Consumer preferences for dry-cured ham in Spain and Italy: Impact of marbling, sex and castration methods of pigs

Dry-cured hams come from either surgically castrated males (to avoid boar taint) or from intact females, but immunocastration method has been proposed to improve animal welfare in males and marbling in females. A consumer segmentation study (involving 4200 participants in Spain and Italy) was conducted through an online questionnaire including a choice experiment with blind and informed options of hams from surgically castrated- or immunocastrated-males (by vaccination), and from intact- or immunocastrated-females. The preference for a lean appeal (‘lean lovers’), complying with immunocastration of males, was shown by: young people, without children, travelling less, scarcely involved in home-tasks, consuming less frequently ham, having less knowledge about pig production system, and grading less the intrinsic and extrinsic purchasing cues, independently of gender and country. Even though castration method label is claimed by whole consumers, those valuing fat content (‘marbling lovers’) rank higher the utility of information regarding castration methods and show higher willingness to pay for immunocastration of males and females.