Sausage hits a snag

Swiss butchers are in a lather over the fate of one of Switzerland’s favourite sausages: the cervelat. The government apparently hasn’t had the guts to take on the European Union over an import ban on one of its main ingredients – zebu intestines from Brazil. There are still enough of these natural casings to keep on making the sausage for a few more months, but after that the Swiss could be facing an untimely demise of a national institution – or at least a shortage during Euro 2008 – at the hands of the health inspectors.

Substitute ingredients from Uruguay and China are under consideration, as well other solutions but have failed so far to meet taste or quality requirements. There is apparently nothing like the taste of a cervelat grilled over an open-air fire in the forest. The Swiss eat 160 million of the damn things every year. Inside the skins is meat from 120,000 cows and 360,000 pigs, 90 per cent of which is locally produced.

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