DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN "DEHESA DE EXTREMADURA".

The Agriculture and Commerce Department, in its Decree 34/90 on 15 May, granted regional authorisation to the Protected Denomination of Origin: "Dehesa de Extremadura" and approved the regulations of the Regulatory Board.

The Order issued on 2 July, 1990, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food ratified the regulations governing the Denomination of Origin "Dehesa de Extremadura" and its Regulatory Board, to be promoted and defended by the Central government, both nationally and internationally.

The Regulatory Board is the body in charge of the promotion and quality control of the hams and shoulders that carry the “Dehesa de Extremadura Denomination of Origin seal of approval. The Regulatory Board monitors the farms, abattoirs, natural drying areas and bodegas (cellars). In June of 1996 the European Union recognised Dehesa de Extremadura as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) thereby endorsing at the European level the prestige and quality of the Iberian hams and shoulders controlled by our Regulatory Board.