Don't get all salty, because the ham stays here.
In response to a Washington Post story about the shuttering of its oldest smokehouse, Smithfield Foods wants to make sure its customers know they're not going anywhere with their signature product, the long-cut cured genuine Smithfield ham.
Ken Sullivan, CEO of Smithfield Foods, said in a press release, "We are not discontinuing our Genuine Smithfield Ham. In fact, we have always been committed to continued production of this beloved product in Smithfield, Virginia, the town we’ve called home for more than 80 years."
The company announced the closing of its oldest and original smokehouse, leading to concerns they were looking at options for producing their Genuine Smithfield Hams from another facility.
In a statement earlier in the week Smithfield Foods announced that the company will “evaluate the best site to produce our Genuine Smithfield Ham going forward.”
Asked by The News Leader to clarify whether that might mean production would move outside of Smithfield, spokesperson Jana Beasley responded, “Smithfield has absolutely no intention of ceasing production of Genuine Smithfield Ham in the town of Smithfield.”
A Virginia law states that only ham made within the "corporate limits of the town" of Smithfield can be called Smithfield Ham: "Genuine Smithfield hams are hereby defined to be hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry salt method of cure and aged for a minimum period of six months; such six-month period to commence when the green pork cut is first introduced to dry salt, all such salting, processing, treating, smoking, curing, and aging to be done within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield, Virginia."
