Boere(wars)
South Africans have been eating boerewors for over 150 years following its original production in the Netherlands some 50 years earlier. But we’ve certainly claimed this as our own, with boerewors as iconically South African as koeksusters and baboetie.
Back then, it was just a simple sausage prepared by travelling farmers. This nibble, made from minced beef and a smattering of spek (pork or beef fat) filled into casings made from the intestines of sheep or pigs, was a staple on stopovers.
These days the humble meat treat has been elevated to the extent that it has to be legislated – so if it doesn’t say boerewors on the label, it’s not the real deal.
According to the Department of Health’s regulations, if a label says boerewors, it must contain 90 percent bovine (beef), ovine (sheep), porcine (pork) or caprine (goat) species, of which no more than 30 percent should be fat. It may contain no mechanically recovered meat or offal, except where it’s used as the casing.
The more humble braai wors can contain considerably less meat but this means it loses its crowning moniker. There are no specific criteria here, so it typically contains considerably less meat and can contain offal. It may be safer to buy sausage labelled as ‘species sausage’ where you’re guaranteed it will contain 75 percent meat, no offal and no mechanically recovered meat.
And the modest wors doesn’t have to have any meat at all and it can contain mechanically recovered meat – if you must know, this refers to the pulped material consisting predominantly of muscular tissue, collagen, marrow and fat recovered by a process where bone and meat are separated. Now you know what goes into that suspiciously cheap sausage you thought was a bargain!
So besides the inevitable gastronomic hierarchy, the ultimate difference comes down to price. And products like Grabouw, Rooikrans, Ouma’s, National Classic boerewors, and the like, are simply batch packs produced by spice companies, so they still fall under the same legislation that governs boerewors.
The South African Meat Industry Company’s Rudi van de Westhuizen says while it’s all well and good to legislate, if there’s no policing for compliance, what’s the point?
In fact, this was a huge bug bear for the company during the infamous “meat scandal” in which donkey meat was found in food that was meant to be legislated.
“They (the government) admit they don’t have the budget to enforce,” Van de Westhuizen says.“We have fantastic regulations and protection, but that’s just on paper. There’s no enforcement.”
As consumers all we can do is read the label. And if the legislation is anything to go by, it seems you get what you pay for.
Email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1