What is mortadella made of? See what experts say

In Brazil, mortadella can contain beef and poultry, unlike in Italy

By Patrick Fuentes

Originating from Italy, mortadella is one of the most consumed deli meats in Brazil and its presence has been increasing in the households of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro residents.

A survey conducted by the Kantar consultancy indicates a 10.5% increase in consumption of the product between 2021 and 2022 in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA), mortadella is made from butchered meats, which are processed and enclosed in casings, then subjected to appropriate thermal treatment for consumption. The ministry categorizes it into five types based on the ingredients:

• Mortadella
• Mortadella bologna
• Bologna-style mortadella
• Italian mortadella
• Poultry mortadella

Mortadella is created through an emulsion, an industrial process where different types of meats are mixed and processed until they become a homogeneous mass. As a result, it’s not possible to identify all the elements used in its production.

Marcelo Arenalis Franco, the Research, Development, and Innovation Manager at Ceratti, one of the country’s main mortadella producers, explains that the ministry’s differentiation arose with the growth of the use of mechanically separated meat — meat extracted from poultry carcasses — as well as the addition of soy protein and starch to reduce the product’s cost.

“When you taste a bologna mortadella, you feel more elasticity and even more flavor, because it doesn’t have starch and mechanically separated meat, unlike a bologna-style mortadella [which has starch and mechanically separated meat],” he says.

During the manufacturing process, the mass is seasoned with spices, fats, additives, and preservatives. In the end, it is encased in an edible “wrapper.” Experts consulted by Folha newspaper explain that despite the Brazilian mortadella manufacturing process being similar to the Italian one, the products differ in the ingredients used in their production.

Ana Lúcia da Silva Corrêa Lemos, Director of the Meat Technology Center at the Institute of Food Technology (Ital), explains that the Italian recipe is exclusively made with pork. “Brazilian mortadella contains beef, resulting in a darker color due to the presence of beef along with pork, whereas the Italian version is much lighter,” she says.

WHAT GOES INTO EACH TYPE OF MORTADELLA

MORTADELLA

• Meats from different butchered animal species and mechanically separated meats up to 60%
• Edible organs from different butchered animal species (stomach, heart, tongue, liver, kidneys, brains)
• Skin and tendons up to 10%
• Fats

MORTADELLA BOLOGNA-STYLE

• Beef and/or pork and/or lamb meats and mechanically separated meats up to 20%
• Edible organs from bovine and/or pork and/or lamb (stomach, heart, tongue, liver, kidneys, brains)
• Skin and tendons up to 10%
• Fats

ITALIAN MORTADELLA

• Muscular portions of meats from different butchered animal species
• Bacon
• No addition of starch is allowed

BOLOGNA MORTADELLA

• Muscular portions of beef and/or pork meats
• Bacon, stuffed in a round shape
• No addition of starch is allowed

POULTRY MEAT MORTADELLA

• Poultry meat
• Mechanically separated meat, up to 40% at most
• Edible organs from poultry (liver, gizzard, heart), up to 5% at most
• Fat

Article originally published on June 8, 2023 in Folha de S.Paulo