Overview: Italy is experiencing extreme heat. Social media reports suggest significant effects on Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production and the regional bank storing cheese wheels as loan collateral. However, these claims are misleading.
Cheese Production:
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is produced under strict guidelines in Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. Dairy cattle supply the milk, eating locally grown forage. Aging lasts a minimum of 12 months, extending to 24, 36, or 40 months.
Collateral Storage:
Some banks accept cheese wheels as loan collateral during aging. Credito Emiliano S.p.A’s Magazini Generali delle Tagliate (MGT) is the largest, operating since 1953.
Claim:
Social media reports suggest extreme heat threatens Parmigiano Reggiano and cheese banks storing the cheese as collateral.
Fact: Cheese wheels are stored in cool conditions, aging well amid the heat. MGT, storing 500,000 wheels worth €300 million ($350 million), confirms operations are stable.
Energy Consumption:
Giancarlo Ravanetti, MGT’s general manager, reports a 30% rise in energy use to maintain cool storage. He assures neither cheese nor operations face risk from temperatures nearing 40°C (104°F).
Warehouses continue normal operations, ensuring optimal aging conditions for cheese. Long-term risks are not anticipated, even if heat persists.
Efficiency Investments:
Over several years, MGT improved energy efficiency. They replaced refrigeration with high-efficiency units, enhanced thermal insulation, and installed photovoltaic systems at both warehouses, totaling 1.5 MW in capacity.
Production Challenges:
The Parmigiano Reggiano consortium highlights heatwaves as a challenge affecting milk production, potentially reducing yields by 10%. Nonetheless, production remains stable.
Cows primarily eat preserved forage, ensuring supply during droughts. 70% of milk farms use fans, water systems, and environmental monitors for cow comfort. Cooler hilly and mountain areas supply the rest.
Thus, despite the extreme heat, Parmigiano Reggiano production and cheese bank operations are unaffected.
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