Advertisement

Ottawa invests tax dollars to keep Canadians safe from exploding sausages

Apparently, exploding sausages are a problem, at least according to the Canadian government.

As most backyard chefs and meat-lovers know, bursting sausages are to be avoided at all costs. Even though incidents of said explosions are rare, we still puncture our meat, cook from low heat and strategically stand back when they threaten to splatter in our direction.

Safe meat-cooking techniques aren't enough, it seems, as the Conservative government is forking over a $826,000 investment to help Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd., a Brampton, Ontario, meat processing company, develop a burst-proof sausage.

[ More from The Daily Brew: Ontario's latest lottery winners plan to keep their jobs ]

"The investment…will help the company purchase new manufacturing equipment that will produce a higher quality sausage that is more resistant to splitting or bursting while cooking," a government news release says.

The government hopes the investment will help Cardinal "introduce a niche product to market, increase production and sales and create jobs," Mark Dunn writes for Sun Media.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation questioned the spending — taking issue primarily with how the money will hurt free trade and the free market, enabling one sausage maker to "gut his competition" — which was defended by the Agriculture Minister's spokeswoman who clarified that Cardinal will be required to pay back the money.

[ More from The Daily Brew: Asian carp could be threatening B.C. waters ]

The government insists the investment is to build into Canada's agri-processing sector, helping existing companies to boost their competitiveness in a global marketplace.

"This investment is being delivered by the AgriProcessing Initiative, a five-year, up to $50-million initiative designed to enhance the competitiveness of the agri-processing sector in Canada. It provides support to existing companies for projects that involve the adoption of innovative and new-to-company manufacturing technologies and processes that are essential to sustaining and improving the sector's position in today's global marketplace," the news release states.

No stats have been released on the frequency of sausage explosions or other unfortunate sausage-related accidents. Still, if you're nervous about being attacked by a flaming link of meat — and you don't have the patience to wait for Cardinal's burst-free bratwursts — check out CHOW's "how to avoid exploding sausage syndrome" video. Happy barbecuing!