OTTAWA - Never mind sticking a fork in it: the Conservative government is spending more than $800,000 to prevent a grilling horror - exploding sausages.

Though reports of Canadian backyard chefs being rushed to emergency rooms because of fireball bratwursts are rare (or non-existent), tax dollars are being spent to make cooking a fat-splattering link safer.

An Ontario meat processing company recently won the sausage lottery with an $826,000 investment from taxpayers to develop a resilient banger.

"The investment ... will help the company purchase new manufacturing equipment that will produce a higher quality sausage that is more resistant to splitting or bursting while cooking," a government news release says.

Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd., a Brampton, ON, company, is believed to be the first processor that will apply new technology to keep casings in check.

The government says the money will help Cardinal introduce a niche product to market, increase production and sales and create jobs.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation questioned the spending.
"They say they're for free trade and a free market, then they hand nearly a million taxpayer dollars to a sausage maker so he can go out and gut his competition," CTF national director Gregory Thomas said.

Shortly after this story appeared online, a spokeswoman for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz e-mailed to say Cardinal will be required to pay the money back.

Gourmets say there are many ways to stop a plump sausage from becoming a hazard, including cooking at lower temperatures and punching a few holes into it. Or have a hamburger.