Beyond timber: Italian truffles achieve PEFC certification
White truffles from Muzzana del Turgnano, a small town in Northern Italy between Trieste and Udine, have become the world's first truffles to obtain PEFC certification.
Beyond timber: Italian truffles achieve PEFC certification
24 January 2012 News
White truffles from Muzzana del Turgnano, a small town in Northern Italy between Trieste and Udine, have become the world's first truffles to obtain PEFC certification.
"While the main focus of PEFC as the world's largest forest certification system is promoting sustainable forest management and certified timber, the importance of certified so-called 'non-timber forest products' cannot be underestimated," said Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italy. "These products often represent a significant source of income for rural communities (all over the world) and are an integral part of local people's lives. In addition help in increasing their connection to the forest, that is certified for its sustainable management : this certification of one of its products will help them in comunicating their territory and natural resources, enhancing the value for tourism and hospitality activities."
"Furthermore, non-wood forest products allow us to better inform the public about the benefits of certification as people can relate more to forest derived products such as truffles, essential oils, mushrooms and even beer - products that they can experience with all of their senses. Timber products such as wooden beams, paper, or furniture tend to be of a more 'functional' nature and therefore do not convey the message of sustainability that well," Mr. Brunori continued.
The truffles are harvested by-hand in the region's PEFC-certified "Baredi Forest" - covering over 160 hectares of communal land. The Muzzana white truffle boasts a unique odour and is considered to be very tasty and of high value to chefs everywhere, and has a retail value of around €3,000 per kilo.
Certification of the truffles was pioneered by the "Associazione Muzzana Amatori Tartufi" (Muzzana Amateur Truffle Association) and involves a system that assigns 'barcodes' to each and every truffle harvested on behalf of the association. In addition to originating from PEFC-certified forests, this system also ensures that the truffles come from local forests, namely the Baredi Forest.
"The white truffle is the most valued of all underground fungi and represents a great example of the value that non-wood forest resources offer to local communities," said Enore Casanova, President of PEFC Friuli-Venezia Giulia. "Only local people with the required skills and experience in harvesting are allowed to pick these certified truffles, and we are very proud to have harvested the first PEFC-certified truffles in the world."