Heading 0210 covers meat and offal that has been preserved by salting, brining, drying, or smoking but has not been further cooked or otherwise prepared. Once a meat product is cooked, or combined with other ingredients in a way that constitutes preparation, it typically moves to Chapter 16 (prepared or preserved meat). The line between 0210 and Chapter 16 is a frequent classification issue for products like cooked ham or partially cooked bacon.

Meat flours and meals — finely ground dried meat products — are technically within the scope of heading 0210 but represent a very small share of trade volume compared to whole-cut cured and smoked products. Most commercial trade under 0210 consists of bone-in and boneless cured pork cuts, bacon, and similar products rather than ground or powdered forms.