US Cold-Cut Crisis Looms as Virus Ravages Pig Farms in Italy

U.S. consumers and “sangwich” connoisseurs could soon face an Italian cold-cut crisis, FOX News reports.

Officials in Italy have slaughtered 90,000 pigs over the past two months as African swine fever swept through the country, renowned for its palette-tempting pork products.

Food industry insiders warn that salami, mortadella, and pancetta are at high risk of a supply crunch. These delicious delicacies are staples at almost every supermarket deli counter, sandwich shop, and Italian restaurant in the U.S.

“The spread of swine fever has reached alarming levels, putting at risk not just the health of the animals, but the entire pork sector,” Ettore Prandini, president of business trade group Confindustria, wrote in a recent letter to Italy’s minister of agriculture.

The potential deli-counter devastation comes amid soaring food costs and a strike that recently disrupted commerce at U.S. ports.

But it’s the overseas swine-fever impact on salty, silky, dry-cured prosciutto—an essential ingredient and flavor in Italian cuisine—that has chefs and restaurateurs sharpening their anxiety.

For now, only time will tell whether this confluence of factors is alleviated or worsened.

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