So what’s in a name – Boerewors vs Braaiwors

Although Shakespeare said a rose by another name would be just as sweet, in the food industry we take names very seriously. Use the wrong name and you can mislead the consumer – at your peril. You may have seen the flurry of tweets on the “labelling blunder” by our favourite consumer watch dog, Wendy Knowler?  If not, here's the low down - you can’t call a meat sausage boerewors unless it complies with the minimum legal requirements! If you do... you could face a grilling on social media.

Legal Requirements

So, what are the minimum legal requirements to be able to call your product by the traditional name (boerewors)?

1. 90% meat content
2. less than 30% total fat content
3. No offal
4. No mechanically deboned meat

And the only additives allowed are vinegar, water, cereal and starch, spices, herbs, salt and permitted additives.

Anything else and its braai wors!

Other Sausages

And while we are on the subject of sausage, there is also a legal requirement for your pork (or other species) sausage – the minimum legal requirements to be able to call your product by the traditional name:

1. 75% meat content, of which 75% is the predominant species – pork in this case, the other 25% can be another species as labelled on the packaging – if it’s donkey, you can’t label it beef….nudge nudge, wink wink!
2. less than 30% total fat content
3. No offal
4. No mechanically deboned meat

And the only additives allowed are vinegar, water, cereal and starch, spices, herbs, salt and permitted additives

Anything else and it’s a banger people, NOT a sausage.

http://www.foodfocus.co.za/home/Legislation/Food-Safety/Regulations-Governing-The-Composition-and-Labelling-Of-Raw-Boerewors,-Raw-Species-Sausage-and-Raw-Mixed-Species-Sausage

And for dessert

And to finish off your meal, how about some dessert? The rules don't just apply to meat, there are regulations specifying what we are allowed to call dairy ice cream and what we call ice cream and frozen dessert!

Have a look what the regulations say:

http://www.nda.agric.za/doaDev/sideMenu/foodSafety/doc/localImportRegulations/Edible%20Ices%20-%20R.78%20of%208%20Feb%20%2713.pdf

So be warned, the consumer expects ethical conduct. If not you will face the consequences of social media and legal redress, as this weekend showed us.