Sausage makers ‘go back to their roots’

Harrogate Sausage Company is already making 75,000 sausages a week at its factory near Harrogate, and aims to double that number by November. The company, which employs 10 staff, is expected to achieve turnover of £1m this year. The sausages and burgers are being sold in Yorkshire branches of Asda, Morrisons and Tesco.

“We’ve seen so many stories in the news about meat sourcing, with horse meat and other scandals,” said Andrew Keeble. “Harrogate Sausage Company is all about making sensibly-priced sausages the traditional way, with nothing but breadcrumbs, seasoning and herbs, just as they were in the farmhouse. In fact, we make our own seasonings from a recipe which was handed down by my grandmother. I’ve been making sausages since I left school. I believe that when you are buying food for your family to eat, you want something that is well made and well-priced. Quality shouldn’t be compromised in a bid to keep costs down.”

Harrogate Sausage Company uses only pork meat, sourced from pigs from local farms, and its sausages are 97 per cent meat. The only additives are seasonings, breadcrumbs, herbs and natural preservatives.

Tim Carter, the buying manager at Asda, said yesterday: “Asda supports local suppliers and we are always keen to give our customers locally sourced products. Harrogate Sausage Company is an independent business that prides itself in making high quality products with local provenance, and this is what makes their brand such a success with our customer base. In less than a year, Harrogate Sausage Company has grown within Asda to have expected annual sales of more than £300,000.”