A Culinary Puzzle

A few years ago, I ate dinner at a Greek restaurant near University College, London. I ordered the mixed platter of various meats, one of which was a sausage called Loukanika. The name must come from ancient Roman Lucanica, a sausage mentioned by various authors, including Martial (13.35.1):

Filia Picenae uenio Lucanica porcae

What struck me was that Loukanika seem to be an only slightly tastier version of the Slim-Jims sold in 7-11s and other inelegant venues. I was very surprised to run across such a thing in a respectable restaurant. Did the ancient Romans eat Slim-Jims? Has the sausage remained essentially the same over two millennia? Was the restaurant passing off some shoddy substitute for the true Loukanika? Or is the resemblance coincidental?