Moy Park to strengthen focus on innovation

Moy Park will continue to invest in innovation to ensure the growth of Northern Ireland's biggest food business, chief executive Janet McCollum has said.

She said innovation is what drives the ongoing success of the region's largest company.

Continually finding new and better ways of doing things is at the heart of the company's longevity, she added. In partnership with Belfast-based Devenish Nutrition, Moy Park created the UK's first Omega 3 enriched chicken.

McCollum, speaking at a major agri-food in Belfast, said the project was 10 years in the making, describing it as a "true health innovation".

The Moy Park chief emphasised that Northern Ireland's agri-food industry, as a whole, truly punches above its weight in this area.

"To be innovative, we must always challenge conventional thinking. Attracting new talent with fresh ideas, and developing our own people, is one of the ways we do this at Moy Park," McCollum continued.

"We need the best and brightest to look at careers in the food industry and to understand the breadth of roles that exist - from chefs and nutritionists to marketers, technologists, researchers and engineers."

The Moy Park chief executive added: "As we look to the future, no doubt there will be challenges ahead. Although there will be changes to the environment in which we operate, we are confident that we have a robust business that can continue to innovate, thrive and grow."

Moy Park is Northern Ireland largest manufacturer and a key exporter of processed poultry products.