Porc de Franche-Comté

Porc de Franche-Comté is refrigerated fresh pork from pigs born, fattened, and slaughtered exclusively in the Franche-Comté region of France. The designation requires that animals be fed on whey — a by-product of the region's cheese dairies — slaughtered at a minimum age of 182 days, and yield a minimum warm carcass weight of 75 kg, with no upper weight limit.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 4 November 2005 under file number PGI-FR-0504 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013811), Porc de Franche-Comté covers refrigerated fresh meat sold as carcasses, primary cuts, or secondary cuts. The geographical area is defined as the four departments of Franche-Comté: Doubs (25), Jura (39), Haute-Saône (70), and Territoire de Belfort (90). Pigs must be born, fattened, and slaughtered within this area; slaughter within the area is required to limit transport stress and preserve meat quality. Only females and castrated males are eligible. Genetic requirements are specific: breeding sows must not carry the halothane sensitivity gene, the proportion of fattening pigs sensitive to halothane must be less than 3%, and no animal may carry the RN- allele. Feed must incorporate whey at between 15 and 35% of dry matter in the diet; the complementary feed must consist of at least 50% cereals and miller's offals, which must themselves contain at least 25% cereals. Linoleic acid inputs are limited to 1.7% of the overall diet. At all levels of the supply chain, carcasses and cuts are selected to exclude meat blemishes, dark or pale colouring, and soft or oily body fat; selection also proceeds by ultimate pH. The labelling must carry the name Porc de Franche-Comté.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 4 November 2005 under file number PGI-FR-0504, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013811.
• Pigs must be slaughtered at a minimum age of 182 days with a minimum warm carcass weight of 75 kg; no upper weight limit is set.
• Whey must constitute between 15 and 35% of dry matter in the diet; Franche-Comté is stated to be the only region in France where whey is used as a major ingredient in pig feed.
• No animal carrying the RN- allele may be used, and the proportion of halothane-sensitive fattening pigs must remain below 3%.

Tasting notes

Franche-Comté pork IGP raised on regional cereal feed. Firm flavored flesh — base pork for Morteau and Montbéliard sausages.

HoReCa use

Porc de Franche-Comté is sold as fresh meat for consumers and as a raw material for cured meat product manufacturers within the region.

Packaging

• Same as other pork IGPs