Brussels, 05/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - the Italian minister for agriculture has requested the registration of the "Riccota Romana" milk product as a protected designation of origin (PDO). This request was made on 4 February 2004 in Official Journal C 30. This ewe's cheese from the Lazio region contains the following characteristics: fresh product; body of a white and lumpy texture; milky, sweetish flavour; weighs up to 2 kg and has a fat content of between 17 to 29% in the dry matter. The raw material must be obtained from the commonest breeds of sheep in Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, Massese. The whey is "sweet" because of the type of feed given to the milk ewes, forage from natural pastures, meadows and characteristic grasslands of the Lazio region.