Ham scam busted by vigilant Guardia Civil

SPAIN is justly proud of its world famous Pata Negra hams which sell at prices averaging between €500 to €700 for a leg.

It seems that nothing however can escape the current trend of being counterfeited and this time rather than designer labels, officers of the Guardia Civil have uncovered at least six crooks who were really ‘telling porkies’!

It appears that some 50,000 kilos of ham have been ‘doctored’ in two warehouses in the towns of Alcala de Guadaira and Dos Hermanas (Sevilla).

Officers were alerted to the fact that certain hams were appearing which seemed to carry counterfeit labelling and they investigated with the assistance of both the Iberian Pig Interprofessional Association (ASICI), as well as the Iberian Standard certification organisation.

Also involved was the local Public Health Department and between them, they raided the two warehouses and discovered exactly what was going on.

To make normal, low quality hams, have the appearance of the highly priced Pata Negra version, those involved were first washed with pressure water or burned so that the fat would emerge.

Then a mixture of seed oil and charcoal was applied to them to improve their appearance and if the whole leg wasn’t up to visual standards, then they would slice it and sell the ham in packets.

With the ‘good looking’ hams, false documentation was supplied which persuaded innocent buyers to take delivery of the fake hams and the scam is believed to have netted millions before it was finally closed down.

Investigations confirmed that hams were sold to companies in Sevilla, Caceres, Valencia, Salamanca and Madrid, with some possibly aware of the real identity of the hams whilst others were innocent victims.

When visiting the premises, those involved were horrified to view the unsanitary condition in which the hams were stored, with many found to be either covered in mould or being worm infested.