Lincolnshire sausage protected status blow

THE Lincolnshire Sausage Association says it is devastated that Defra rejected an application for geographical protected status for the Lincolnshire Sausage.

If successful, the bid would have meant only Lincolnshire sausages made within the county could bear that name.

Defra said the recipe was used too widely and would affect too many businesses working outside the county.

The LSA feels insufficient account has been taken of all the evidence provided, with too much emphasis placed on the recipe rather than method of production and its characteristic coarseness.

Jane Tomlinson, who runs Redhill Farm Free Range Pork near Gainsborough, said the whole county had been let down by the decision.

“This was a vital opportunity for the whole county to benefit from its own food heritage for generations to come - creating and sustaining jobs throughout the supply chain - from farming, slaughter, butchery, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail,” said Jane.

“According to Defra ‘95 per cent of sausages being sold as Lincolnshire Sausages are made outside the county’. This shows the real need to control the authentic production and retail of all Lincolnshire Sausages, not a reason to refuse status.”