The Consorzi di tutela del prosciutto di Parma and prosciutto di San Daniele DOP have amended their respective specifications, but the Ministry of Agriculture in Italy has not yet resolved the issue of pig carcass inspections. And so on the quality of the famous Made in Italy hams.
1) Prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele PDO, the reform of production specifications.
The European Commission approved the reform of the production specifications proposed four years earlier by the Consorzi di tutela del Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO (1,2). In a nutshell:
– Prosciutto di Parma PDO. Increased minimum product weight (from 7 to 8.2 kg, up to a maximum of 12.5 kg) and minimum maturation period (from 12 to 14 months). Reduction in maximum salt content, from 6.2% to 6%. Origin of pigs from 11 Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Molise, Umbria, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo, Lazio),
– Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO. Weight 8.3-12.8 kg, minimum maturation 430 days (about 14 months and 10 days), salt content 4.3-6% (identical to Parma ham). Origin of pigs from 10 Italian regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo, Lazio. Molise excluded),
– the feed to be used for feeding pigs in both supply chains must be sourced, at least 50 percent in dry matter, from the geographic breeding areas (according to EU Reg. 664/2014),
– carcass grading (animal weight, meat-to-fat ratio, fat cover of fresh legs) and genetic selection remain strict, with some distortions already reported, except that they escape inspection. (3)
2) Parma and San Daniele PDO, the control plan.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF) published in August 2023 the plans for the controls to be carried out on the supply chains of both Parma and San Daniele PDO hams, effective September 4, 2023. (4) And this is where the strictness (on paper) of production specifications fades or disappears altogether:
– feed. The ministry does not indicate how the actual use of feed that is at least 50 percent sourced locally is to be monitored. Can the inspectors therefore simply take statements from those concerned, without even a documentary verification?
– cover grease. The sweetness and softness of the ham is closely related to the thickness of the fat covering the fresh thighs. In fact, the fat insulates the ham from salt and reduces exudation (and drying) of the meat during curing.
However, the control plan does not clarify whether fat thickness should be measured regularly and with appropriate instruments-as required by the specification (5)-to rule out the entry of overly thin legs into the PDO circuit. That is, whether this essential requirement falls into the cauldron of (more or less approximate and subjective) evaluations of technical-quality conformity of fresh legs.
3) Carcass classification. Nearly four years without inspections on half of the slaughterhouses in the PDO circuit
The classification of pork carcasses is the conditio-sine-qua-non for ensuring the suitability of raw materials for entry into the PDO Parma and San Daniele ham circuit. The Ministry of Agriculture, in 2021, had given evidence of seven million hams that did not meet the requirements of the specifications. (3) And yet, to the best of our knowledge:
– no control was performed on about half of the slaughter plants in the PDO circuit, from December 31, 2019 months to date. As only GIFT has reported over the years, after the closure on that date of the certification body IPQ (Istituto Parma Qualità) and the takeover of CSQA. Since
– in fact, the Ministry of Agriculture does not appear to have delegated CSQA to supervise the classification of carcasses, nor to have initiated a public evidence procedure to renew the assignment of controls on about half of the slaughterhouses that supply raw material to the PDO ham circuit to the requirements of the relevant specifications. (6)
4) Prosciuttopoli. Remake on the way?
The Prosciuttopoli scandal is around the corner and in front of everyone, but no one yet seems to realize it. Suffice it to mention that:
– data-loggers allow survey data to be recorded instantly for grading and weight of survey carcasses (thighs, loins, shoulders, bellies), without being able to edit them. The use of these tools is essential to prevent fraud on PDO hams and cured meats (i.e., Prosciuttopoli), but it has never been prescribed by the Protection Consortia or the Ministry of Agriculture,
– ICQRF, in audit reports in recent years at PDO pork inspection bodies, has expressed serious doubts about the reliability of pork carcass classification data. Precisely because the data could be ‘altered,’ in the absence of ‘data loggers,’ which alone allow incorruptibility of data and its remote control.
5) Made in Italy to lose
The opaqueness of the control plan adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF) and the 44-month delay in contracting the necessary controls on carcass grading are certainly helpful to some in the slaughterhouse and processing industry. Who have already distinguished themselves over the years for market disruptions that have gone unpunished to this day (6,7,8,9).
Breeders in turn cannot use classification data for genetic selection, as they are unreliable. (10)
The prestige of Made in Italy-one of the few remaining assets to this country in permacrisis-is in danger, however, of suffering a huge blow, due to the greed and impropriety of a handful of individuals. Captains of misfortune and officials unfaithful to their duty. In the usual inedia of the supervisory authorities, the judiciary, the government. #CleanSpades
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) DM April 27, 2023. Non-minor amendment to the PDO “Prosciutto di Parma “ specification https://tinyurl.com/5zeu7b77
(2) DM April 27, 2023. Non-minor amendment to the PDO “Prosciutto di San Daniele “ specification https://tinyurl.com/ycxr5np9
(3) Dario Dongo. Parma and San Daniele PDO hams, high yield or superior quality? The great chaos. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 28.8.21
(4) MASAF (Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry). Control plans for PDO and PGI products. See section 1.2, prosciutto di Parma PDO and prosciutto di San Daniele PDO.
https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/7723
(5) In fact, the new specification for PDO Parma ham refers to ‘fat cover: the thickness of the fat on the outside of the fresh trimmed leg, measured vertically at the head of the femur, in the area also known as the “sottonoce”, must not be less than 22 mm‘. Therefore, controls should be performed on each individual thigh, although the control plan published by MASAF does not mention this
(6) Pig market, mystery on PDO carcass classification. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 11.3.21
(7) Dario Dongo, Marta Strinati. CUN pigs, the price is not (yet) right. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 24.2.21
(8) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Pig market, serious anomalies on prices set by CUN. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 13.2.21
(9) Dario Dongo. CUN PDO pigs and hams. Market disruption? GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 20.6.22
(10) The genetics of pigs destined for the PDO circuit is at another Italian mess. See Dario Dongo. PDO pig genetics, Antitrust rejects conflicts of interest. #CleanSpades. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 12.6.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
