Wet Salted Pigskin

The US harvests ~450,000 hogs per day, however less than 10% of US skins harvested from pork production will be used for leather production.  The other +90% are designated for gelatin production or food consumption.  Typical US pigskins are machine pulled, machine fleshed, and drum cured prior to palletizing and shipping.  Depending on the supplier, the skins may be sorted by defects and weight grading.  Hormel remains the last large US packer supplying butcher pigskins for leather production.  

Hormel Wet Salted

Hormel processes healthy, USDA inspected hogs. All hog producers supplying to Hormel Foods must comply with Hormel's animal welfare requirements, including the National Pork Board's Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus Program, the Transportation Quality Assurance (TQA) Program, and Hormel's Farm Animal Care and Treatment Specifications (FACTS). 

In the plant, Hormel and USDA inspectors certify that all carcasses are cleaned, de-haired, and washed before processing begins. Hormel pigskins are center section skins trimmed from the base of the front leg to the start of the tail.  In doing so, Hormel provides skins with uniform thickness that are ideal for shoe nubuck and garment suede.  Leading athletic footwear and luxury apparel brands alike use Hormel skins due to the large quantity and uniformity.  Boasting a more consistent pricing structure than other hair-on skins, Hormel skins provide a dependable model suitable for tanneries of all sizes.   

Hormel processes and salt cures skins used in leather production.   Wet salted skins are cured on site under the USDA inspected facility.  The salt curing process starts within an hour of harvesting the skin to quickly reduces moisture while stabilizing the quality of the skin.  Skins are packed in heat treated crates for shipping.