Wales' first organic black pudding made in county (From Western Telegraph)

Wales' first organic black pudding made in county

Pembrokeshire's new £750,000 abattoir has inspired production of Wales' first organic black pudding.

The farmer-owned abattoir at the Withybush Park Industrial Park, Haverfordwest, will open in November for the slaughter of cattle, sheep and pigs.

Richard Blacklaw-Jones, who pioneered the abattoir project, is planning to use a by-product to create a delicacy normally associated with the north of England.

Using a 200-year-old recipe sourced from S. Minwell Tibbot's book, 'Welsh Fayre', he will join forces with Llain Farm Organics, Mathry, to produce Pembrokeshire's very own organic black pudding.

Mr Blacklaw-Jones, a Haverfordwest osteopath who is passionate about farming, has researched his market and is confident it will fill a niche. Although the idea of eating a product manufactured from blood and fat may not appeal to everyone's palate, there is a demand out there, he said. "There appears to be a very definite split, half the population wouldn't eat it but the other half would, particularly when they are away from home and are served it as part of a cooked breakfast.

"Our black pudding will be Welsh, organic and quite a rarity because it is something you don't tend to see that often these days.''

Much of the British black pudding market relies on imported dried ingredients. As consumers increasingly demand products that are British, fresh and can be traced to their source, a Pembrokeshire-produced black pudding made from fresh ingredients could well appeal.

It will also alleviate the cost of disposing of by-products from the new abattoir. The development, which is on schedule for a November opening, will be run by the Pembrokeshire Meat Company.

It is expected to deal with 8,500 livestock units annually, both for the home and export market.

A major backer is the award-winning organic meat processor, the Welsh Hook Meat Company, whose processing plant at Haverfordwest neighbours the site.