The Manciano Cheesemaking Factory has been investing for years in research and innovation.  Supervising the entire supply chain and more importantly improving milk quality to offer consumers a cheese that meets the needs and nutritional demands of an ever-changing market. Milk quality is tied closely with farming methods and the type of sheep feed.

That’s why the cheesemaking factory has promoted specific research projects, in collaboration with the Universities of Pisa and Florence and with the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa with the aim of improving the product starting with animal welfare, from food to pasture. On many of these occasions, the Pecorino Toscano PDO Consortium has been involved.

Studies have shown that sheep bred with a semi-extensive system, primarily on grass-grazing as in Tuscany, produce better milk that directly affect the product’s nutritional characteristics, through a constant supply of so-called “good fats”.  That’s exactly why ‘Friend of the Heart line’ has taken shape.