Sales of fermented lamb burger banned

The popular fermented lamb burgers sold at the ‘Streetfood’ stall in Saksun, Streymoy, are no longer available.

Streetfood’s owner Ruben Busk wrote on Facebook yesterday that the Faroese Food and Veterinary Agency has banned him from selling the new burgers.

The fermented lamb burger became an instant hit with tourists and locals alike when it was introduced earlier this summer.

Streetfood started out using fermented lamb which had been imported from Iceland and then fermented in the Faroes. But the Food Agency has now banned the sale of this meat.

Laila S. Jacobsen, the head of the food division at the Food Agency, says that Faroese law places special restrictions on the sale of meat from other countries.

Having been informed of the restrictions, Mr Busk then started buying fermented lamb from a Faroese wholesale firm. But he was also banned from selling this meat due to insufficient information about the meat producer.

“There are special conditions regarding home production in the Faroe Islands,” says Jacobsen.

“One of these is that vendors must sign up to a register on the Food Agency’s website. I was informed that Mr Busk did not appear on this register.”

Busk told newspaper dimma.fo that the burgers containing the rare Faroese delicacy made up some 80% of Streetfood’s total sales.

“The ban takes away the entire basis of my Streetfood concern,” he said. “Obviously, I will try to look elsewhere for my fermented lamb meat, but if that doesn’t work out I will probably have to shut down my business, at least for now.”

Translated by prosa.fo