CLAIMS that sausages are not food, have been slammed by Tenbury MP Bill Wiggin, following a new ruling from DEFRA.

The Government department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said that, as animal by-product waste, sausages must be dumped after the sell-by date.

Demanding that the fiasco be immediately sorted out, he said: "The cost for a small local shop to dispose of just one pack of sausages each week will be a staggering £832 a year.

"I fail to understand the rationale of those who have come up with this ludicrous idea. Why does a food product become simply waste just because it is past its sell-by date?"

To prove his point, during a recent meeting of the Select Committee for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr Wiggin offered a packet of sausages to Food and Fisheries Minister, Elliott Morley, and asked him if the sausages could be classed as food or not. He has not yet received a satisfactory answer.

He added: "This must be sorted out."