Uproar at Volkswagen factories as sausage fans think new ketchup is the WURST
Sources say changes to canteen ketchup recipe have caused chaos inside Volkswagen plants across Germany
FORGET the usual workplace complaints about pay or pensions, ketchup is the reason for Volkswagen employees being incensed.
The German carmaker has produced its own currywurst sausage for 45 years, and it’s hugely popular with workers and fans of the company alike.
But while the sausages, which even have their own VW part number, have stayed the same, the special accompanying ketchup has not.
Mondelez, the company that produced the original ketchup for Volkswagen, is no longer able to supply it, meaning the search was on for an alternative.
Taste-testing sessions throughout 2017 saw 12 companies considered – and a firm called Develey was chosen as the new producer of the hallowed spicy sauce.
Yet according to the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Volkswagen employees are angry that the new sauce lacks the same flavour as the old one.
Volkswagen’s head of catering is quoted as saying the taste change has come from the new ketchup gaining more tomato, but losing sugar and fat content.
It might sound healthier, but given that Volkswagen sells 400,000 bottles of branded ketchup each year, changes are a risky idea.
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Ketchup is nothing compared to the number of currywurst Volkswagen makes each year, though. A total of 6.8 million sausages are produced by a team of 30 butchers.
The number of currywurst made in 2017 actually outnumbered the total of cars sold by Volkswagen, making them big business for the German company.
Made with a secret blend of pork and spices, Volkswagen also added a vegetarian version of its lunchtime snack in 2010.