Lincolnshire butchers launch sausage name tax

The voluntary ‘Sausage Tax’ is to build a fighting fund that includes legal advice for an application to protect the Lincolnshire Sausage.

The Lincolnshire Sausage Association is behind the initiative, and has written to MPs for the county as well as Defra minister Caroline Spelman and food minister Jim Paice.

Defra is set to decide whether to forward an application to formally protect the Lincolnshire Sausage to the European Commission.

According to the Lincolnshire Sausage Association: "The protection is being put forward so the consumer is assured of a quality product, made according to a traditional recipe in the area that invented the Lincolnshire Sausage.

A classic Lincolnshire sausage, says the Association, contains at least 70% pork, breadcrumbs or rusk, sage, salt, pepper and water (and in some sausages sulphite as a preservative).

"However, a premium ‘Lincolnshire Sausage’ sold by one of the leading supermarkets contains more parsley and thyme than sage and has 20 ingredients including tetrasodium diphosphate, disodium diphosphate, dextrose, yeast extract, sodium metabisulphite, ascorbic acid and ammonium bicarbonate.

"The Lincolnshire Sausage made fresh on the premises is a vital part of our butchers’ business and heritage."

The campaign to gain protected status for Lincolnshire sausages was launched six years ago.

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