the case for collagen

This point is often misunderstood by consumers and reinforced by the common used term for hog casings as 'natural casings', Devro's Lee Hamilton points out.

Collagen cases were created after scientists discovered that naturally occurring collagen protein could be broken down and reconstituted into an extrudable mass. This could then be formed into a tube or casing suitable for use in sausage manufacturing.

The advantages of this method, over the more traditional animal gut casings, was the ability to gain uniform size and weight.

However, with the reinvigoration of the sausage category through the premium sector, collagen casings were passed over in favour of the more traditional, and less uniform, hog casings.

However that lack of uniformity, while seen as a strength for the premium sector, poses problems for manufacturers due to variability in product size and quality, and eating quality can be impaired with consumers occasionally encountering "chewy" skins on their sausages.

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