Christmas Hams: Why Shopping Local Beats the Big Supermarkets

Nothing says Christmas quite like a delicious ham, but there are a few things you should know first.

Most conventional hams (and pork) sold in Australian supermarkets —and even many retail butchers — come from pigs raised in intensive factory farming systems.

Put simply, it means that the pigs and piglets are kept indoors on concrete slabs with barely any space to move freely throughout their lives. In some cases, the mother pigs are kept in sow stalls and farrowing crates which are small metal cages only slightly larger than the pig itself used to severely restrict sow's movement during pregnancy and birth.

The Australian Pork Industry is working towards phasing out “sow stalls”, however many factory farms are still slow to change, and pigs still remain to be the most poorly treated animal in Australia.

Unfortunately, factory farming in Australia isn’t the only concern. More than 65% of pork small goods sold in Australia— like bacon and ham— have been imported frozen from overseas, where farming standards are not closely monitored and sow stalls are still widely used.

So with over 90% of hams being sourced from factory farms and overseas, it's worth asking: what should you be buying?

If you want to make an ethical choice this Christmas, look for hams made from 100% Australian Certified Free Range Pork. Keep in mind, though, that Australian, labelling laws can sometimes be a little confusing. Here are some tips to remember when buying free range:

• The pink “Australian Pork” label found on Pork products does not mean that the pork is free range.
• RSPCA approved does not guarantee the Pork to be free range. It can either be free range or still raised indoors their entire life, but with higher living standards than conventional factory farming.
• Bred Free Range means that the pigs where born in a free range environment but were subsequently raised indoors
• Certified Free Range means that the pigs are kept in grassy pasture, with plenty of room to move around and live a happy life. The farms are regularly audited to ensure that the free range certification requirements are met.

Our Hams

At the heart of everything we do is the ethical treatment of animals. We have never, and will never stock products sourced from intensive farming.

Every ham in our store is made on-site using Western Australian Free Range Pork and naturally smoked in our in-store smokehouse.

Our signature “Naked” range is nitrate-free, sugar-free and gluten-free, naturally cured using only salt, water and spray free home grown rosemary and smoked using organic chestnut wood chips. 

What exactly are nitrates? Nitrates are the preservative that is used in pork small goods that give it a rosy-pink colour instead of the greyish brown colour pork naturally has once exposed to air. Curious about nitrates, Learn more here.

We're committed to complete transparency and are always happy to answer any questions you may have about our products, including our Christmas Hams!