diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriter.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriter.java
index fde22348b..22fe5bf57 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriter.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriter.java
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
  */
 public class FlatFileItemWriter extends ExecutionContextUserSupport implements ItemWriter, ItemStream, InitializingBean {
 
-	private static final String LINE_SEPARATOR = System.getProperty("line.separator");
+	private static final String DEFAULT_LINE_SEPARATOR = System.getProperty("line.separator");
 
 	private static final String WRITTEN_STATISTICS_NAME = "written";
 
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ public class FlatFileItemWriter extends ExecutionContextUserSupport implements I
 
 	private List headerLines = new ArrayList();
 
+	private String lineSeparator = DEFAULT_LINE_SEPARATOR;
+
 	public FlatFileItemWriter() {
 		setName(ClassUtils.getShortName(FlatFileItemWriter.class));
 	}
@@ -108,6 +110,15 @@ public class FlatFileItemWriter extends ExecutionContextUserSupport implements I
 		Assert.notNull(fieldSetCreator, "A FieldSetCreator must be provided.");
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Public setter for the line separator. Defaults to the System property
+	 * line.separator.
+	 * @param lineSeparator the line separator to set
+	 */
+	public void setLineSeparator(String lineSeparator) {
+		this.lineSeparator = lineSeparator;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Public setter for the {@link LineAggregator}. This will be used to
 	 * translate a {@link FieldSet} into a line for output.
@@ -197,7 +208,7 @@ public class FlatFileItemWriter extends ExecutionContextUserSupport implements I
 	 */
 	public void write(Object data) throws Exception {
 		FieldSet fieldSet = fieldSetCreator.mapItem(data);
-		lineBuffer.add(lineAggregator.aggregate(fieldSet) + LINE_SEPARATOR);
+		lineBuffer.add(lineAggregator.aggregate(fieldSet) + lineSeparator);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -229,7 +240,7 @@ public class FlatFileItemWriter extends ExecutionContextUserSupport implements I
 		if (outputState.lastMarkedByteOffsetPosition == 0) {
 			for (Iterator iterator = headerLines.iterator(); iterator.hasNext();) {
 				String line = (String) iterator.next();
-				lineBuffer.add(line + LINE_SEPARATOR);
+				lineBuffer.add(line + lineSeparator);
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriterTests.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriterTests.java
index 695258aa4..3140af973 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriterTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/FlatFileItemWriterTests.java
@@ -181,14 +181,21 @@ public class FlatFileItemWriterTests extends TestCase {
 	 */
 	public void testWriteRecord() throws Exception {
 		String args = "1";
-
-		// AggregatorStub ignores the LineDescriptor, so we pass null
 		writer.write(args);
 		writer.flush();
 		String lineFromFile = readLine();
 		assertEquals(args, lineFromFile);
 	}
 
+	public void testWriteRecordWithrecordSeparator() throws Exception {
+		writer.setLineSeparator("|");
+		writer.write("1");
+		writer.write("2");
+		writer.flush();
+		String lineFromFile = readLine();
+		assertEquals("1|2|", lineFromFile);
+	}
+
 	public void testRollback() throws Exception {
 		writer.write("testLine1");
 		// rollback