Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano

Grana Padano PDO cheese has been a part of Italy's proud gastronomic heritage for nearly 1000 years.  A staple in Italian cuisine, it has become the world's best-selling PDO cheese.

It owes its name to its fine grainy structure, “grana” means “grain” in Italian, and to the production area, the Pianura Padana (Po River Valley) in Northern Italy. This cheese has a mellow, tasty, yet never overpowering, flavour, and can be found aged between 9 months to over 24 months.  It possesses unique nutritional features such as quality proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, especially calcium. It is naturally lactose free due to the characteristics of its production and long ageing process.

• It takes 15 litres of naturally partially skimmed milk to produce 1 kg of Grana Padano 
• 30g of Grana Padano contain the same nutritional value to approximately half a litre of milk (1 pint of milk)
• 50g of Grana Padano provide 600mg of Calcium - 60% of an adult’s RDA

Founded in 1954, the Consortium for the Protection of Grana Padano PDO cheese – Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano – is a non-profit organisation, which brings together producers and curers to protect and promote Grana Padano PDO cheese in the world. It ensures that every wheel of cheese is made according to the Production Specifications so that it can be awarded its PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status and be fire-branded with the Grana Padano mark whilst also protecting it against fraud in Italy and abroad.