Sandwich industry seeks to stem rise of prepacked butty

The British Sandwich Association (BSA) has attacked reports that the home-made butty has met its demise with the growth of prepacked varieties.

Jim Winship, director of the BSA, said there is no need for large institutes and voluntary services, such as those found in hospitals, to buy in prepacked sandwiches so long as they rid themselves of their "1950s approach to hygiene".

Winship's comments follow a new ruling by the Women's Royal Voluntary Service stipulating that all sandwiches sold by their volunteers must be prepacked.

Staff at the Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, have launched a Save Our Sandwich campaign in protest at the ruling, which comes into force next month.

Prepacked sandwiches make up only one-third of the entire market, which is valued by the BSA at £3b per year, a figure expected to rise by 10% this year.

"Most sandwiches are still made on the premises, but the problem is often with high-risk ingredients which have to be chilled for microbiological reasons," said Winship.