The Water Footprint and Environmental Sustainability of Italian DOP, DOC and DOCG Food Products

The Italian “quality label” food product is synonymous with high quality and is very important from both an economic and cultural point of view. The Italian “quality label” food product is synonymous with high quality and is very important from both an economic and cultural point of view. The recent debate on the environmental sustainability of food products was the motivation behind this study where, using the water footprint indicator, some high-quality Italian food products were analysed concerning their impact on the environment, and particularly on water resources. Specifically, the water footprint was calculated considering its three green, blue and grey components, analysing the entire production stages where, in the case in which it was directly or indirectly of agricultural origin, the water footprint was determined by means of an agro-hydrological model in order to study the crop growth cycle and calculate the evapotranspirated water. These analyses considered the entire crop growth cycle and the product’s processing phase in compliance with the product specifications and rules, where the water footprint is evaluated using the model parameterisation based on product’s area of origin. Special attention was also placed on evaluating the impact of agronomic growth forcing—primary (irrigation) and secondary (fertilisation)—in calculating the water footprint. The products analysed were the cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP; three wines, Barolo DOCG, Sassicaia DOC and Moscato di Pantelleria DOC; and three types of Saffron DOP, Saffron from Aquila, Sardinia and San Gimignano. The analysis of the results and, specifically, the model scenarios where it can be conjectured that the primary good was cultivated outside its zone of origin or with methods that deviated from the prescribed standards show how the quality label, linking the product to a well-delineated geographic area of origin, not only assures a high quality, but also environmental sustainability. In fact, a quality label product’s zone of origin is marked by optimal climatic, topographical, soil and hydrological conditions guaranteeing the quality and specific features of products which comply with the restrictive limitations on growth forcing (irrigation and fertilisation)