Starting with an analysis of the value that the meat market, especially pork, had in ancient Rome, the importance of the problem of its general supply and distribution is examined, with particular emphasis on the political and social role of the viscerationes, which became a public practice and a criterion of government within the annonary system. In particular, the titles De suariis, pecuariis et susceptoribus vini ceterisque corporatis of the Theodosian Code (C.Th. 14.4) and De suariis et susceptoribus vini et ceteris corporatis of the Justinian Code (C.I. 11.17) allow us to detect the commitment required of the corpus suariorum by the political bodies in relation to the payment of the canon suarius.