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Consumers no longer look for food characterized only by health safety and proper nutritional value. As a result, an increased interest in traditional and regional food can be observed. The aim of this paper is to analyze the results of a comparative analysis of three types of hams: traditional products registered on the List of Traditional Products of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, then products whose names, retail prices, appearance, and manufacturer’s description suggest traditional methods of production, and finally conventional hams. The results show that traditional hams are characterized by the highest nutritional value among the analyzed groups of products. They have the lowest water and a high protein content. In addition, traditional hams are distinguished by a low concentration of sodium chloride and no addition of phosphates. The residues of nitrites and nitrates indicate their moderate use in manufacturing processes.

Sausages and hams are perceived as important components of culinary heritage for many regions all over the world. Consumers believe that traditional foods are characterized by unique sensory properties and high quality. However, the fats found in all pork meat products are generally not associated with favorable dietary patterns. The aim of this study was to verify the possible differences regarding the composition of fatty acids between traditional Polish pork hams and wiejska sausages, and their conventional equivalents. For this purpose, the fat content and fatty acid profiles were determined. The research material consisted of 2 varieties of traditional hams and 5 varieties of sausages, as well as 4 varieties of both conventional hams and sausages. The results of this study demonstrated that traditional hams contained significantly higher percentage of C 20:3 (cis-11,14,17) acid than their conventional equivalents. Traditional sausages were characterized by lower shares of C 18:2 (cis-9,12) and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA), whereas higher content of C 18:1 (cis-9), C 18:3 (cis-9,12,15), C 20:0 and Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA). This resulted in significantly higher amounts of n-3 and lower of n-6 acids than in conventional sausages. All of the tested meat products were also characterized by an unfavorable n-6/n-3 ratio.