Ricciarelli from Siena and Patata di Bologna get EU laurels

by S. C.

A traditional pastry from Siena and a potato grown around Bologna have become the latest recipients of European Union quality seals, extending Italy's lead in the EU's protected food rankings.

Siena's famed Ricciarelli biscuits, a slim lozenge-shaped dainty that morphed from an original curly creation by a Crusading knight impressed by an Arab sweetmeat, won a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label.

The 'Patata di Bologna' won an even more prestigious Protection Designation of Origin (PDO) certificate to keep it safe from inferior pretenders.