International taste award for Northern Irish Mill Bay Oysters

Rooney Fish, Northern Ireland's leading fish and seafood processor, has won major awards from the influential International Taste and Quality Institute in Brussels for its oysters.

Rooney, based at Kilkeel in county Down, gained two top awards for its Mill Bay Oysters, which are grown and harvested in the pristine waters of Carlingford Lough.

The oysters were the only food and drink product from Northern Ireland to be recognised for their taste and quality by a panel of expert chefs and were among almost 2,000 entries from 90 countries.

Andrew Rooney, commercial director of Rooney Fish, commenting on the award of gold and blue stars for superior products, says: "This is a tremendously important endorsement of our oysters from an international taste body. It's a great boost for us as we continue to market our oysters to high-end customers in international markets.

"The recognition follows our outstanding success in the UK Great Taste Awards in successive years," he adds.

Rooney Fish is a family owned and managed business which processes fish and shellfish, including langoustines, crabs and crabs claws, for export in particular to international markets in Europe and Asia.

The company operates from a state-of-the-art processing plant at the harbour in Kilkeel.