1. Raw materials. Parma ham can only be made with purebred or hybrid traditional breeds of Great White and Landrace pigs that have been improved according to the pedigree of Italian livestock, Duroc pigs that have been improved according to the pedigree of Italian livestock, or other breeds of pigs. The prerequisite is to meet the special requirements of the Italian livestock pedigree for heavy pigs that have been produced for more than 9 months and weigh about 160 kg (10% of floating space is allowed), and the feeding and breeding of pigs must also meet special regulations.
The raw material used to make Parma ham (fresh pork hind legs) has the following characteristics:
(1) Consistency of fat: Separate the inner and outer fat layers of the subcutaneous fat of the pig's hind legs, and measure the content of iodine and/or linoleic acid. It is required that the iodine content in each sample does not exceed 70, and the linoleic acid content does not exceed 15%.
(2) Fat layer thickness: Measure the thickness of the outer fat covering layer of the trimmed fresh pig hind legs vertically from the top of the femur. If it is 7 to 9 kg of fresh pig hind legs, the thickness must be about 20 mm, including pig skin. The minimum inside cannot be less than 15 mm. If it is a pig's hind legs over 9 kg, the thickness must be about 30 mm, and the minimum including pig skin must not be less than 20 mm. The pork skin of the top Parma ham cannot be separated from the underlying muscle fiber layer.
(3) The ideal weight of fresh pig hind legs is 12 to 14 kg, not less than 10 kg.
(4) Except for refrigeration, fresh pork hind legs are not allowed to be treated with any preservative treatment including freezing. Refrigeration means that the temperature of the pig's hind legs must be kept between 1 to 4 degrees Celsius during the storage and transportation. The hind legs of pigs that are less than 24 hours or more than 120 hours after slaughter cannot be used.
2. Fresh pig hind legs from the slaughterhouse have to undergo special treatment for no less than 12 months. The only additive in this process is sea salt. The process includes: isolation and slaughter, cooling, trimming, salting, shelving, washing and drying, pre-air drying, post-air drying, lard coating, maturation and aging, slice packaging.
3. The production site must be located in the specified area mentioned above, and all the processes of the slice packaging process and raw material processing shall also be carried out in the specified area. Feeding farms that provide raw materials for Parma's hind legs, as well as certified slaughterhouses and cutting plants, are located in the regions of origin of raw materials mentioned above.
4. After being stamped with the fire seal, Parma ham can be sold whole or boneless, or packaged and sold in different forms, such as ham pieces or slices of different weights and shapes. Slice packaging must be carried out in the production area, and the packaging must be permanently printed with the protected designation of origin according to the method described below. This is a key step to ensure the quality of Parma ham and the traceability of the product.