In the Caseificio San Lucio Parmigiano Reggiano cheese factory—located in Sala Baganza just southwest of Parma, Italy—each production day, 1,300 liters of milk are placed in each vat. Half of the milk used is raw cow’s milk, delivered the day before and kept overnight in steel containers to allow the cream to float to the surface. The morning of the production, the cream is removed from the top and the milk leftover is used for cheese making.
The other half of the milk in the vat is fresh milk, delivered the morning of the day’s production. Because raw milk is used, a waiver is needed from the EU due to its food safety law, which says pasteurized milk must be used for cheese making.