whose transmission mode is not wholly clear yet an experimental  project has been started previewing the constitution of a group of hypertrophic cows and the further attentive evaluation of their prductive and reproductive performances. On the basis of those results you can define the most necessary ways of use of that new genetic type. 

The Chianina Breed

It is a very ancient breed whose origin dates back to umbrian-etruscan origin, the Chianina breed has been grown up for over 22 centuries in Umbria, Toscana and Lazio regions.

The mantle is porcelain white, with a slate skin and black pigments in his natural holes. The head is light, expressive with short horns; the trunk is long and cylindrical with his back and loins wide and thick, wide and horizontal back, thigh and buttock ar long and convex, the skeleton is solid and light and correct perpendicularity. The veal bears out fromentin and its mantle becomes the typical of the breed as the veal is 3-4 months old. 

The breed is famous for its somatic giantism and spontaneously gives birth to veals that reach even 50 kg thanks to its typical dolicomorphic structure. 

The cows weigh about 8-9 quintals and often reach the 10 q. The most famous Chianini bulls were even very large sized, up to 17 quintals of weight and 2 meters high to the withers. 

The growth of the best samples can get over the 2 kilos per day. 

The ideal butchering weight is 6,5 or 7 quintals as they are 16-18 months old with a 64-65% productivity rate.

The meats are famous for their exquisiteness and the favourable nutrition features. 

The growings registered in L.G. are 805 corresponding up to an amount of 31.000 head verified.

The growing capabilities

are very high and similar to the Chianina and Marchigiana ones. 

The cows weigh between 6 and 9 quintals and adult males between 12-15 kg. 

The butchering is practiced at a 6,5-7 quintals weight as the samples are 16-18 months old with 62-63% medium productivity rates.