Ham production and marketing will now be subject to new rules in Brazil.

Brazil Agency – Starting this Tuesday (2), ham sold in Brazil must have four types: cooked, superior cooked, tender cooked and poultry cooked. The rule comes from the Ministry of Agriculture, but manufacturers will have one year to adapt their products to these types.

The decree addresses requests from the production sector and aims to name the products, guarantee safety, reduce health risks, and standardize the hams. The ministry also determined that, to maintain the quality of Brazilian ham, all the protein contained must have a maximum of 25% collagen, which ensures firmness. In the case of cooked poultry hams, collagen cannot exceed 10% of the protein.

The regulation also stipulates that the maximum amount of ground meat allowed in cooked ham is 10%. In tender cooked ham, up to 5%. However, the meat in superior cooked ham cannot be ground at all.

With the changes, the amount of meat in the products has increased, while the amount of water has decreased: cooked hams cannot have less than 16% meat. As for water, the limit is 5%. In the case of cooked poultry ham, it must have at least 14% meat and a maximum of 2% carbohydrates and just over 5% water.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, cooked ham, superior cooked ham, and tender cooked ham are basically made from pork leg meat, without the skin. Tender cooked ham must always be smoked. Poultry cooked ham, as the name suggests, is made from poultry leg meat, ground or not.