A Milestone

     This week is the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the most well known food product in the world.  Any guess as to what it might be?  Let me give you a hint...in 2007 the seventh billion can was sold and on average 3.8 cans of it are consumed in the United States every second.  It's name is a contraction of two words, Spiced and Ham. 
















      Yes, you guessed it.  the product that is sold on 6 of the world continents in 41 countries around the globe is none other than SPAM, the precooked meat product that was first introduced in 1937.

     According to Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News, "More cans of SPAM have been sold than there are people on earth."  Produced by the Hormel Corporation it is chopped pork shoulder, ham meat, salt, water, modified potato starch and sodium nitrite.  A 3.5 ounce serving contains 310 calories of protein, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 27 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, and 70 milligrams of cholesterol.  A single serving contains 57% of the daily recommended intake of sodium.  In its 75 years of existence it has been transformed into a variety of special versions to garner a wider audience. 

     It gained popular acclaim during WWII as the meal of choice for GIs who ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner in combat zones.  In the United States it was considered a "poor man's meat" but in places like Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands it is still highly regarded, being called "The Hawaiian Steak."  Those locations consume  more SPAM per capita than anywhere else in the world, 16 cans a year.  It is sold there at both McDonald's and Burger King.

     Austin, Minnesota is home to Hormel and has been nick named SPAM Town, USA.  An annual festival is hosted there on the 4th of July entitled the SPAM Jam.  A similar event is also celebrated on Waikiki during the last week of April each year.  Austin is also home to the SPAM Museum.  Of course, SPAM has a place of prominence at the Minnesota State Fair with a Spamville exhibit as well as a food booth.

     In honor of this milestone I think it only fair to celebrate with a SPAM sandwich and maybe a beer.