La Quercia, the maker of innovative, hand-crafted cured meats, is proud to announce that their pre-sliced Americano prosciuttos are now made with non-GMO pork that follow the guidelines set forth by Global Animal Partnership (GAP)’s 5-Step animal welfare rating standards. La Quercia is known as a leader in the cured meats industry, committed to making delicious cured meats and supporting humane animal husbandry. GAP’s vigorously audited 5-Step animal welfare rating program is an effort to promote continuous improvement to the welfare of farm animals and provide shoppers with more information. La Quercia’s Americano line of prosciuttos now bear the GAP Step 3 label, which requires that pigs live in an enriched environment with unrestricted daytime outdoor access, handled in a humane and low-stress environment. 

La Quercia’s cured meats available nationwide that bear the GAP Step 3 and non-GMO verifications include:

• Prosciutto Americano is La Quercia’s flagship prosciutto, aged for one year
• Prosciutto Piccante is rubbed with fennel, red chili and sea salt and aged for one year
• Speck Americano is smoked over real Applewood and aged for a year; all of the above are now made exclusively with heritage breed Berkshire pork
• Pancetta Americano is delicate pork belly cured with black and white pepper, rosemary and bay leaf

La Quercia also has a pasture-raised line of products called Ridgetop Prosciutto which is exclusive to Whole Foods. The pork has a GAP rating of Step 4 and is pasture raised outdoors on wooded ridgetops and hillsides at family farms in Missouri and Kentucky.

La Quercia has been a leader in promoting humane and more sustainable pork farming since the company started more than a decade ago. They have taken a strong stance against confinement, subtherapeutic antibiotic use, and inhumane practices, requiring their suppliers to agree to specific protocol. The move toward a third party audited program gives La Quercia and their customers more assurance that humane protocols are being followed.

“We are proud to purchase a majority of our pork from farmers whose husbandry has been third party audited by GAP’s 5 Step Program,” said co-founder Herb Eckhouse. “75% of the pork we currently purchase has been certified by GAP and 53% has been rated Step 3 (Pasture Assisted) or higher. We are always looking for the best quality meat we can find, and this project represents a big step forward in our ability to introduce the finest cured meats produced with humane treatment to animals and minimal environmental impact.” 

La Quercia has worked to create more demand for delicious artisan cured meats made in the U.S. with humanely-raised meats, which is key to developing a supply chain for products that are still atiny fraction of the U.S. pork industry. La Quercia’s pre-sliced prosciuttos can be found nationwide at retailers including Hy-Vee, Kroger, Whole Foods, Murray’s Cheese, and Zingerman’s.

Source: La Quercia