Something wrong with cheap ham

Good ham is Hungarian and branded. In short, this is the advice given by the Association of Hungarian Meat Industry before Easter. This also applies to other types of meat since cheap products might not be of the best quality or the safest to consume. Authorities are carrying out wide scale inspections before Easter. There is a close correlation between price and quality. Average price of traditional ham should be around HUF 1150, while that of smoked shoulder should be HUF 925. If products are 20-30 per cent cheaper than the above prices, that should be cause for suspicion, according to Attila Berczik, managing secretary of the Association. There are either problems with quality or production technology or invoicing in such cases – says Tamás Éder, chairman of the Association. While higher quality, branded Easter products are usually Hungarian, imported materials are used for making the majority of private labels. Imported materials can be delivered across borders within the EU without safety checks. Last year, 3500 tons of inferior quality food was destroyed with one tenth of this quantity confiscated before Easter. 42 per cent of consumers in the EU think that their food is not safe, whereas this figure is certainly lower in Hungary. One of the major results of the recent inspection campaign was the discovery of an illegal meat processing plant in Érd, where 600 kilograms of hazardous meat products were found.