The position of professionals responsible for the technical management of the mill was made official by Apulia with the institution of the Regional Register of Master Millers.
The Regional Council of Apulia established a Register of Master Millers, which will be “an instrument of promotion and guarantee for companies and consumers,” as the president of the Apulian Millers Association (AFP), Stefano Caroli told Olive Oil Times. “It became necessary to formalize the role of a qualified and experienced person, responsible for all the operations carried out in the plant,” he said.
This measure safeguards the manufacture of a product that is not only useful and tasty but also fundamental for our health, and this simple fact makes the role of miller so important.- Stefano Caroli,Apulian Millers Association
In response to the proposal launched by the Department of agri-food resources with the regional law 24 March 2014 n. 9, the decision of the regional board was recently published in the official gazette of Apulia Region, making official the position of professionals “in charge of the technical management of the mill.”
As defined by the bill, the master miller may be the company owner or a delegate who coordinates “the storage room and records management; the milling process; the packaging stage; the management, use and disposal of by-products.” Those who demonstrate through a self-declaration to have carried out these tasks over the last five years can apply for the entry in the register.
Moreover, the Apulia Region will ensure the organization of specific technical and practical training courses, at the end of which participants will obtain a certificate valid for the enrollment. The register is created and maintained by the Apulian regional department of agri-food resources, but millers from all over Italy can apply and be part of it, as the list is in force at the national level.
“Since the approval of the regional law we received a very large number of applications from all areas of the country,” the AFP president affirmed. “We finally accommodated them and granted an extension of 30 days to apply, since the decision was made official during the period of work and most of millers were too busy to finalize their requests,” he added.
Caroli assured the assistance of the AFP to all those who want to enroll in the register, attend the training courses or get information. “This measure safeguards the manufacture of a product that is not only useful and tasty but also fundamental for our health, and this simple fact makes the role of miller so important.”
The new register is seen as an achievement for the Italian Association of Olive Oil Millers (AIFO). “Our association was founded 20 years ago, with the aim of promoting and enhancing the authenticity and quality of Italian extra virgin olive oil, produced with expertise and reliability in the artisanal mills spread throughout the country,” said the president of the AIFO, Piero Gonnelli.
“The register of master millers is an important tool for the development and guarantee of this craft, which is currently carried out by competent people who follow firsthand the whole production process, in order to offer consumers a product of guaranteed quality,” Gonnelli concluded.
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