The Finnish Food Authority has been asked when a meat product may be designated as ham, a ham product (kinkkuvalmiste) or sliced ham (kinkkuleike).
The Finnish Food Authority's "Food Information Guide" (17068/2)(in Finnish) provides guidelines on the correct designation of food products. In addition, Evira (now the Finnish Food Authority), together with the Finnish Food and Drinks Industries' Federation and the Finnish Grocery Trade Association, has issued a recommendation on the designation of certain cooked meat products (6092/3) (pdf) (in Finnish). The guide has been updated during the summer of 2021 on the Finnish Food Authority template. At the same time, the guide has been updated with regard to legislation and supplemented for meat products.
Ham
The name 'ham' can only be used for products where ham only has been used as the meat. Ham is an established food name in Finland for a meat product of a certain composition. This means ham may be only a specific part of the pig carcase (ham = the pig's thigh, hip and hock or 'buttock and thigh') to which no ingredients have been added or
a whole meat / whole meat product made from it, which contains, in addition to meat, only salt, water, spices and glucose/starch syrup to round off the taste, and permitted additives. The meat content is generally at least around 90%. The term 'ham' can be annexed to concepts indicating preparation such as smoked and cooked ham.
Example: Smoked ham
Ingredients: Pig meat (ham, Finland), water, salt, glucose, stabilising agents E450, E451, antioxidant E316, preservative E250. Meat content 92%.
“Kinkkufilee” (“Ham fillet”) is an established name for a whole meat product made from pork fillet
Example: What does it mean that the meat content of a meat product, ham, is at least 90%? What should be the minimum meat content of the ham?
Ham is a full meat or whole meat product, so it is recommended that the meat content of the meat product sold under the name of ham must be at least 90% rounded. Therefore, the meat content of the ham should be at least 85% (or 85.0%) according to mathematical rounding rules. If the meat content is, for example, 84.5%, then the product is not ham.
“Kinkkuvalmiste” (“ham product” or “kinkkuleike” (“sliced ham”)
The name 'ham product" or "sliced ham" is used for a meat product containing meat protein or other protein preparations or other binders (fibre preparations and potato flour) in addition to the ham used as the meat ingredient, and which differ from a slicing sausage (leikkelemakkara) in terms of grinding consistency and the production process. The meat content of ham products and sliced hams generally varies between around 65% and 80%.
Example: ”Kinkkuleike” (”sliced ham”)
Ingredients: Pig meat (ham, Finland), water, salt, acidity regulators E325, E326, glucose, meat protein, stabilisers E450, E451, E407, antioxidant E301, preservative E250. Meat content 75%..
Example: “Kinkkuvalmiste (“ham product”)
Ingredients: Pig meat (Finland), water, salt, potato flour, soy protein preparation, stabilisers E407, E450, E451, maltodextrin, spices, glucose, antioxidant E316, preservative E250. Meat content 70%, of which ham 50%.
Example: “Keittokinkkuleike” (“Sliced cooked ham”)
Ingredients: Pig meat (ham, Finland), water, meat protein, salt, stabilisers E1442, E450, E451, E407, E415, maltodextrin, mixed spices, flavour enhancer E621, hydrolysed plant protein. Meat content 73%.
Sausage
Ham should not be confused with sausage. Sausage differs from ham in its composition, structure and method of production, including the grinding method. The meat content of sausages generally varies from around 30% to 80%. Although the composition of a sausage is no longer laid down by law, the old definition can still be considered as being indicative. Under the old definition, "sausage" means an item of food encased by a skin such as an intestine or other casing or mould and which contains meat as the essential ingredient.
The term "meat-like ingredients" has been removed from legislation. The term "meat-like ingredients" earlier referred to the following foods: organs, lard (pig fat) and other fatty tissue, pork rind and poultry skin. These foods are indicated under their own name in the list of ingredients for sausages. The total amount of meat-like ingredients should no longer be indicated in the labelling. The meat content of the sausage must be indicated. In addition, starch, such as potato flour, may be used in sausage-making (Ministry of Trade and Industry Decision No 139/1996 has been repealed by Ministry of Trade and Industry Decree 264/2012 (Amendment to Decree 987/2002). More information on the labelling of sausages on the Finnish Food Safety Authority's website sausage (in Finnish)