Chianina cattle produce the finest beef in the world. Its renown is undoubtedly due to the mythical Italian T-bone steak known as “bistecca fiorentina”. The Chianina ox is the largest bovine and is characterized by its porcelain-white coat, the color of its tongue and muzzle, the elegant head with short horns, a long cylindrical body with wide flanks and longer shanks than other breeds. Chianina cattle have been raised in the middle valley of the Tiber and in Val di Chiana for over two thousand years. They are now also grown in the hills and plains of Central Italy and, since the breed is highly
adaptable, it has even become a cosmopolitan breed and is raised in Russia, China, Australia and the two Americas.
The only seal of quality - IGP “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” – given to fresh Italian meats and approved by the European Union has been conferred on Chianina, and two other Italian breeds (“Marchigiana” and “Romagnola”). Specific Rules and Regulations list the conditions and requirements to which bovines used for production must conform.
Meat with the appellation “Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale” (White Beef from the Central Apennines) must be of the aforementioned three breeds, male or female bovines ranging in age from12 to 24 months. They must be born in Italy on farms listed in the National Genealogical Register. According to the Regulations the cows must suckle their calves until they are weaned after which they are fed with fresh or preserved forage from the Central Apennines in the area where they are to be slaughtered.
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