Bellota and serrano jamon carry no health risk, says Spanish expert

AN expert on links between diet and cancer has given Spain’s celebrated air-cured hams the all-clear.

Dr Carlos Alberto Gonzalez was responding to October’s WHO report, which warned of red meat’s carcinogenic risks.

But Spanish jamon, either the serrano that comes from white pigs raised on commercial feed, or the delicacy of a bellota, whose black pigs are fed on acorns, carries little risk, the head of cancer organisation the IARC said.

“The ham of these pigs doesn’t have so much saturated fats, only polyunsaturated fats, and evidence indicates this doesn’t carry health risks,” he said.