Pork a Big Part of Most Sandwiches

March 5, 2001

Research funded by the pork checkoff shows about 36% of all sandwiches consumed in-home or carried last year were made with pork: ham, hot dog, bologna, hero/sub, salami, sausage or bacon/BLT. Research by NPD Group, a Chicago-based research firm well known in the food industry, shows that nine out of 10 Americans regularly eat a sandwich.

The average person eats three sandwiches a week and one of those is pork based. Ham tops the list of the 15 types of sandwiches that are eaten most often, followed by peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly, then burgers, cheese and turkey, according to results of the 2000 national eating trends survey.

Conducted for more than 10 years, the research consistently shows ham sandwiches at the top of the list in all regions of the United States. NPD research shows, on average, that ham sandwiches are eaten twice a month. The ham sandwiches usually are made with lunchmeat rather than leftovers. Bologna and hot dog sandwiches are eaten about once a month, on average.

"Consumer preferences for ham sandwiches has remained constant over time, partly due to checkoff-funded promotion of pork," said Steve Schmeichel, a producer from Hurley, SD, and chairman of the National Pork Producers Council Demand Enhancement Committee. "Also, part of the consistency is because pork is a versatile ingredient for sandwiches and because consumers change eating habits slowly."

The ham accounts for nearly a quarter of the pork carcass, making it a major part of the meat products that must be marketed. Significant checkoff funded work has and is being done to address new uses and products from the leg area.

About 40% of the ham sandwiches are heated. The most popular addition is cheese. Half of all ham sandwiches include cheese, usually American. For condiments, roughly 40% of all ham sandwiches are created with a mayonnaise-style spread and about 30% include mustard. Only 1 in 7 sandwiches includes lettuce. Most consumers make their sandwiches with white bread.

The NPD National Eating Trends Service collects data from a panel of 2,000 households, totaling about 5,000 people. Each household keeps a written diary of all foods and beverages consumed by all family members during a two-week period. Data is collected continuously.