Earthquake puts pressure on Italy's parmesan makers

Parmesan crushed underfoot at a devastated warehouse in Italy filled with the precious cheese after a quake estimated to have cost farmers 200 million euros ($286 million).

Stacks piled high with thousands of wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano lay toppled like dominoes at Azienda Caretti -- one of three dairies damaged by Sunday's 6.0-magnitude quake which has been followed by dozens of aftershocks.

"It's a race against time," sighed owner Oriano Caretti, as he inspected the extensive damage, stepping gingerly to avoid falling cheeses in the vast parmesan-scented warehouse -- about the size of a football field.

"We have to try and sort the intact ones from the damaged ones," he said.

The Italian Farming Confederation estimates that around 130,000 wheels of certified Parmigiano Reggiano and the less-exclusive Grana Padano have been damaged, saying that loss alone would be around 40 million euros.

Another farm group, Coldiretti, said around 400,000 wheels had been damaged.

The most affected Parmesan wheels have been the less seasoned ones -- with around six months of maturation. Farmers said the damaged wheels will be inspected for food safety standards and could then be sold as grated cheese.

The Emilia Romagna region, where the quake killed six people and caused extensive damage to historic buildings has some of Italy's richest farmland.

The area is known for many delicacies incluing Parmesan, Parma ham, balsamic vinegar from Modena and Bolognese sauce, which are exported around the world.