Pancetta is a permanent dried meat product that is produced from a deboned piece of pork by the technological process of salting or pickling, smoking and drying, respectively ripening. Additives used in the technology of pancetta production are salt, nitrites/ nitrates, phosphates and polyphosphates, and sweeteners whose amount is legally prescribed. The health safety of raw materials and the finished product is crucial in protecting the health of consumers. Therefore, the goal of production is to obtain the final product od the desired sensory, physicochemical and microbiological properties. Standards for food safety are prescribed by European regulations that also appy in Croatia. One of the most important parameters of the health of pancetta is the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that enter the product during the smoking phase. Heavy metals are present in the environment as a result of natural and anthropogenic activities, so people come into contact with them, especially by consuming food. The most important heavy metals as contaminants of meat products are cadmiun (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg). Microbiological contamination of meat and meat products poses a major risk to consumer health. Determination of the total number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and enterobacteria is used as an indicator of microorganisms. The bacterial species that most commonly contaminate meat and meat products are E. coli, Clostridium, Listeria, and Trichinella. This paper provides an overview of the most important parameters of health safety od pancetta, which are determined in order to preserve the health of consumers.