Following news that Heck’s proposed Sausage World attraction in Yorkshire had received the go-ahead from the local authority, the company has now announced that the project will be put on hold after funding from the European Union was refused.
The family-run firm Heck had planned to expand its base in Kirklington, near Bedale, to create a visitor centre.
It is believed that Heck was originally told it could get EU funding after receiving planning permission, but the company has now been informed the grant has already been spent.
Defra said there were no guarantees and the grant process was "competitive".
Hambleton District Council had passed the scheme, however Heck will now have to find funding from elsewhere if the project is to move forward.
Head of sales Jamie Keeble said it would aim to increase its exports.
He said: "After losing out on EU funding because of Brexit we will have to fund our Sausage World out of cash, so are ramping up our international export.”
It is also reported the firm is set to export its vegan sausages to Australia, where it has secured a deal to get its products into 800 shops.
A spokesman for the RPA - which is part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - said: "As with all who apply, we made clear our schemes are very competitive and meeting the eligibility criteria alone doesn't guarantee a project will gain funding."
Jamie Keeble added: "Brexit is creating huge uncertainty and we don't believe there will be any investment from central government to help start-ups.
"We had tremendous support at the beginning, but that has all disappeared down the Brexit sinkhole."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
