But it’s the overseas swine-fever assault on salty, savory, dry-cured prosciutto, an essential ingredient and flavor in Italian cuisine, that has chefs and restaurateurs sharpening their anxiety. 

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“Prosciutto has that ‘nyum-nyum’ factor. It’s got to have that ‘nyum-nyum’ factor,” Vito La Fata, co-owner of Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante in St. Louis, Missouri, told Fox News Digital.

The deep, rich flavor and silky texture of prosciutto crosses the palate like soothing warm oil. It tantalizes the taste buds — La Fata’s “nyum-nyum factor.”

“It’s the foundation of an Italian restaurant,” he said.

Joe Isidori, chef-owner of Arthur & Sons, a popular red-sauce Italian restaurant in New York City, grew up in the third generation of a family of butchers and chefs.

He puts prosciutto on a pedestal, too.

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“Prosciutto is in our veins. It’s part of our DNA. I don’t know if we could live without it,” Isidori told Fox News Digital.

The threat to prosciutto has grown in recent weeks as swine fever swept down from its epicenter in the northern region of Lombardy and into neighboring Parma. 

The province of Parma is celebrated worldwide for Italy’s finest prosciutto.

Isidori is already cooking up plans for a worst-case scenario, noting that two of the most popular dishes at Arthur & Sons feature the traditional Italian ham.

The stacked eggplant at Arthur & Sons pairs prosciutto with red peppers and buratta cheese. Smoked prosciutto enriches what Isidori calls “our world-famous” spicy rigatoni alla vodka.  

“We’ll have to figure it out,” Isidori said, should Parma prosciutto grow scarce. “For our recipes, prosciutto is the king.”

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La Fata of Vito’s in St. Louis was raised in Sicily. But he’s already equipped to survive and thrive during the Italian-born cold-cut crisis. 

He buys American.

“We support a local company,” La Fata said. “The prosciutto we use here, Volpi, is made here in St. Louis. It reminds me of the flavor we used to have back in Sicily. It’s great prosciutto. It also has the great advantage that it happens to be local, too.”

Volpi prosciutto has “got that nyum-nyum factor, just like the gold standard Parma prosciutto,” La Fata said.

Twelve countries, including China, Taiwan and Mexico, have banned the import of Italian pork delicacies, like prosciutto, because of swine fever in Italy, the AP reported. The U.S. is not among the 12.