January 16, 2004 United Press International

Traditionally, sausage meat was stuffed into a non-edible natural beef casing, but the department proposed a rule this week requiring synthetic casings or pork casing for certain sausages, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday.

The change is part of the department's cow parts ban following the discovery of a Washington state cow infected with mad cow disease.

Bratwurst, hot dogs and Italian and Polish sausages are not affected. But that still leaves ring bologna, knackwurst, mettwurst, ring liver sausage and ring blood sausages.

The interim ruling, which is subject to a three-month comment period, prohibits small intestines of cattle from being used for any food, whether it's traditional German sausages or Mexican tripas and chorizo sausages, because they have been labeled "specified risk material."

Fritz Usinger, president of Usinger's Famous Sausages in Milwaukee, said the ban "affects the innocent bystander." He imports all his natural beef casings from South America, which has never had a case of mad cow disease. He said he will switch to hog casings.