Matthew Allen at swissinfo reports on problems for German and Swiss sausages now that the EU has banned Brazilian sausage skins.

The cervelat was facing extinction from the national menu following an import ban on Brazilian cow intestines used to wrap the iconic sausage. Switzerland was compelled to adhere to European Union regulations safeguarding against the risk of Mad Cow disease.

But the versatile Brazilian product is a tough act to follow, both allowing the sausage to curve pleasantly when grilled and being easy to peel when eaten cold. The skin retains an aesthetically appealing colour and tastes good.

This kind of outcry has not been heard in Germany, so do the Swiss care more about their sausages than the Germans?

Liselotte Steffen of the Swiss consumers’ forum agreed that the Swiss take more pride in their sausages than the Germans.
“The real expert does not eat sausages with mustard. In Germany they eat curry sausages with mustard which shows that they do not appreciate tastes in the right way,” she told swissinfo.

Hmm. I think those words may be actionable.

Spiegel online has more:

Cervelat is made with beef, pork, bacon, ice water, salt, fresh onions and spices, but without casing made from the bowels of Zebu cows, the Swiss argue it can’t be made at all. Büttiker’s colleague at the Swiss Meat Association, Balz Horber summed up the problem: The Brazilian cow intestines are the only ones that are as “polyvalent as the Swiss Air Force” — an apparent reference to its versatility.

Here’s the original:

Rindfleisch, Schweinefleisch, Wurstspeck, Schwarte, Eis-Wasser, Salz, Frischzwiebeln und Gewürze – das steckt drin, in der Wurst, aber ohne brasilianischen Darm vom Zebu-Rind geht gar nichts. Büttikers Fleischverband-Kollege Balz Horber drückt sich so aus: Nur dieser Darm sei “so polyvalent wie die Schweizer Luftwaffe”.