Spam (food)
![]() Brand logo | |
![]() Products on display | |
Product type | Precooked canned meat product |
---|---|
Owner | Hormel Foods Corporation |
Produced by | Hormel Foods Corporation |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1937 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Website | www |
Spam (stylized in all-caps) is a brand of lunch meat (processed canned pork and ham) made by Hormel Foods Corporation, an American multinational food processing company. It was introduced in the United States in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II.[1] As of 2003[update], Spam was sold in 41 countries, and trademarked in more than 100, on six continents.[2]
Spam's main ingredients are
Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised because it contains twice as much of the daily dietary recommendation of fat as it does of protein, and about the health effects of salt and preservatives.[7]
Spam has become part of popular culture, including
History

Hormel introduced Spam on July 5, 1937.[9][10] The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America states that the product was intended to increase the sale of pork shoulder, a cut which did not sell well.[9]
Ken Daigneau, the brother of a company executive, won a $100 prize that year in a competition to name the new item.[9] Hormel states that the meaning of the name "is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives," but a popular belief is that the name is a contraction of "spiced ham".[9][11] It has also been speculated to be an acronym for "shoulder of pork and ham".[12]
The difficulty of delivering fresh meat to the front during
During World War II and the occupations that followed, Spam was introduced into
The billionth can of Spam was sold in 1959,[22] and the eight billionth can was sold in 2012.[23]
International usage
United States and territories

Domestically, Spam's chief advantages were affordability, accessibility, and
After World War II, Spam changed roles in the U.S. from being the main protein source to being a side dish or ingredient used in items like sandwiches and eggs.[26]
Spam that is sold in North America, South America, and Australia is produced in Austin, Minnesota (also known as "Spam Town USA"), and in Dubuque, Iowa.[27] Austin, Minnesota also had a restaurant with a menu devoted exclusively to Spam called "Johnny's SPAMarama Menu".[28]
Hawaii
Residents of the state of Hawaii have the highest per capita consumption in the United States, bringing in sales of 7 million cans of Spam per year.[29] Its perception there is very different from that on the mainland.[30] Hawaiians sometimes call it "Portagee Steak".[31]
A local dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is placed on top of rice and wrapped in a band of nori, a form of onigiri or riceball.[32] Varieties of Spam are found in Hawaii and Saipan that are unavailable in other markets, including Honey Spam, and Hot and Spicy Spam.[33]
Hawaiian
In 2017, Hawaii was plagued by a rash of thefts of Spam.[37] Spam had long been a target of thieves in Hawaii, but the magnitude of the thefts ramped up, with incidents in which multiple cases of Spam were stolen at once. Local retailers believe organized crime was involved.[37] This came alongside increases in thefts of some other retail goods, such as corned beef and liquor. The president of the retail merchants of Hawaii attributed the rise in retail thefts to a recent change in criminal law, which raised the threshold at which a theft would lead to felony charges by approximately $400.[37]
Guam and the Northern Marianas
In Guam, the average per capita consumption is 16 tins (cans) per year. It is also found on McDonald's menus there. The Spam Games also occur in Guam, where locals sample and honor the best original, homemade Spam recipes.[38]
In the Northern Mariana Islands, lawyers from Hormel have threatened to sue the local press for publishing articles alleging ill effects of high Spam consumption on the health of the local population.[39][40]
Puerto Rico
Sandwich de Mezcla is a party staple in Puerto Rico containing Spam, Velveeta, and pimientos (made into a spread) between two slices of sandwich bread.[41]
Europe
United Kingdom
After World War II, Newforge Foods, part of the Fitch Lovell group, was awarded the license to produce the product in the U.K. at its Belle Vale factory,
The United Kingdom has adopted Spam into various recipes. For example, sliced, battered and deep-fried into Spam fritters.[44]
Middle East
Israel
Loof, a canned
Asia
Philippines
In the Philippines, Spam (currently distributed by
The popularity of Spam in the Philippines transcends economic class, and the canned product is even given during holidays. There are at least ten different varieties of Spam currently available in the country, and an estimated 1.25 million kilos of the meat is sold every year in the Philippines.
China
In mainland China, Hormel decided to adopt a different strategy to market Spam (Chinese: 世棒; pinyin: Shìbàng),[54] promoting it as a foreign, premium food product and changing the Spam formula to be meatier to accommodate local Chinese tastes.[55] Spam-like canned pork products are also produced by other food companies in China as "luncheon meat" (Chinese: 午餐肉; pinyin: Wǔcānròu; Jyutping: Ng5 caan1 juk6; Zhuyin Fuhao: ㄨˇ ㄘㄢ ㄖㄡˋ).
Hong Kong
After World War II, meat was scarce and expensive in
South Korea
Spam was exported to Korea post-World War II, whose population was on the brink of starvation.
In South Korea, Spam (Korean: 스팸; RR: seupaem, licensed from Hormel by CJ CheilJedang)[63] is popular[64] with a majority of the population.[65] As of 2004[update], South Korea produced and consumed more Spam than any other country except the United States.[66][67] It is considered something of a luxury dish and is a common gift for Korean New Year combined with cooking oil and seasoning.[57]
Japan
In Okinawa, Japan, the product is added into onigiri alongside eggs and used as a staple ingredient in the traditional Okinawan dish chanpurū, and a Spam burger is sold by local fast food chain Jef. For the 70th anniversary of Spam in 2007, cans with special designs were sold in Japan due to its popularity, primarily in Okinawa.[68] Following the March 2011 earthquake, Spam sales in Japan declined, and Hormel shifted its focus to China,[55] although Hormel did pledge to donate $100,000 along with cans of Spam for relief efforts.[69]
In early 2014, Burger King introduced the Spam and Cheese burger as a breakfast menu item.[70]
In popular culture

From 1940 to 1941, Spam sponsored George Burns and Gracie Allen on their radio program.[71]
During World War II, Spam was not only eaten but was also incorporated into many other aspects of the war (grease for guns, cans for scrap metal, etc.); it was so prominent that Uncle Sam was nicknamed "Uncle Spam".[72] Other terms influenced by the product's name include the European invasion fleet or the "Spam Fleet". Furthermore, the United Service Organizations (USO) toured the "Spam Circuit".[14] In 1943, comedian Suzette Tarri appeared as the harassed waitress character "Mrs Spam" in the British film Somewhere in Civvies.[73]
In the United States in the aftermath of World War II, a troupe of former servicewomen was assembled by Hormel Foods to promote Spam from coast to coast. The group was known as the Hormel Girls and associated the food with patriotism. In 1948, two years after its formation, the troupe had grown to 60 women, with 16 forming an orchestra. The show became a radio program where the main selling point was Spam. The Hormel Girls were disbanded in 1953.[74]
Spam has long had a somewhat dubious reputation in the United States and (to a lesser degree) in the United Kingdom as a
Monty Python sketch and email spam
Spam was featured in an iconic 1970
The sketch concluded with a chorus of Vikings boisterously singing a song – "Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam", which, by the 1990s, led to "Spam" being adopted as a term for
Because Spam was mentioned in a song in Monty Python and the Holy Grail,[78] "We dine well here in Camelot/We eat ham and jam and Spam a lot", the title of the musical version of the film became Spamalot.
Continued cultural presence
Spam is the subject of the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Spam", which is a parody of the R.E.M. song "Stand".[79] Other offshoots of Spam in popular culture include a book of haikus about Spam titled Spam-Ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon Loaf. There is also a mock Church of Spam and a Spam Cam, which is a webcam trained on a can of decaying Spam.[80]
In 2017 the SPAM® brand team launched the boy band ALL4SPAM in the Philippines as part of a new advertisement campaign in the region.[81]
Spam is referred to in
Introduced in 2008's Fallout 3 and seen in later entries to the franchise, a common foodstuff item called "Cram", a can of processed meat that serves as a parody of Spam, is used as a health regenerative item. The Pumpkin Spice Spam, introduced in September 2019, has gained the attention of the media and the public.[83]
Spam celebrations
Spam is celebrated in Austin, Minnesota, home to the Spam Museum. The museum tells the history of the Hormel company, the origin of Spam, and its place in world culture.
Austin is also the location of the final judging in the national Spam recipe competition. Competing recipes are collected from winning submissions at the top 40 state fairs in the nation. The Spamettes are a quartet from Austin that only sing about Spam in parodies of popular songs. They first performed at the first Spam Jam in 1990 and continue to perform at various events.[84]
Hawaii holds an annual
Spamarama was a yearly festival from 1978 to 2007 in Austin, Texas, which had a peak attendance of 14,000. The themed events included a Spam cook-off (to contrast with Texas chili cook-offs) and the Spamalymplics, including a "Spam toss" and a Spamburger (a 12-ounce portion on a bun) eating contest. The event returned in 2019.[87]
On August 8, 2021, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue established "National SPAM Musubi Day" to celebrate the iconic snack from Hawaii.[88] The celebration also happened on August 8, 2022, and has since become an annual celebration.[89]
Nutritional data


The ingredients of Spam vary according to variety and market; those of variety "Spam Classic" are pork with ham, salt, water, modified potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite.[90][91] Sodium nitrite is a common preservative used in highly processed meat products. Excessive consumption has been linked to many health issues.[92]
Substance | Quantity per 100g serving |
---|---|
Energy | 1,300 kJ (310 calories or kilocalories) |
Protein | 13g (26% daily value or DV) |
Total fat | 27g (41% DV) |
of which: saturated fat | 10g (49% DV) |
Carbohydrates | 3g (1% DV) |
Sodium | 1369 mg (57% DV) |
Cholesterol | 70 mg (23% DV) |
minerals (% DV) |
1% vitamin C, 1% calcium, 5% iron, 3% magnesium, 9% potassium, 12% zinc, and 5% copper |
Net weight per package: 340 grams (12 oz.) |
Varieties
The official Spam website lists numerous different flavors of Spam products. In addition to the variety of flavors, Spam is sold in tins smaller than the standard twelve-ounce (340 g) size. Spam Singles are also available, which are single sandwich-sized slices of Spam Classic or Lite, sealed in retort pouches.[94]
See also
- Back bacon – Type of bacon
- Bologna sausage – American sausage
- Chipped chopped ham – Processed luncheon meat made from ham chunks and trimmings and seasonings
- Loco moco – Dish in Hawaiian cuisine – A Hawaiian dish that uses Spam in some versions
- Pork roll – Processed pork common in New Jersey, US
- Potted meat food product– Form of traditional food preservation
- Prem – A canned meat product like Spam
- Treet – A canned meat product like Spam
- Tushonka – Soviet canned meat product – A canned, stewed meat
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nutritional Facts and Analysis for Spam". Nutritiondata.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ^ "SPAM Products". spam.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
External links
- Official website – United States
- Collection of mid-twentieth century advertising featuring Spam from The TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design.