Tutti i siti di Assolatte - Associazione Italiana Lattiero Casearia -

Who we are and our mission

Founded in 1945, the "Associazione Italiana Lattiero Casearia" is a free association of entrepreneurs operating in the dairy sector.


Assolatte represents all the products that "are born" from milk, both traditional and innovative, but nevertheless bearers of great quality, goodness and safety: drinking milk, in all its types, yogurt and all fermented products, butter and, of course all cheeses, whether cow's, goat's, buffalo, sheep's or mixed milk cheeses.


Assolatte guarantees its associated companies complete specialized assistance in the economic, regulatory, legal, tax, trade union, health and environmental fields.


Furthermore, the Association promptly updates its members on the issues of the sector, promotes the correct implementation of the regulations, takes care of initiatives to increase the competitiveness of companies and organizes research, studies, seminars and conferences on topics of interest.


Almost 80 years have passed since its foundation and Assolatte remains the fundamental point of reference for companies, representing their needs in every location, national and European, and disseminating their values.

Our brands

Assolatte brings together 300 companies - from small, medium and large national companies, both private and cooperative, to large international companies - whose turnover represents over 90% of that of the entire sector.

The Italian dairy sector

The companies active in Italy are custodians of one of the greatest food traditions in the world.


Milk & Dairy is leader in the Italian food industry.


Italy is also one of the major producers of milk and its derivatives in the EU and in the world. With almost 9% of total EU volumes, we are the 5th producer of bovine milk after Germany, France, Netherlands and Poland.

2023 (tons)
Drinking milk 2.510.000 (4th in EU)
Fermented milk 283.000 (6th in EU)
Butter 99.000 (8th in EU)
Cheeses 1.334.000 (3rd in EU)
Cow 90%
Sheep, goat & buffalo 10%

As in other agri-food sectors, here too, Made in Italy is synonymous with:

  • Quality and safety
  • Variety
  • Health and well-being
  • History and culture
  • Bond with the territories
  • Tradition and innovation

Especially with regard to cheese.


Cheeses are our flagship segment and authentic international ambassadors of Made in Italy agri-food as well as the product with the highest added value.


There are more than 500 types of cheese in Italy. Hard pasta and fresh cheeses are the most popular.


Almost all regions of Italy have a large dairy heritage. However, the protagonists of their production are above all the northern regions of the country together with some areas of Central-Southern Italy. The South in particular is famous for its production of fresh cheeses (for example buffalo mozzarella, burrata, provola, caciocavallo) and for pecorino cheeses (Sardinia).


57 cheeses are Geographical Indications.


6.67 million tonnes of milk (approximately half of the raw material delivered, both vaccine and non-vaccine) were used in 2023 for the production of PDO (protected denomination of origin) cheeses.


The 593,000 tonnes of Geographical Indication cheeses produced in 2023 constitute 44% of national dairy production.


Cheeses are also absolute protagonists of Italian agri-food exports. Nearly one in two national cheeses goes abroad.


In 2023, despite the well-known difficulties related to war, inflation, post-pandemic and adverse climatic events, Italy exported 598,000 tons of cheese, equal in value to 4.9 billion euros.


Since pre-Covid (2019), volumes have grown by +31%, turnover by +54%. It is one of the most dynamic trend worldwide.


We mainly export to the european market, but significant shares of the product also reach North America, the Far and Middle East (Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates).


The top exported types of cheese

Tons (2023) Mln of euros (2023)
Mozzarella 142.082 921,3
Mascarpone, burrata, ricotta & other fresh cheeses 149.952 805,4
Grana Padano & Parmigiano Reggiano 113.796 1.367,4
Gorgonzola 24.982 202,7
Pecorino 18.924 266,7
Other hard cheeses 20.768 177,0
Grated cheeses 67.728 732,3

Cheese effects on health & wellness

Cheese, along with milk and other dairy products, also has important health & wellness benefits.

A concentrate of proteins...

Cheeses are rich in animal proteins and essential amino acids
They helps processes such as muscle tissue synthesis, blood coagulation and bone remodeling
Everyone should eat cheese, including children and the elderly

...and vitamins

Cheeses particularly contain vitamin B and vitamin A
All involved in indispensable functions in growth, metabolism and health maintenance
For example, vitamin B6 contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous and immune systems, while vitamins B6 and B12 contribute to the normal formation of red blood cells

Phosphorus, sodium, but most of all... calcium

Cheeses provide our body with a large supply of minerals
They are a real "mine" of calcium, essential for the formation and maintenance of bones and teeth, but also for a series of processes: conduction of nerve impulses, muscle contraction, blood coagulation
In cheeses, calcium and other substances are also "bioavailable". That is, they are assimilated almost entirely by our body, maximizing their benefits

Fats, not only a source of energy...

Energy is mainly provided by fats, in different quantities depending on the type of cheese
But fats are not just a source of energy. For example, they make up cell membranes, carry fat-soluble vitamins, have antioxidant functions and are precursors of indispensable compounds such as hormones
The cheese fats, as those of all foods of animal origin, are mainly saturated. Despite this, the quality of the fatty acids in them, being small in size, makes them easily digestible and exploitable by our body.

Recipes & other useful information


Other very useful and interesting information (e.g. recipes) can be found at the so-called Protection Consortia, i.e. associations of producers of specific Geographical Indication cheeses, created to protect and promote these supply chains and their territories.
We indicate, in particular, the top 10:

But our efforts are obviously not limited to DOP-IGP cheeses alone. Together with the ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY - the Italian government body for the promotion of national companies and their products abroad - we create promotional plans every year in various countries: USA, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, UK, China etc... In these markets ITA carries out promotional initiatives on both on-site and on-web channels and addressing both consumers and B2B operators. In addition to the main DOP cheeses, mozzarella, burrata, mascarpone and ricotta vaccines are always involved.