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Bread, banger, onion, sauce.

It's the natural order any Kiwi has grown up with, served by community groups looking to raise money outside the local store.

• This story was first published by RNZ

But Bunnings Warehouse chief operating officer Debbie Poole has left some sausage specialists sour over her suggestion to reorder the summer specialty.

She said safety is the top priority for Bunnings stores in Australia, and the safest way to run a sausage sizzle is to place onion underneath the snag, not over it.

It's the risk of slipping which is the problem, with sloppy eaters sending onions tumbling to the ground when they aren't safely secured by their accompanying sausage.

Australians aren't happy with the suggestion, saying it's a form of barbaque blasphemy.

Ms Poole confirmed the serving suggestion extends to New Zealand community groups using Bunnings barbeques this summer.

In a statement, she said the suggestion is provided to community groups within fundraising sausage sizzle welcome packs.

"Safety is always our number one priority and we recently introduced a suggestion that onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard," Ms Poole said.

"Regardless of how you like your onion and snag, we are confident this new serving suggestion will not impact the delicious taste or great feeling you get when supporting your local community group."