Meat Management has revealed the launch of UK Sausage Week, following the cancellation of this year’s British Sausage Week by AHDB.
UK Sausage Week will take place starting Monday 30th October and will conclude on Bonfire Night – Sunday 5th November. The event is designed to replace the usual autumn British Sausage Week which has been cancelled this year by AHDB following news of budget cuts to its meat trade promotional activities.
Publisher of Meat Management Graham Yandell said: “Many in our industry feel the trade should still be supported with a major sausage event and we at Meat Management are ideally placed to provide the infrastructure for promotion and events. Plans are underway for a celebratory lunch which will highlight many of Britain’s best sausages, recognising winners from all around the country and of course the overall supreme UK champion. Both retail butchers and multiple retailers will be recognised and we now have the judging infrastructure in place which will feature a large team of experienced judges under the direction of chief judge Keith Fisher, the well-known CEO of the Institute of Meat.
“To be clear”, added Yandell, “we are not a promotional body and unlike AHDB we are not financed by levy payments. Nevertheless, we still believe we can generate positive PR for the great British banger and we aim to stimulate interest both within the trade and via national and regional media to reach consumers.”
UK Sausage Week will be organised by YPL Exhibitions & Events and supported actively by both Meat Management magazine and its sister title Food Management Today. Trade partners will be involved with the activity and these partners will be announced in the near future along with other details about how to enter the UK Sausage Week competition and be involved with the initiative.
Celebrity endorsement has always played a big part in Sausage Week and other competitions and this year’s UK Sausage Week will be no exception. Yandell added: “We have been in-touch with a variety of suitable celebrity ambassadors and should be in a position to announce who he / she is very soon. We are also looking at some interesting ideas to raise the profile of sausages over the seven day period. Our last day is Sunday 5th November – Bonfire Night – and of course bangers and bonfire night is a perfect fit.”
Keith Fisher, the chief judge of the competition and CEO of the IoM added: “I think I can speak for many in the trade when I say how pleased I am that UK Sausage Week is taking place this year. Sausages are so important to both our industry and to many millions of consumers and its great news that an autumn promotion continues. With retail sausage values at around £1.3billion the importance of this market sector cannot be overstated. We are all ready to go for judging the competitions at the Regional Food Academy and I also look forward to the celebratory lunch in October which will start UK Sausage Week off with a bang – or should I say banger!”
Information about how to enter products will be available soon and more information can be obtained from Emma Cash by emailing emma.c@yandellmedia.com. Those companies and organisations who would like details on becoming a UK Sausage Week partner should email Michelle Ingerfield on michelle.i@yandellmedia.com or telephone 01908 613323.
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.
