Asda wins European court battle over Parma ham
supermarket chain Asda permission to carry on slicing its Parma ham
outside of the Parma region in Italy, a ruling which, if confirmed,
could have implications for several other foodstuffs produced in
Europe.
An adviser to the European Union's highest court has given UK supermarket chain Asda permission to carry on slicing its Parma ham outside of the Parma region in Italy, reports Ananova.com.
Asda has been cleared of breaching European Union rules by selling prosciutto from Parma in Italy which is sliced and packaged elsewhere, after a long-running battle with an Italian Parma ham trade association.
The ruling is contained in a legal 'opinion' from the European Court of Justice, although Asda will have to wait for several months for a final decision by the full panel of judges.
The court's advocate-general says the issue of slicing and packaging Parma ham outside Italy is not covered by EU rules which restrict the use of geographical names for traditional products when the foodstuff does not come from that region.
While Asda, the UK arm of US retailer Wal-Mart, buys its Parma ham in Parma, it prefers to slice and package some of it in Britain, or anywhere else where costs are lower.
An Italian Parma ham trade association took the supermarket to court on the grounds that Parma ham must be sliced and packaged in the production region under Italian law. However Asda won its argument on the basis that Italian law is not part of EU law and, therefore, does not apply in Britain.
The case has been ongoing since 1997, when the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma - the consortium controlling Parma ham - launched legal action.
At that time, Asda's ham was produced from Parma pigs using the traditional method in the Parma region by Fiorricci, one of the largest Parma ham producers and a member of the consortium. The imported ham was then sliced and packaged near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Today Asda's "extra special" pre-packed Parma ham is sliced and packaged in Parma. But its delicatessen Parma ham is sliced in its stores after being imported from a consortium member in the region.
The decision, if confirmed by the European Court of Justice, could also have implications for the processing of other foodstuffs on the EU's "protected denominations of origin" list.
