Quality is not a slogan
When a consumer buys an Iberian ham, they are trusting that behind the price they pay there is a specific pig, a specific diet and a specific cure. The way to protect yourself from counterfeits and shortcuts is to demand quality marks issued by independent bodies.
Our pieces pass four: the Guijuelo Protected Denomination of Origin, the Iberian Pork Quality Standard, the HYCER certification body and the Tierra de Sabor mark. Here is what each one means.
1 · Guijuelo Protected Denomination of Origin
The Guijuelo PDO is the first Iberian ham denomination of origin created in Spain and in the world. It came into being in 1986. Our family was one of its founding members, alongside another group of producers and farmers from the area who decided to bring order to a sector that produced a great deal but with little oversight.
The Guijuelo PDO is not a commercial brand. It is a public-law corporation with three functions:
- It verifies that every covered piece meets a strict Specification.
- It certifies (accredited by ENAC under standard UNE-ISO 17065) the hams and shoulders that pass the controls.
- It pursues the improper use of the name “Guijuelo” on non-covered products, which is prohibited under national and European law.
What the Guijuelo PDO controls
- Farm origin: that the pig comes from registered holdings, with registered farmers and a minimum of 1 hectare per animal in the montanera.
- Diet: that the acorns the pig is said to eat are the ones it has actually eaten, verified by inspectors in the dehesa.
- Slaughter: only in the 9 abattoirs registered with the PDO.
- Production: only in cellars registered within the 78 municipalities of the protected area (south-east of Salamanca, with Guijuelo as its core).
- Minimum cure: 425 days for 100% acorn-fed hams, 365 days for shoulders (the specification was amended in September 2025, raising the times).
- Fat composition: a minimum of 54% beneficial fatty acids in the carcass.
- Traceability: every piece with a unique number from the abattoir.
Our covered pieces carry a numbered PDO band (vitola), a ring on the leg with the denomination, the piece number and the date it left the cellar. That numbering makes it possible, years later, to recover the entire history of the ham.
Official Guijuelo PDO website →
2 · The Iberian Pork Quality Standard (Royal Decree 4/2014)
Royal Decree 4/2014 is the national law that regulates Iberian meat, ham, shoulder and loin. It replaced a 2007 standard with the aim of simplifying and clarifying labelling.
The Standard establishes three fundamental things:
Mandatory sales name
Every ham must carry three pieces of information on the label, in this exact order:
- Type of product: ham, shoulder or loin.
- Diet and husbandry: acorn-fed, free-range grain-fed or grain-fed.
- Breed type: 100% Iberian, Iberian (75%) or Iberian (50%).
There is no other legal way to name it. “Pata negra ham” on its own, “Iberian ham from the Pyrenees” or “gran reserva ham” are not valid sales names.
Four colour-coded seals
| Colour | Designation |
|---|---|
| Black | 100% Iberian acorn-fed |
| Red | Iberian acorn-fed (75% or 50%) |
| Green | Iberian free-range grain-fed (100%, 75% or 50%) |
| White | Iberian grain-fed (100%, 75% or 50%) |
The seals are placed by the abattoir and are tamper-proof. They carry a unique number and must stay on the piece throughout its commercial life: at the producer, the distributor, the point of sale and even on the restaurant table.
Protected terms
The standard reserves the use of three words by law:
- “Pata negra”: only on “100% Iberian acorn-fed” products.
- “Dehesa” and “Montanera”: only on “acorn-fed” products.
- “Recebo” and “Ibérico puro”: prohibited on any label following the 2014 standard.
If you see “pata negra” on a grain-fed ham, that product is breaking the law.
Full text of RD 4/2014 on the BOE →
3 · The HYCER certification body
HYCER (Higiene y Calidad Eurocárnica) is an independent certification body accredited by ENAC (the National Accreditation Body) to verify compliance with the Iberian Pork Quality Standard.
It is one of the organisations authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out the physical inspections in dehesas, abattoirs and drying rooms that the standard requires. It audits our facilities and verifies that every batch of product leaving as “100% Iberian acorn-fed” is what it says it is.
We have worked with HYCER since the standard came into force. Its audits are annual and random, and all the records we generate on site are available to it.
4 · The Tierra de Sabor mark
Tierra de Sabor is the agri-food quality mark of the Regional Government of Castile and León. It identifies products made in the region that meet additional standards of quality, traceability and origin.
To carry the Tierra de Sabor mark, our products pass controls complementary to those of the PDO, focused on sensory quality, traceability and respect for the traditional method. It is not a compulsory mark; it is voluntary and entails additional demands that we take on as part of our commitment to quality.
What this means for you
Every Hernández Jiménez piece that reaches your home carries four independent guarantees that verify one another:
- The Guijuelo PDO guarantees that the product comes from the protected area, meets the specification and has been cured for the minimum time established.
- The Iberian Pork Quality Standard guarantees the sales name, the breed and the diet.
- HYCER technically audits that those compliances are real.
- Tierra de Sabor adds sensory-quality controls on top of the above.
Four different bodies, none controlled by us, all with legal responsibility for what they certify. If any of them detected a breach, the piece would not carry its mark.
Ask for traceability
If you want to see the full traceability of the piece you have bought, contact us with the piece number that appears on the Guijuelo PDO band or on the ASICI seal. We send you, within 48 hours, the document with the farm of origin, the slaughter and salting dates, and all the intermediate controls.
It is your right as a consumer and it is what makes buying real Iberian worth it.