The Consortium for the Protection and Promotion of Cuneo’s Cured Ham was founded in 1998 by a group of entrepreneurs from around Cuneo involved in pig farming. The Consortium obtained, in 2009, registration by the European Union of the designation Crudo di Cuneo. The goal was, and still is, to qualify, promote and market this cured meat from the region, which was at risk of disappearing. At the moment, some sixty breeders, two abattoirs and one curing specialist adhere to the PDO control system.
The PDO’s identifying "Crudo di Cuneo" logo combines the two most important elements for the identification of the product: the characteristic shape of the cured ham as a whole and the wedge or "Cuneo" in Italian, the province’s symbol. The wedge represents a stylized form of cured ham, recognizable from the rounded bottom and the presence of a circle. The PDO acronym (D.O.P.) is placed at the top, aligned to the right of “CUNEO”.
The logo is completed with a reference to the colours of the coat of arms of the province of Cuneo, expressed by brushstrokes of red, blue, white and green, departing from the top of the triangle, creating the impression of the strap which usually wraps the ham to label it.
The basic categories of Cuneo’s cured ham supply chain consist of: breeders, butchers, processing and curing companies, cutters and packers.
These entities cover the entire manufacturing process of the “Crudo di Cuneo” ham, i.e. pig breeding, slaughter and cutting, trimming and salting of the haunches, seasoning, any deboning, portioning and packaging.