Concern is growing for the future of around 100 jobs at the Belfast plant of Dale Farm, one of Northern Ireland's leading ice cream manufacturers, following news that Dale Farm's parent company, Northern Foods, is carrying out a review of its operations in the region.

In a statement, the company said that most parts of the Dale Farm operation in Northern Ireland had been trading well, in particular milk and cream, but that the ice cream business had been under pressure for a number of years.

According to Ulster Unionist councillor Mr Jim Rogers, workers at the firm's Castlereagh plant in the east of the city have been aware for some time that job losses were a possibility.