National Braai Day: Know your boerewors from your braaiwors

If you plan to celebrate Heritage Day on Tuesday and braai some wors on the fire, it is important to know your boerewors from your braaiwors and ensure you get what you pay for. The composition of raw wors is regulated in South Africa and nobody is allowed to simply stuff a casing with any old scraps and sell it as boerewors.

According to the regulations, certain raw processed meat products intended for sale in South Africa must adhere to a specific set of standards to be sold as boerewors.

The regulations distinguish between raw minced meat, burgers, bangers, grillers and sizzlers and the compositional standards for each product regarding the fat content, additives, species and ingredients permitted for use in specific raw processed meat products.

The regulations also cover the classification, packing and marking of certain raw processed meat products.

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This is what real boerewors is

According to the regulations, raw boerewors must be made from the meat of domesticated cattle, sheep, pigs or goats or a mixture of these in an edible casing. The boerewors must have a minimum total meat content of 90% and a fat content of no more than 30%.

Boerewors must not contain any edible or inedible offal, except if it is used only as the casing of the raw boerewors. Your boerewors must also not contain any mechanically recovered meat and colourants. Mechanically recovered meat is defined as pulped material recovered in a process where bone and meat are mechanically separated.

In fact, boerewors cannot contain any other added ingredients except cereal and/or starch, vinegar, spices, herbs and/or salt, food additives and water.

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This is how braaiwors or sizzlers are different from boerewors

According to the regulations, raw braaiwors or sizzlers must be made from the meat of a single domesticated animal, bird or wild game species or a mixture of two or more of these and it must also be made with an edible casing.

The difference here is that braaiwors must only contain a minimum total meat equivalent of 60% and a minimum total meat content of 40%. The fat content is not allowed to be more than 30%.

Braaiwors can also not contain any inedible offal and no other ingredients expect cereal or starch and/or vegetable protein, vinegar, spices, herbs and/or salt, food additives and water. However, it can also contain mechanically recovered meat, edible offal, colourants and other foodstuffs.

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Rules for other kinds of wors

The regulations also provide for the content of species sausage or wors and bangers or raw grillers.

Species sausage or wors are defined as any sausage manufactured predominantly from the meat of a specific species of domesticated animal, bird or wild game that is sold under a name where the name of the specific species and the word “sausage” or “wors” appear.

Species sausage or wors must be manufactured totally or predominantly from the meat of a specific domesticated animal, bird or wild game species in an edible casing.

The minimum total meat content must be 75%, provided that in the case of raw species sausage manufactured predominantly from the meat of a specific species, a minimum of 75% must consist of the meat of the predominant species that must be mentioned in the product name, while a maximum of 25% can be from other species.

The fat content of these sausages or wors cannot be more than 30% and it cannot contain any edible or inedible offal, except where it is only used as the casing. It can also not contain any mechanically recovered meat and colourants.

These sausages or wors can only contain cereal and/or starch, vinegar, spices, herbs and/or salt, food additives, water and other foodstuffs.

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Mixed-species sausage or wors must be manufactured from any mixture of the meat of two or more domesticated animal, bird and/or wild game species in an edible casing, with a minimum total meat content of 75% and a fat content of no more than 30%.

It can also not contain any edible or inedible offal, except for the casing and no mechanically recovered meat and colourants. It is only allowed to contain cereal and/or starch, vinegar, spices, herbs and/or salt, food additives, water and other foodstuffs.

Bangers or grillers must be manufactured from single or any mixture of the meat of two or more domesticated animal, bird or wild game species in an edible casing, with a minimum total meat equivalent of 60% and a minimum total meat content of 40%, provided that if it is made from a single domesticated animal, bird or wild game species, a minimum of 75% must be from the meat of the predominant species and be mentioned in the product name.

A maximum of 25% can be from the meat of any one or more domesticated animal, bird or wild game species other than the predominant species. The fat content can also not be more than 30% and it cannot contain any mechanically recovered meat or edible or inedible offal, except for the casing.

The only other ingredients these bangers or grillers may contain are cereal or starch and/or vegetable protein, vinegar, spices, herbs and/or salt, food additives, water, colourants and other foodstuffs.