Parma ham in supermarkets debunked

Edwardia

Some of the supermarkets are basically ripping customers off on Parma ham, also labelled as Prosciutto di Parma in some stores.

The real Prosciutto di Parma or Parma ham, is made in the area around Parma, Italy, using nothing but pork legs and sea salt. This means that it doesn't contain nitrates, which makes it a healthier choice for kids. especially.

The real stuff gets a gold crown on the packaging and unless it says 12 months matured, 14 months matured, organic, it's all the same stuff up to the gold crown standard.

'Italian' on the label means nothing because to have the gold crown it has to be, regardless of whether it's from Aldi or Waitrose.

'Specially Selected' means nothing either it's merely saying that a specific product was chosen by the supermarket buyers.'Extra Special' or 'Finest' can in fact mean that the supermarket regards it as a luxury non-budget product. 'Dry-cured' means nothing either because ALL prosciutto is dry-cured. 'Organic' means that organic pork was used. 'Prosciutto di Parma' and 'Parma ham' are exactly the same thing if they have a gold crown.

Prosciutto is matured for 8-24 months, so DO expect to pay more for more mature ham. But it's not always that much stronger in taste.

Waitrose Prosciutto di Parma 200g 9.99 (£5 per 100g) Ocado
Sainsbury's Italian Parma ham 133g £4 (3.01 per 100g)
Aldi Specially Selected Parma ham 90g £1.99 (2.21 per 100g)
ASDA Extra Special Parma ham 90g £3 (3.33 per 100g)
Waitrose Prosciutto di Parma 90g 4.99 (5.54 per 100g) Waitrose but currently on offer at Ocado 3.32 (3.69 per 100g)
Ocado Parma ham 85g £3 (3.53 per 100g)
Waitrose Parma ham 7 slices 83g 2.99 (3.60 per 100g) Waitrose, Ocado
Sainsbury's Italian Parma ham slices 6 slices 80g 2.70 (3.38 per 100g)
Golfera Classic Prosciutto di Parma 80g 3.40 (4.25 per 100g) currently buy 2 save 20% (3.40 per 100g) Ocado
Morrisons Parma ham 70g 2.19 (3.13 per 100g) 2 for 3.50 (2.50 per 100g) to 18/01/15
Beretta Parma ham 40g £1 (2.50 per 100g) Tesco

Golfera organic Prosciutto di Parma dry-cured Parma ham 70g 4.99 (7.13 per 100g) Ocado
Tesco Finest 14 months matured Parma ham 88g 2.65 (5.01 per 100g)
Montorsi Negroni 12 month Parma ham 70g £3 (4.29 per 100g) Sainsbury's

Looking at the price per 100g shows you the best prices with Aldi cheapest at 2.21 per 100g, Morrisons offer next at 2.50 per 100g in dead heat with Beretta from Tesco.

Prosciutto can be cut up and used in pasta sauces, wrapped around chicken, fried like bacon (fiddly but tasty) or used in sandwiches.

Hope that's useful !

[Deleted User]

Same with Kippers, I only regard Kippers as coming from a real smoke house like Craster. Not the fake ones covered in dye like the what the supermarkets sell.

antrobus

Edwardia wrote: »

Some of the supermarkets are basically ripping customers off on Parma ham, also labelled as Prosciutto di Parma in some stores.

The real Prosciutto di Parma or Parma ham, is made in the area around Parma, Italy, using nothing but pork legs and sea salt. This means that it doesn't contain nitrates, which makes it a healthier choice for kids. especially.

The real stuff gets a gold crown on the packaging and unless it says 12 months matured, 14 months matured, organic, it's all the same stuff up to the gold crown standard.

Parma Ham has EU Protected Denomination of Origin status. The appearance of the ducal crown on the packaging is reserved for Parma Ham.

If there is any supermarket out there which is selling something as Parma Ham, that isn't Parma Ham, then report them to trading standards. Or better still, tell the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma. They're very hot on the sort of thing. They took ASDA to court a few years ago to stop them from selling ham from Parma that had been sliced in Wiltshire. Or somewhere which wasn't Parma. Anyway, they couldn't sell it as Parma ham. Italian ham maybe.

Other kinds of prosciutto are available. But not necessarily from your local supermarket.:)

Nada666

Edwardia wrote: »

This means that it doesn't contain nitrates, which makes it a healthier choice for kids. especially.

Yes, let's cull off weaker runts with bouts of botulism. Should lower tax credits bills. You should send your tip to Gideon and IDS.

stephen77

Edwardia wrote: »

. This means that it doesn't contain nitrates, which makes it a healthier choice for kids. especially.

!

Have you seen the salt content of parma ham?

stephen77

Nada666 wrote: »

Yes, let's cull off weaker runts with bouts of botulism. Should lower tax credits bills. You should send your tip to Gideon and IDS.

how many people have had botulism from Parma ham?


They would not be selling it in the supermarkets with out warnings on it, if this was the case.
To much risk for a law suit.

Edwardia

antrobus I've seen Parma ham in Lidl without a gold crown :eek:
Wouldn't bother with Trading Standards tho, after they told me that tinned pumpkin soup with less than 4% pumpkin was fine.

Nada666 I'm not aware of any cases of Botulism-by-Parma ham and they've been making the stuff for hundreds of years. Nitrates are used in organic ham and bacon too and the reason for use is never given as botulism prevention (it's all refrigerated) but to retain the colour. It is possible to buy nitrate free organic bacon, but as soon as you start cooking it, it goes an unappetising grey, even though it tastes good.

stephen77 although the salt levels in sliced breads have been reduced, if you're eating packed lunches every day, you're ingesting a fair bit of salt. I didn't suggest eating Parma ham every day.

Tesco pear-shaped tinned Danish ham is 23% of guideline daily amount of salt per 50g, contains sodium nitrate, sodium triphosphate, added water and pork gelatine and is only 83% pork.

Tesco Everyday Value ham has 20% GDA of salt per 50g but is only 62% pork. It contains sodium nitrate, sodium triphosphate, sodium erythorbate, dipotassium diphosphate, disodium diphosphate and potassium triphosphate. The second highest ingredient is water and it contains dried pork protein which could be a euphemism for dried pork rectums (they exist) - who knows..

stephen77

Edwardia wrote: »

stephen77 although the salt levels in sliced breads have been reduced, if you're eating packed lunches every day, you're ingesting a fair bit of salt. I didn't suggest eating Parma ham every day.

..

I would eat parma ham every day if I could. Lovely stuff.

Voyager2002

Edwardia wrote: »

antrobus I've seen Parma ham in Lidl without a gold crown :eek:
Wouldn't bother with Trading Standards tho, after they told me that tinned pumpkin soup with less than 4% pumpkin was fine.

Trading Standards (and Environmental Health in Scotland) are obliged to enforce the law: if they were to ignore an infraction then the UK would be failing to honour its international treaty obligations.

The new law that comes into force on Saturday could well prevent the sale of pumpkin soup that is only 4 per cent pumpkin. There is a general obligation not to mislead the consumer, and 4 per cent sounds misleading to me... Anyway, check out the Food Information to Consumers Regulations (EU Regulation 1169) for details, and take it from there.

stephen77

I thought it was against rules to mislead anyway?

As for whether 4% is being misleading is not a easy answer.

E.g. garlic bread - I would not want garlic to make up 4% of the product.

While BLT sandwich in a thick doorstop bread. The lettuce may only make up 4% of the sandwich and I would be fine with that.

Though if a ham sandwich only contained 4% ham, I would feel mislead.

As for pumpkin soup. How does this compare with other products in the market place?
How is the photo / picture on the pack displayed? does it taste of pumpkin as well?

Edwardia

thanks voyager2002 useful info !

stephen77 it was the right colour but it tasted more like barbecue flavour crisps than pumpkin soup. haven't seen it around lately, maybe it ws a flop ?