All of our truffle plants are controlled by the CTIFL (Interprofessional technical center for fruits and vegetables). To be certified, a truffle plant has to be subjected to a two-stages check :
The truffles : The first check consists in verifying each truffle through microscopic examination. This operation aims to guarantee the inoculum purity (Tuber Melanosporum).
The plants : The second check is the analysis of the truffle plants’ mycorrhization. The analysis is carried out from a 1 to 2 year-old plants’ sampling . It allows to know the mycorhization level on the basis of quantitative and qualitative criteria and it is composed of three phases :
First phase :
Microscopic check of the mycorrhization purity, with detection of potential contaminations from mycorrhized foreign mushrooms that are competitive.
Second phase :
Microscopic check of the mycorrhization intensity along with the amount of mycorrhizae and their distribution on the plant.
At the end of this check, plants lots that have been well mycorrhized are accepted.
Each plant receives a numbered label which allows to establish its traceability, in this way certified Tuber Melanosporum plants are identifiable by their red and white label.
Third phase :
This last phase consists in the labelling check, carried out one lot at a time in order to ensure a perfect traceability.
Plants lots which do not meet the criteria (either because of contamination or due to low mycorrhization) are destroyed in the presence of a CTIFL agent.