The “Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio” Protected Designation of Origin refers to the fruit of the tomato ecotypes of the Lycopersicon esculentum Mill species, which originally derive from the popular denominations of “Fiaschella”, “Lampadina”, “Patanara”, “Principe Borghese” and “Re Umberto”, traditionally grown on the slopes of the Vesuvius. These have the following distinctive characteristics: indeterminate growth plant; oval or slightly pruniform fruit with a pointed tip and frequent ribbing of the peduncular part; thick skin, the use of hybrids is excluded.
The peculiarities of the “Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio” are the high consistency of its skin, the attachment strength to the peduncle, its high concentration of sugars, acids and other soluble solids that make it a long-life product; none of its organoleptic qualities undergoes alterations. These peculiarities are linked to the pedoclimatic factors that are typical of the geographical area in which the tomato is grown, where the soils, of volcanic origin, are made of pyroclastic material originating from the eruptive events of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex.
The designations must be defended and protected by enhancing the work of the whole supply chain that operates in compliance with the Regulations, while ensuring the authenticity of the purchases made by the final consumer.
To this end, the Consortium, together with the Bodies recognised by MIPAAF, carries out an important control activity on the protected designation of origin to raise awareness and direct the supply chain to respect the production rules, to which the producers themselves, by their own will, have decided to submit.
The authorised certification body is the company called Agroqualità – website: www.agroqualita.it.
With predetermined control plans and annual checks on the compliance with the production regulations, Agroqualità carries out systematic checks during the production phase in the fields, and follows the phases of harvesting, storage, processing and packaging of the protected product.