6 Finished product specifications

6.1.1 Pork sausages shall have a minimum meat content of 52% pork; the meat being defined in accordance with Commission Directive 2001/101/EC which specifies the definition of meat for the purposes of labelling. The definition includes maximum percentage limits (on fat 30% of the pork meat content and connective tissue 25% collagen/protein ratio in the case of pork) that contribute, along with the skeletal muscle, towards the declared meat content of the product.

6.1.2 Pork with fat and/or connective tissue in excess of legislative limits shall not be permitted within the BMPA Quality Assured Pork Sausage module.

Guidance

Charter participants shall determine the correct levels of the pork meat to be used including maximum limits of fat and connective tissue that contribute to the meat content of the product. This may be demonstrated through product development trials and subsequent analysis to verify that legal compositional requirements are being met.

Evidence

Data to support determination of meat content in the recipe and copies of analytical and/or meat content calculator reports shall be reviewed to confirm compliance.

6.2.1 The following ingredients shall not be permitted:

• Head meat (with the exception of masseters)
• Liver skirts
• Blood products 
• Offal
• Mechanically separated meat (MSM)
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Functional proteins and fat emulsion

6.2.2 The following permitted ingredient limits shall not be exceeded:

• Neck end (jowl meat) up to 10% of the total meat content of the sausage e.g. max 5.2% in a 52% pork content sausage
• Rinds including dehydrated rind (based on the rehydrated weight) up to 10% of the pork content of the product e.g. max 5.2% in a 52% pork content sausage
• Salt target for 2024 (sodium chloride) up to 1.31g salt or 550mg sodium per 100g in raw sausage meat with a range average of no greater than 1.08g salt or 450mg sodium per. NB – charter members should working towards the 2024 targets. 
• Added phosphate (E450, E451, and E452) up to 0.5% of total recipe
• Natural and artificial colours up to legislative limits
• Sulphur dioxide up to 450ppm (at point of sale)

Evidence

Copies of recipes. The site shall demonstrate traceability of raw materials used in recipe formulation. Particular attention shall be given where head meat is being used to ensure that only permitted meat is used. Dehydrated rind shall be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidance on rehydration rates. Analytical reports covering the scope of approved products. These shall cover the period since the last audit.