Lincoln butcher Kenny Roberts from Elite Meats in the Bailgate proudly displays his Lincolnshire bangers
— Updated on May 17 with comments from Lincolnshire Sausage Association and Tastes of Lincolnshire
A bid to ensure Lincolnshire Sausages are produced solely in the county was rejected this week by DEFRA.
The Lincolnshire Sausage Association made a bid for Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) in Europe to protect the traditional recipe.
This would mean no other butcher or company outside of Lincolnshire would be able to produce the famous sausage.
The Lincolnshire Sausage Association argue that supermarkets and other brands outside the county are altering the recipe too much.
Additionally, it could also bring extra tourism to the county to taste a true Lincolnshire banger.
The application has been under decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the past two years.
Many variations of the recipe
DEFRA said it declined the application due to its potential to put too many jobs at risk.
Food and Farming Minister Jim Paice said: “British food is outstanding and we’re working hard to protect the local heritage of certain foods through PGI status.
“But with so many variations on the recipe, and 95% of sausages sold under the ‘Lincolnshire Sausage’ label being made outside the county, the application as it stood could have seriously damaged businesses and jobs.
“We remain open to looking at other options which would allow producers in Lincolnshire to highlight the traditional and local nature of their sausages without potentially damaging the overwhelming majority of manufacturers.”
A true Lincolnshire sausage is at least 70% pork meat, coarsely cut and mixed with rusk breadcrumbs and sage, packed in natural casings.
Too much emphasis on recipe
— Update 2: The Lincolnshire Sausage Association (LSA) said in a statement it is “devastated” to hear of Defra’s rejection of the application for PGI status.
“The LSA has spent a considerable amount of time and effort into making sure the application complied with the requirements of the articles and feel that insufficient account has been taken of all the evidence provided.
“Too much emphasis has been placed on the recipe rather than the method of production. In particular, no account seemed to have been taken of the coarseness of the mincing process which gives the true Lincolnshire sausage its bite and too much has been made of the ‘predominance of sage’.
“It appears that Defra has capitulated to large scale commercial producers, some of whom openly admit to putting no meat into their product.
“What a pity, at a time when Jim Paice is leading a delegation to China to promote our pork products to them, that he could not support one of Britain’s most iconic products, namely the Lincolnshire Sausage.
“The LSA does not believe that Defra has taken sufficient account of the strong support of the Lincolnshire people.
“Too much credence has been placed on the objectors’ claims, many of which were accredited to unnamed producers who had not objected to our application.
“Defra has failed to recognise the damage that so-called ‘Lincolnshire Sausage’ made by large manufacturers outside of the county is doing to the reputation of the genuine article.
“Support for this application from Defra would have helped to boost well over 150 small to medium enterprises in Lincolnshire – not just butchers but tourism in the county.
“We are sad and disappointed with this response and will be taking legal advice as to our next steps. We have only 10 working days to respond so we must act quickly.”
— Update 1: Tastes of Lincolnshire said in a statement: “The Lincolnshire sausage is an iconic and hugely important product for our county and we are so disappointed that it did not get the recognition it deserves and the protected geographical indication status.
“We are also hugely disappointed for our members who work tirelessly to promote provenance, food credibility and quality and contribute so much to the Lincolnshire economy.
“There may be slight variations on recipes but the importance of the individual ingredients and their inherent connection to Lincolnshire is clear.
“You only have to look at the prominence of this great Lincolnshire delicacy from our food fairs and farmers markets to our thriving autumn Sausage Festival to know that we put the sizzle into sausages.
“The Lincolnshire Sausage Association must be commended for their unstinting hard work in maintaining the profile of the product and this campaign.”
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Officers are in attendance at Sutcliffe Avenue, Grimsby, after being called to a reported firearms incident yesterday evening (Wednesday 6 July).
Two people were taken to hospital for treatment on their injuries, which are not thought to be life-threatening at this stage. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the incident and our investigations remain ongoing.
Officers were quickly deployed to the area and a cordon remains in place to ensure the safety of those nearby.
Senior Investigating Officer DCI Craig Nicholson said: “I’d like to offer reassurance to members of the public and local residents that we believe this to be an isolated and targeted incident with no wider risk to the public.
“Those living in these areas will see an increased number of officers in the area over the coming days carrying out further enquiries and speaking with residents.
“We understand an incident of this nature will cause distress to the local community, so if you are concerned, please come to speak to one of our officers who will be able to assist you.”
Officers are now appealing for anyone who may be able to assist us with our enquiries who has not yet spoken to us to contact us on 101 quoting log 407 of 6 July.
Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire is currently joint with Bromley as the most polluted place in the UK, according to IQAir.
Both Sutton Bridge and Bromley top the list with an air quality index ranking of 84, which is described as ‘moderate’.
The main pollutant is described as PM2.5 Particulate Matter (PM) is a variety of compounds and materials that are not gas, some of which can be toxic and have severe impacts on health. PM2.5 is the measure of fractions of PM where particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.
A small proportion of PM is made up of natural sources like pollen and sea spray, some is transported from other countries. Around half is made up of sources like domestic wood burning, tyre and brake wear from vehicles.
By the time of publication, in Sutton Bridge the concentration was currently 5.6 times the World Health Organisation annual air quality guideline value.
This drastically affects the quality of life for people with respiratory disease and increases the chance of asthma episodes.
See the live listicle of the most polluted cities and towns in the UK right now, which continues to be updated.
Asthma + Lung UK have warned this summer we will see a ‘toxic cocktail’ of heat, storms and pollen which will put millions of people with respiratory diseases, which affect roughly 20% of people in the UK, even more at risk.
Part of the reason that so many suffer is because of the one-size-fits-all approach to treatment for these conditions is not always the most appropriate treatment route.
The most polluted places in the UK that need to watch out for the triple threat (as of 11.25am on July 7). | Photo: IQAir
Sarah Woolnough, Asthma + Lung UK’s CEO, said: “Respiratory disease is the third biggest cause of death in the UK and impacts the lives of hundreds of millions of children and adults across the world.
“The respiratory community is united on the need for greater investment in research that can transform our understanding of these complex diseases and drive the development of new treatments, and ultimately cures.”
By the time of publication, in Sutton Bridge the concentration was currently 5.6 times the World Health Organisation annual air quality guideline value. | Photo: IQAir
The CEO, as well as Professor Maria Belvisi, Head of Respiratory Disease at AstraZeneca, said: “The challenge facing treatment for respiratory diseases is radically improving the lives of millions of people around the world. This demands that we transform our understanding of respiratory disease.
“There are approximately 545 million people with a respiratory disease globally. Diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis have seen significant scientific advances, with research digging deep into the biology of these complex, chronic conditions.
“Healthcare systems are committing to improve outcomes for patients, however, there is still much to be done. Treatment for respiratory disease remains largely focused on symptom control with very little data collected from patients to understand their individual biology and disease progression.”
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