Northern Irish innovation showcased at Quality Food Awards

Innovative foods developed by Northern Ireland companies for major UK retailers will be showcased at the finals of the Quality Food and Drink Awards in London in November.

Food and drink from five Northern Ireland companies produced for retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Asda and the Co-operative have been shortlisted by the panel of judges for the finals.

The Northern Ireland foods for retailers are:

Cooked Venison and Pheasant from Finnebrogue in Downpatrick for M&S;

British Chicken Thighs with Pork Sage and Onion Stuffing from Moy Park, Craigavon for Tesco;

Breaded Buffalo Chicken Wings from Moy Park, Craigavon for the Co-operative; and

Stuffed Globe Courgette with Feta and Sundried Tomato from Unimush, Armagh for Asda.

Other Northern Irish products shortlisted were:

Mash Direct, Comber for carrot and parsnip and

CocoMojo, Belfast for CocoPassion and CocoSoul

The Quality Food Awards are the most prestigious awards for food and drink products on sale in UK grocery outlets. What sets the awards apart is the impartiality and robustness of the judging process, which rightly sits at the heart of everything.

Organiser Helen Lyons says: "When I speak to people about the Quality Food & Drink Awards, they often tell me that they are the most difficult accolades to win in the food and drink industry. That's something that I am actually very proud of as it highlights just how thorough the judging process is and underlines the true value of winning one of these awards.

"Our judging panel is comprised of experts from many different industry disciplines, and our judges are a vital component of the validity and robustness of the results. Our judges take every aspect of a product into consideration - rewarding great flavours, high-quality ingredients, excellent value for money and outstanding packaging, which increases the retail success of a product."

The Quality Drink Awards will be presented during a drinks reception in the Court Suite at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane, which will be followed by the Quality Food Awards gala dinner and presentations.

This year's QFAs will once again include the much sought after Quality Food and Drink Awards Retailer of the Year category, presented for the first time in 2013 and already one of most prized trophies in our awards lineup.

Invest Northern Ireland is sponsoring the awards for the first time.