NEW BOEREWORS STANDARDS PUBLISHED
The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has published the latest regulations relating to boerewors.
The regulations affect the classification, packing and marking of certain raw processed meat products.
The Minister has also provided the latest definition of boerewors, saying raw boerewors refers to a sausage sold under a name in which the word boerewors appears. This could be either by itself or in a combination with any other word or expression.
Business Insider reports that the latest regulations distinguish between raw minced meat, burgers, bangers, grillers, and sizzlers among others. Compositional standards relate to the fat content, additives, species, and ingredients permitted for use in specific raw processed meat products.
According to the regulations published in the Government Gazette on Friday, boerewors sold in South Africa isn’t allowed to contain mechanically recovered meat. This is defined as pulped material recovered by a process whereby bone and meat are mechanically separated, or any colourants.
It will also need to have a minimum total meat content of 90% and a fat content of no more than 30%.
In addition to the meat itself, the only other ingredients allowed to form part of the boerewors sold in South Africa are cereal or starch, vinegar, spices, herbs or salt, food additives, and water.
The newly published regulations also stipulate the difference between boerewors, braaiwors, species and mixed-species wors.
Braaiwors, other than boerewors, is allowed to contain edible offal, mechanically recovered meat, colourants, vegetable protein, and other foodstuffs.
Image credit: Meat Online