Shane McEntee, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Food, Horticulture & Food Safety today announced the winners of the National Organic Awards 2011 at an awards ceremony in Bord Bia.
The Best Overall Organic Product was awarded to Kitty Colchester from Second Nature Oils, Kilkenny for her Happy Heart Organic Garlic Flavour Irish Rapeseed Oil which wowed the independent judging panel for its amazing taste and the inspiring way in which the product has been developed over the last three years.
2011 marks the fifth year for the National Organic Awards, organised by Bord Bia, and this year saw a 100% increase in the number of companies entering products. A total of 169 individual products were judged with awards given in eight different categories.
Minister of State Shane McEntee, who presented the awards, took the opportunity to congratulate Bord Bia on the work that they are currently doing within the organic sector, and have now been doing for several years, to help develop it into the future stating, “These awards have now become recognised as being an important and permanent feature of the organic food and drink industry in this country. It is events like this that continue to raise awareness among consumers about what organic food and farming is all about and where they can source organic produce”
Receiving the award Kitty Colchester from Second Nature Oils said “I am really honored to have Happy Heart recognised as a superior organic rapeseed oil product in Ireland. We take great pride in the manufacturing of our fully organic rapeseed oil and the development of the flavoured range was a new departure for us – I’m delighted to see that it has paid off!”
Speaking about the 2011 award entries Eileen Bentley, Manager, Small Business Department, Bord Bia said ‘It was really encouraging to see so many new award entrants which shows the range of organic production in Ireland and the greater availability of organic produce to Irish consumers. We had a 100% increase in the number of companies entering products this year and we were delighted to present awards in eight different categories.”
The overall category winners were as follows:
• Best Overall Organic Product:
Happy Heart Organic Garlic Flavour Irish Rapeseed Oil – From Second Nature Oils , Kilkenny
• Best Organic Confectionery & Baked Goods:
Organic Gluten Free Brownie Mix from Sowan’s Organic Bread Mix Ltd, County Laois
• Best Organic Fruit & Vegetable:
Irish Organic Apples from Clashganny Organic Farm, Waterford
• Best Organic Grocery: Joint Winners:
Happy Heart Organic Garlic Flavour Irish Rapeseed Oil – From Second Nature Oils, Drumeen Farm, Kilkenny Highbank Orchard Syrup from Highbank Orchard, Kilkenny
• Best Organic Dairy:
Glenisk Greek Style Low-Fat Rhubarb Yogurt from Glenisk, Offaly
• Best Organic Prepared Food Product:
Smoked Irish Organic Salmon from Burren Smokehouse, Clare
• Best Organic Fresh Seafood Product:
The Organic Salmon Company Retail Pack from The Organic Salmon Company, Donegal
• Best Organic Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverage:
Bloom Mountain Organic Irish Cream Liqueur from First Ireland Spirits Co Ltd, Laois
• Best Organic Fresh Meat Product:
Organic Back Rashers from Crowe’s Farm, Tipperary
Eight companies were also Highly Commended:
• Organic Fruit & Vegetable
- Curly Kale from Beechlawn Organic Farm, Galway
- Rocket from Beechlawn Organic Farm, Galway
- Tesco Organic Carrots From Leo Dunne Ltd/ Tesco Ireland, Laois
- Tomatoes from The Organic Centre, Leitrim
• Organic Grocery:
Kilbeggan Organic Jumbo Porridge Oats from Kilbeggan Organic Foods, Westmeath
• Organic Prepared Food:
- Organic Omega Burger from Dee’s Wholefoods Ltd, Cork
- Smoked Organic Salmon from Ummera Smoked Products Ltd, Cork
• Organic Seafood Product:
Carrefour Frozen Organic Salmon from The Organic Salmon Company , Donegal
The independent judging panel for the 2011 National Organic Awards was chaired by Hugo Arnold, journalist and Food Consultant and included Miah Buckley, Trading Manager Dairy, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland; Evan Doyle, Proprietor Brooklodge Wells and Spa; Darren Grant, Proprietor, The Organic Supermarket, Blackrock, Co Dublin; Oliver Moore, Journalist, Researcher and Organic Blogger and Noel Groome, Chair Foras Organac.
Speaking about the National Organic Awards, Chairman of the Judging Panel Hugo Arnold said:
“This fifth year of The Organic Awards has, once again, shown considerable progress and innovation in the sector. This is particularly welcome at a time of extreme challenges. National Organic Week is a wonderful opportunity to shout loud about the excellent work being done, and is a huge opportunity for anyone considering this route to network and discover the real commitment that lies at the heart of so many excellent products”.
According to the latest organic market research from Kantar, the Irish organic sector is currently valued at €103 million (August 2011). Additional key findings from the research:
- 92% of Irish consumers purchased organic produce in the last 12 months
- Singles, couples and young families are driving the return to growth in organic market
- Organic vegetables, yoghurts, fresh meat, milk, breakfast cereals and snacks have all experienced growth over the last year with organic vegetables accounting for 26% of sales and organic yoghurts accounting for 18.5% of organic sales
A consumer study carried by Behaviour & Attitudes on behalf of Bord Bia in May 2011 found:
- Over 1.5m Irish adults had purchased organic food in the previous week
- 73% of consumers are either very likely or fairly likely to purchase organic food in the future
