monkeys and ponies

I admit, the raw pork part of this is freaky! I was slightly terrified to try eating this myself. But in fact, the long curing process for prosciutto -- which yes, technically is "raw" pork -- renders it safe to eat, and trichinosis hasn't been a significant problem in the US for many years now. Also, apparently when dealing with cuts of meat rather than ground meat, any bacteria are most frequently on the outside -- which is the part exposed to the salt cure (or here, miso and kombu cure) that's going to kill them. Here's a good post about charcuterie safety and common sense from an expert chef.