Hypothesis for relaunch of the pig farming sector in Piedmont: medium/heavy pigmeat as the raw material in the production of cooked ham

The “Mediterranean approach” to quality has enabled the development of greater awareness with regards to products and territories and, as a consequence, has led to the creation of various systems for enhancing some aspects of food and agriculture production, such as geographical indications. One of the privileged characteristics of this approach is provenance, especially if the product is local, which is synonymous with high quality, freshness, safety and sustainability. Several studies show that consumers are particularly sensitive to these aspects that are also of absolute economic importance for production processes involving single products and/or segments, as in the case of the Italian swine supply chain. Italian swine production is based mainly on the breeding of heavy pigs (around kg 160) to be transformed into high-quality charcuterie products and hams, supplying the geographical indication products sector. This strong link with typical local products enabled an increase in breeding without fears from foreign competition, which was excluded from production codes. The recent issues (falling in the numbers of slaughtered pigs and pork legs certified for PDO production, falling in consumption of these products and the imbalance in distribution in the value chain) have opened the debate on the need to diversify primary pork production. This study analysed the hypothesis of medium/heavy pig introduction in the swine sector and assessed the degree to which this pig would be appreciated by operators in various sectors of production (cooked ham, speck, fresh meat).