Quality Standard of Iberian ham
In order to prevent fraud, to inform consumers and preserve the Iberian breed, a new quality standard (Royal Decree 4/2014) entered into force on 10 January 2014. It regulates and defines the characteristics quality and labeling of Iberian products: meat, ham, palette, and loin.
Differentiation of the stamped labels on hams since 2014
The new rules concerning to the ham have been applied by royal decree (Since January 2014). This decree aims to correct the wanderings that had been made in the sector, avoiding too high number of varieties and labels which could be potentially confusing, and trying to clarify the consumer about what they eat. It was appropriate to strengthen the traceability system traditionally established on the basis of self control by the same operators. The data displayed on the label that accompanies each piece allow identifying the breed of animal and their feed.
Guarantee of quality
Each ham and each palette are labelled with a colour tag. Four different colours are distinguished:
- The black, for pigs 100% Iberian race that feed on acorns.
- Red, for pigs fed on acorns but they are not purebred Iberian
- Green, for pigs reared on the dehesa or in the countryside, fed with forage and cereal
- White, for pigs reared on farm and fed exclusively on forage and grain
On the label located surrounding the leg, appears certain information as:
- The trade name
- The type of product: ham for ham and palette to the palette
- The percentage of Iberian breed of the specific animal which the product comes.
- The expression certified followed by the name or initials of the independent control agency.
Asici data on the evolution of the number of hams per Label between 2014 and 2020
These new arrangements, which respond to the unanimous demand from industry organizations are designed to contribute to the maintenance of the Iberian breed and Dehesa ecosystem and facilitate the consumer access to information and improved transparency on the characteristics of the marketed product.
On spanish TV - 2014 "Los colores del jamón" about the spanish ham
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