As Rudolph prepares for his big day, food made from reindeer is being sold in one of London's most famous stores.

Fortnum and Mason, in Piccadilly, central London, is stocking two products - reindeer pat� and reindeer stew.

The shop insisted the launch was not timed to coincide with Christmas when reindeer such as Donner, Blitzen, Prancer and the rest of Santa Claus's team are said to be delivering the presents of well-behaved children.

The two products are made by Edible, a company which specialises in unusual delicacies such as chocolate-covered insects and snake wine.

Reindeer is treated like beef in some areas

Fortnum and Mason, which holds three Royal Warrants, began selling reindeer pat� at �15 a jar and shredded meat stew for �14 around a month ago.

A spokeswoman for the store said: "We don't consider it a very sensitive product and as far as I know there haven't been any complaints yet.

"It came out about a month ago but we're likely to sell it beyond Christmas."

A spokesman for Edible, which has a shop in north London, said: "I think people should try it and see what they think.

Low fat

"It's all about the image you have of reindeer when you grow up, but in other parts of the world it is treated like beef."

Both the pate and stew are made from reindeer meat which is farmed by Saami herdsmen.

The Saami are nomadic herders that live in and around Lapland, Russia, Sweden and Finland.

Reindeer has one of the lowest fat contents of any red meat and contains only about 2% fat, according to Edible.