Northern Irish successes in UK Sausage Week awards

Two Northern Irish sausage specialists have won category awards in the new UK Sausage Awards 2017 promotion.

The Northern Irish winners were McCartney's of Moira, county Antrim for a Traditional Pork Sausage and Finnebrogue Artisan of Downpatrick, county Down for 'Best Northern Ireland Innovation'.

Finnebrogue, a major supplier of premium sausages to leading retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury and Tesco, won the innovation category for a sausage created for Booker, one of the leading food wholesalers.

The winning Finnebrogue sausage was a Booker Blackgate British Pork and Kentish Cider Apple sausage.

McCartney, an independent butcher and deli business, has long been among Northern Ireland's leading producers of sausages. The butchery business gained a UK Great Taste Supreme Champion Award in 2011 for its silverside corned beef. It has also won a string of UK and Irish awards for its sausages.

UK Sausage Week has been developed to help boost trade this autumn. The 2017 campaign began on Monday 30th October through to Bonfire Night - Sunday 5th November. The event has been designed by Meat Management magazine to replace the usual autumn British Sausage Week.

A variety of events are taking place throughout the week-long initiative. Butchers, manufacturers, retailers and associations across the UK are hosting their own sausage events, special promotions, competitions and tastings across the campaign.

This year's UK Sausage Week kicked off with a bang with a celebration lunch on 30th October at Plaisterers' Hall, London, when awards were presented for some of the country's best sausages.

TV celebrity, Antiques Roadshow expert and 2017 sausage ambassador, Eric Knowles, presented the 27 winners with their trophies.

More than 400 different products were entered into the competition and were judged at The Regional Food Academy, Harper Adams University, by Institute of Meat CEO Keith Fisher, Ladies In Pigs and other industry experts.

Chief judge Keith Fisher said: "It's been one of the best events I can remember and the standard of entries was fantastic."