Until our local butcher sadly died recently I was paying 80p per 1lb for fresh sausages. The environmental health people had tested them and found that they were 95% meat. This was also local, free range organic meat.

This was a disaster for me because I am fussy about the sausages I eat and like to know what is in them. So, I trawled the shops and supermarkets and found some sausages that come a good second in price and quality.

Netto came up trumps! They sell sausages in a greaseproof paper type package. There are two types. Lincolnshire and Cumberland they are just 99p per lb and are 75% meat. They don’t taste bad either!

What caused me to tell you this was that I found a press cutting from the Metro free paper from 5th July last year. It reads as follows- “Some sausages contain more than 25% fat, watchdogs have found. Some bangers are being bulked up by cooked rice. Others are sold with rusk, sugar and red colouring to give them a ‘meatier’ look. Which? magazine said, Tesco value frozen sausages had the lowest meat content at 30% - the legal minimum. Asda’s Good For You pork range and Bowyer’s 95% fat free sausages contain cooked rice. Frozen thick pork sausages both from Morrison’s and Wall’s both had more than 25% fat content per 100g. the magazine claimed.

Dedicated to John Hillman, Butcher of Wednesday Market, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. Master Butcher of long standing and friend to all the people of Beverley who he knew by name. John, take some time off now and rest in peace. We miss you sadly.