Download Sausage casings from small ruminants - Rapid risk assessment (July 2010)

This analysis examines the biosecurity risks posed by sausage casings of ovine or caprine origin, prepared by methods which are standard operating procedures in much of the international casings industry.

The sausage casings under consideration are processed from the intestines of animals which have passed ante- and post-mortem inspection. In making sausage casings from the intestines of sheep and goats, only the small intestines are used, and the only tissue which remains after processing is the submucosal layer. After cleaning and scraping, the casings are stored at room temperature in either dry salt or saturated brine for a minimum of 30 days, which is standard industry practice. Once pulled from the abdominal cavity, the sheep or goat intestines have the gut contents stripped from them before being placed in cool storage overnight during which time the mucosa will degrade for easier removal. The mucosa is crushed in various steps and the outer layers (tunica serosa and tunica muscularis) are scraped off. The casings are cleaned in batches in warm water and studies have demonstrated that no lymphoid tissue (Peyer’s patches) remains after cleaning.

The 15 diseases considered in this import risk analysis are those identified in a previously-published peer-reviewed assessment of the potential risks to animal health from sheep and goat meat products. This import risk analysis concludes that sausage casings processed, salted and stored according to practices standard in the international casings industry pose no animal health risk to New Zealand and could be imported safely without any disease-specific measures being required.