Luigi Picerno has been confirmed president of the Consortium for the Valorization and Protection of Altamura DOP Bread. The appointment was made yesterday by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors.

Luigi Picerno, 53, owner of the company “Biscò,” has been elected president of the Consortium for the Enhancement and Protection of Pane di Altamura DOP, unanimously confirmed by the newly elected Board of Directors of the Consortium for the three-year period 2019 – 2021. Joining the president on the board of directors will be the two vice-presidents Giuseppe DiGesù and Giuseppe Creanza.

The other directors elected by the Members’ Meeting held on March 29, 2019 are members Giuseppe Barile, Lucia Forte, Paola Sardone, Vito Cozzoli, Salvatore Martimucci and Sante Giordano.

“I thank all the Consortium members and the newly elected Councilors,” said President Luigi Picerno, “for the trust they have placed in me. Special thanks go to outgoing councilors Vito Forte, Lorenzo Chierico and Nunzio Ninivaggi for their efforts in the previous term. Many things have been done but there are still many activities to be done. The challenges that the new council will face in the coming years,” adds President Picerno, “will focus primarily on four fundamentals: production levels, distinctive quality, global promotion, and uncompromising protection. As it has been until now, we will have to work with increasing effectiveness, capillarity, perseverance and determination because the future of the entire production chain is worth it. This will be the mandate that we will responsibly have to actualize knowing that not only our future but also that of the entire territory will depend on the decisions and strategies we adopt.”

“The goal for the next three years,” Picerno stressed, “will be to consolidate and strengthen the team spirit and consortium action in its distinctive aspects: protection, information and enhancement. In the first place is the protection of the operators who believed from the beginning in the supply chain of the real Pane di Altamura and who still today continue to believe in the DOP project, invest time, work and financial resources in a territorial system strategy. Advocacy activities that will see stronger and more pronounced vigilance against deceptive behavior, including to consumers.”

“Among the programmatic actions of the Consortium,” says President Picerno, “will certainly include the modification and updating of the production specification to better meet the growing needs of consumers and the increasingly demanding market. The Consortium is currently working on the definition of the Altamura Bread supply chain agreement, which is now close to being signed. DOP-certified Altamura bread will continue to be an important factor in the local economy, the history and culture of Altamura and the Alta Murgia region of Puglia, a guarantee of origin and traceability, authenticity and wholesomeness.”

The Director General, Dr. Nicola Lorè, fully illustrated all the information, promotion and protection activities carried out in the year 2018, which marked some records both in terms of the increase in quantities produced and the number of members.

The data will be released in detail in the coming days.

Source: AltamuraLive.it