From INRAN's research, which compared the nutritional characteristics of cured meats from 1993 to today, it emerged that pork has a lower cholesterol content and a better balance between saturated and unsaturated fats than in the past.
This result was achieved on the one hand thanks to targeted genetic selections and on the other using breeding techniques that give more space to the use of corn, barley and soy in the diet, intervening also on the level of sedentariness of the animal.
A distinction must however be made between fresh and preserved pork (cured meats). While in the first case specialized breeds can be used (eg Pietrain or Belgian Landrace), with a very low lipid content, in the second case the choice of a fatter pig (eg Large white or Italian Landrace) is in many cases obliged. In fact, light pigs have pale, soft and watery meats that make them unsuitable for curing. There are also constraints linked to specific production regulations that provide for the exclusive use of heavy pork cuts.
In addition to the data shown in the image on the side, you can access our section dedicated to the nutritional values of Italian cold cuts, updated with the data released by INRAN in 2011.
