how do you know when "cured" pork is edible as is - as in some pancetta can be eaten "raw" others not.

Ask the clerk of the place where you buy your charcuterie. If it is 'fully cured', meaning at least a week curing with either curing salt or celery extract (which contains nitrite), then it is perfectly safe to eat without cooking. Same goes for guanciale. Bacon that isn't cured first must be cooked to be safely consumed, even if it is smoked. Lardo can almost always be eaten as it is - that is the traditional way of serving it.

As for hams, they cure for a very long time and as such no