Citterio for Our Planet: Commitment to Sustainabilit

Citterio For our planet

Quality through tradition, not just in the product itself. Goodness is measured by how it begins. Respect for the environment, sustainability, attention to animal welfare, and care for people and communities are the core values of Citterio.

Environment

We deeply love nature and commit ourselves every day to respecting and protecting it, along with the traditions it carries.

Clean and Renewable Energy

Each origin of our cured meats is a unique and precious land. For this reason, we are working to make our facilities increasingly low environmental impact. An example of this is S. Stefano Ticino, a state-of-the-art production site that focuses on environmental respect and energy savings, thanks to over 4,000 photovoltaic panels covering an area of 20,000 square meters, producing about 1 million kWh per year and reducing CO2 emissions by 600 tons. The use of condensing boilers and high-efficiency systems allows savings of 270,000 cubic meters of methane annually. Additionally, over 600,000 cubic meters of water have been saved thanks to in-depth studies on production processes and the efficiency of every component in the facility. By 2025, there will be more than 5,500 solar panels.

State-of-the-art facilities

Thanks to the use of advanced technologies and tools, we are always striving for maximum energy efficiency in our production sites. Our manufacturing facilities ensure respect for the lands of origin, which is the foundation of the taste and authenticity of all our products.

Packs increasingly more eco-friendly

With the goal of a more eco-sustainable future, we are working to progressively reduce the use of plastic in our packaging. Over the past 10 years, the insulating layer of our packs has seen a weight reduction of up to 24%, while trays have been reduced by 23%. Already today, several product lines use a special packaging that contains 60% less plastic and includes a tray that can be recycled with paper. Thanks to these initiatives, hundreds of tons of plastic are saved each year.
An additional step in this direction involves the Unduetris Merenda line: by 2025, the transition to a more eco-friendly pack will be completed, featuring a top film recyclable with paper and a tray made of over 80% recycled plastic. Our goal is to make the trays fully recyclable in the near future.

Social commitment

Corti Foundation

The Corti Foundation ETS is dedicated to providing essential financial and technical support to St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu, Uganda. For over 55 years, its mission has been to offer accessible care to all, especially to those in greatest need, such as the indigent, people suffering from chronic diseases, and, above all, women and children.

Support the Corti Foundation

Food Bank Lombardy

With over twenty years of collaboration, we are proud to offer our cured meats to the Food Bank of Lombardy. These products support the most disadvantaged through a network of over 1,200 charitable organizations across the Lombardy region. In 2016 alone, more than 1 million trays and several tons of cured meats were donated.

Support the Food Bank

FAI
Italian National Trust (ETS)

Together with FAI, we aim to carry out a major conservation project that is also an ambitious cultural challenge: to make Italy a better place to live, work, and raise our children. The landscape and cultural heritage that FAI protects and promotes is a unique asset in the world — and a vital resource to invest in, in order to revive, develop, and enhance our extraordinary country.

FAI – Italian National Trust (ETS)

Citterio for Sport

Playing sports is healthy, fun, and beneficial for both the body and the mind. We at Citterio know this well, which is why we invest in research for our products in collaboration with nutritionists and promote sports and nutrition projects dedicated to children to help them adopt a healthy and active lifestyle.

Animal Welfare

The quality of our products starts with attention to every detail. For this reason, for several years, Citterio has been investing in farms where animal welfare is at the heart of the project. We focus on providing adequate space, selected feed, and a healthy, active lifestyle. We ensure the quality of every step in the growth of our animals to deliver the best possible product. We also collaborate with certified breeders under the strict 'Animal Welfare Certification,' thus sharing a farming philosophy that respects animal welfare according to stringent regulations that guarantee it. All sites within the supply chain are certified by third-party organizations. Today, many products are involved, at least for part of their production.

Discover all the points of our commitment to animal welfare

Freedom of Movement

It is important for us to ensure animals have freedom of movement: for this reason, the spaces are suitable for their weight and size, promoting well-being at every stage of growth.

No Cruel Acts

Painful interventions on animals are banned in our farms, such as practices like ear, tail, and teeth cutting. By the end of 2026, the farms we collaborate with will also be fully aligned with these standards.

Balanced Nutrition

We use automatic recognition systems to ensure each sow receives the correct nutrient intake based on age and weight. In this way, we provide each one with the most suitable meal, avoiding stress and excesses.

Comfort and Stimulation

It is important to facilitate the movement of animals and stimulate their curiosity: for this reason, sows in gestation have spaces equipped with always fresh straw, tree trunks, and modern feeders that only activate with specific actions. Pigs also have a dedicated resting area with solid flooring and environmental enrichments, such as straw, at all stages of growth.

Certified Slaughterhouses

The application of cruelty and stress-free rules for animals is fundamental to us: for this reason, slaughter takes place in voluntarily certified facilities that adhere to these standards.

Protection of animals and consumers

For this reason, we are committed to the limited and responsible use of medication. Only when necessary, to protect the animal. We have also eliminated the use of macromolecules of greater critical importance and those of critical importance according to the WHO list. Furthermore, we are committed to reducing the quantity of medication used on a triennial basis.

100% Italians

We have chosen to invest in Italy, in pigs born and raised in our country.

Good Pig Award

We received the 2024 Good Pig Award from Compassion in World Farming, a recognition that celebrates the progress made by our premium brand Riserva 1878 in improving farming conditions. The award highlights our commitment to more animal-friendly systems, with the goal of ensuring that by 2027, all sows are raised in constraint-free environments. This achievement marks a concrete step in our “Citterio for Our Planet” project — our commitment to a production model that is increasingly focused on sustainability and social responsibility.

Nutrition and Health

The consumption of meat, as well as fish, eggs, milk, and dairy products, serves the primary purpose of providing high-quality proteins. However, meat is often viewed negatively in the food-health relationship. True or false? Let’s debunk the myths about the nutritional role of meat.

Proteins

They should account for 10-20% of the daily energy intake in a balanced diet, corresponding to approximately 1 g per kg of body weight. Animal-based proteins are traditionally characterized by higher and better protein quality compared to plant-based proteins, which lack certain essential amino acids and are less digestible. To compensate for this, foods with different amino acid profiles, such as cereals and legumes, can be combined.

Fats

Generally, the optimal fat intake ranges between 25-35% of total calories. At these intake levels, within a varied and balanced diet, fats play important structural and metabolic roles: they provide essential fatty acids crucial for health, supply fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, serve as an important energy source, promote satiety, and aid in the absorption of other macronutrients.

Saturated fatty acids

Although known for their ability to increase plasma cholesterol levels (unlike unsaturated fats, which tend to lower them or have no significant effect), some saturated fatty acids do not appear to impact lipid metabolism. The reduction in meat fat content observed in recent decades has been accompanied by a similarly significant decrease in saturated fats, which now represent an average of 30-40% of the total fat content in this food category.

Unsaturated fatty acids (Mono- and Polyunsaturated)

With an overall favorable nutritional profile, they help prevent cardiovascular diseases. A key example is oleic acid, primarily found in olive oil, which also improves lipid profiles (pork is a good source of these fatty acids), as well as omega-3s from cold-water fish.

Vitamins and minerals

Meat is an excellent source of water-soluble vitamins and B vitamins. Red meats, in particular, are the preferred source of vitamin B12, which is involved in many metabolic and physiological processes, such as the formation of red blood cells, the normal functioning of the nervous and immune systems, and the reduction of fatigue.

Minerals

Meat is a source of many minerals, such as iron, phosphorus, potassium, and, to a lesser extent, calcium. Iron, found also in offal and red meats, is very important and should be consumed based on sex and age: for example, children between 1 and 3 years old are recommended to intake 8 mg/day; the need increases to 18 mg/day between ages 15 and 17, and to 27 mg/day during pregnancy.

Code of Ethics

At Citterio, we firmly believe that the most valuable asset of any company is the people who are part of it. Ensuring a safe, peaceful, and healthy work environment for all employees is an absolute priority for us.
Giuseppe Citterio S.p.A. has adopted an Organizational, Management, and Control Model as per Legislative Decree 231/2001.
The Code of Conduct that guides the company’s internal and external activities is a fundamental component of the Organizational Model, clearly and strongly setting forth the values of ethics and respect for legality.
The Code is addressed to all employees and to anyone who, directly or indirectly, permanently or temporarily, establishes relationships and connections with the company.

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Citterio For our planet