Cervelat was covered closely by the Swiss media and in a newspaper poll, 72% of those surveyed said the ""cervelas", as they knew it, had to be saved." The cervelat crisis was brought up in a parliamentary debate wherein state councillor and president of the Swiss Meat Association, Rolf Büttiker, spoke of the national sausage's social significance, calling it a "cult sausage" and "the worker's steak". The Swiss government entered into negotiations with the EU to seek an exception for zebu intestines, and Swiss scientists were sent to Brazil hoping to show that the intestines posed no risk of transmitting mad
Cervelat a salad or with bread and mustard. Sometimes sold smoked and uncooked, cervelat can be seasoned, salted and cold smoked for one day. Traditionally, Swiss beef intestines were used for the casings, but towards the end of the 20th century, local cattle producers lost interest in cleaning and preparing them, so meat processors switched to Brazilian zebu intestines, which are not fatty and do not easily split open when roasted. However, beginning on 1 April 2006, the European Union banned the import of many animal parts from Brazil as a measure aimed at preventing the spread of mad cow disease.