Carefully selected pork thighs and sea salt: these are the only two ingredients provided for by the Specification for the production of Prosciutto di San Daniele. However, a third, intangible yet crucial, ingredient is added to these, which gives San Daniele PDO its unique characteristics. The microclimate of San Daniele del Friuli. The Friulan town is situated in a unique environment: here the breezes that rise from the Adriatic Sea meet the winds blowing down from the Carnic Alps in a territory lapped by the waters of the Tagliamento river which act as a natural thermoregulator. It is precisely the presence of the river, and the climate related to it, that prove to be the important element for ageing Prosciutto di San Daniele.
This explains why the Prosciutto di San Daniele Consortium has the enhancement and protection of San Daniele del Friuli, including the Tagliamento river, at its heart; in order to safeguard its intrinsic environmental value and the unique factors that enable the ageing of San Daniele PDO. Nowadays, within the entire agri-food system, it has become crucial to drastically cut the use of pesticides, antimicrobials, and chemical fertilisers: this is essential to preserve nature and biodiversity and, at the same time, promote the well-being of animals and people. Therefore, to protect Prosciutto di San Daniele it is crucial to mitigate the natural, atmospheric and climatic changes.
The Consortium is always defending the natural elements and the fragile ecosystem created by the Tagliamento, defending it against those actions and works that could have an environmental impact capable of altering the entire territory’s health, in continuous dialogue with the communities and bodies. Again in 2005, the Consortium financed a specific study to oppose the construction of expansion boxes, whilst in 2018 and 2021 it expressed its opposition to the creation of dams and lamination along the river.
