There is a joke making the rounds in the European capital Brussels these days. That today all the Germans will be lining the kebab shops to get a last taste before they are being abolished.
Yes, the Doner Kebab, the originally Turkish fast food, has become the German’s favorite food over time. Packed in a half bread, the chicken and pork skewered meat that is hacked into pieces and then grilled is normally served with French fries, a variety of vegetables and dribbled with garlic sauce.
Germans have of course gotten their own curry sauce over it and made local varieties, but in any case, some 2 million Kebabs are eaten by the 83 million Germans per day, making it a very profitable business indeed.
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It has easily overtaken the Bratwurst and Currywurst as the fast food snack of choice and created a whole new food industry for Germany’s Turkish population.
But all that could change as the European Commission is set to vote on a controversial ban of a food additive used in Kebab meat, which could mean an annihilation of a certain type of snack would be installed in the EU.
EU politicians are moving to ban phosphates, necessary to keep seasoned kebab meat moist, citing health concerns based on studies linking the additive to heart disease.
Mr Kenan Koyuncu of the German Association of Doner Kebab Producers commented: “If the European Parliament gets its way, this would be the death sentence for the entire doner kebab industry in the European Union.”
Many doubt it will come to a full ban though, with a member of parliament of Ms Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, Ms Renate Sommer stating: ”A ban of the phosphate addition would be the end of kebab production and would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.”
Source:
2 million kebabs per day in Germany. Wauw.