THE “REAL” FIORENTINA STEAK RETURNS TO ITALIAN DINNER TABLES

The true Fiorentina style steak has finally returned to Italian dinner tables. This is due to a recent decision by the Permanent Committee for food to increase the acceptable age of bovines of which the vertebral cut is used for the steak from 24 to 30 months, which is the age that, according to tradition, is ideal for the Fiorentina.

Confagricoltura, happy to finally close the vicissitude, released the news with a reminder that the saga of this delicacy of a cut (which has always been a part of the Italian cooking tradition) began on February 7, 2001 due to measures that went into effect in response to the BSE crisis.

Discovered initially in Great Britain in 1986, “Mad Cow” disease reached epidemic proportions with a serious threat to public health after a link was made between this disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease, which is found in humans and was diagnosed for the first time in 1996.

In November 2001, the veterinarian committee for the European Union determined it necessary to remove the bone from any meat that came from cows over 12 months of age. Then, on January 1st, 2006, the committee raised the limit from 12 to 24 months.

”Today” – noted Confagricoltura – “that block has been raised to 30 months, returning the situation completely back to normal and awarding the efforts of breeders who, in order to reach this result had to redefine the entire cow breeding process, with particular attention to feeding and to animal health”.