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HAMTRACE at MA.GE.MA: the slaughterhouse as a chemical intelligence point in the ham supply chain

HAMTRACE
Jul 23
2 min read

In July 2026, HAMTRACE researchers visited MA.GE.MA in Castiglione di Ravenna (RA), a slaughterhouse that processes pigs for multiple PDO ham supply chains, including Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di Modena. The visit was the third field stop of the HAMTRACE WP1 Italy campaign and addressed two of the three project objectives: O1.2 (fraud indicators and variation in production practices) and O1.3 (regulatory compliance and residue standards). The visit was hosted by HAMTRACE partner FOODHUB.



The slaughterhouse as a data collection point

The slaughter stage is analytically significant for several reasons. pH measurement at 45 minutes (pH45) and 24 hours (pH24) post-slaughter is a primary quality and compliance indicator for PDO ham supply: legs that fall outside the accepted pH range are rejected from the DOP production line. These measurements also carry fraud-detection value, anomalous pH profiles can indicate prior use of corticosteroids or beta-agonists to mask stress-related meat quality defects (PSE, pale, soft, exudative meat).


Official residue monitoring under Italy's Piano Nazionale Residui (PNR), required by EU Reg. 2019/627, subjects slaughterhouses to systematic sampling for antibiotic residues, heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg), and banned substances including clenbuterol and natural growth hormones. PNR results, and any non-compliant findings, are key O1.3 data for the HAMTRACE database on regulatory compliance and residue standards across target countries.


Fraud indicators investigated

The O1.2 focus at slaughter level included: non-PDO-breed substitution (detectable by breed certification records and DNA markers); undeclared water or collagen injection pre-slaughter (elevated hydroxyproline, water activity anomalies, altered protein ratios); origin mislabelling (detectable by stable isotope ratios and forged or absent farm documentation); and the use of banned growth promoters. HAMTRACE documented the facility's current detection capacity and the points in the supply chain where each fraud type is most likely to be identified or missed.


Sampling protocol established for T1.2

A key outcome of the MA.GE.MA visit was establishing the conditions for future HAMTRACE sample collection under Task T1.2. The sampling protocol, using the HAMTRACE chain-of-custody coding system (HMTRC-IT-MGM-[MUS/FAT/BLD]-[number]), defines collection of biceps femoris muscle (~50 g), subcutaneous fat (~20 g), and post-stick blood samples from PDO-destined carcasses. Samples will be submitted for: stable isotope analysis (EA-IRMS for δ13C, δ15N, δ34S; MC-ICP-MS for 87Sr/86Sr), mineral profiling by ICP-OES, fatty acid profiling by GC-FID, antibiotic residue screening by LC-MS/MS, and heavy metal analysis by ICP-MS. The pathway for official veterinarian (ASL) authorisation for future sampling was also discussed with the facility.


Primary contact at MA.GE.MA: Paolo Paganelli. Data collected during this visit feeds into the WP1 country fiche for Italy and the HAMTRACE T&A solutions database.

 
 
 

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