Call for customers to support local Irish food producers

LOCAL IRISH food producers are in danger of being forced out of business by low-quality cheap imports, the Irish Food Writers’ Guild has warned.

Rising costs and the contraction of the economy had hit artisan and small- to medium-scale food producers particularly hard, guild chairwoman Orla Broderick said. She called on retailers and customers to support local producers.

Ms Broderick was speaking at the guild’s annual producer awards. This year’s winners were Janet Drew for Janet’s Country Fayre Beetroot Blush; Brian and Lindy O’Hara for Coopershill House Irish Venison; and Pat O’Neill for O’Neill Foods Dry Cured Rashers, Bacon and Ham.

A special environmental award went to John Flahavan of Flahavan’s oat products, for fostering the growth of organic oats in Waterford and surrounding counties and for his use of oat husks as fuel for the production process and for heating the mill and office buildings.

A lifetime achievement award was made to Derek O’Brien, former head of the baking department at the Dublin Institute of Technology and head of the Baking Academy of Ireland, for his continuing dedication to passing on his skills to the next generation of bakers.

All five winners were representative of so many indigenous producers who were the lifeblood of the food industry in Ireland, Ms Broderick said.

However, local producers needed support if they were to continue providing quality products.

“If retailers fail to make room on the shelves for our indigenous producers and if we, as consumers, fail to support them, we will in a short space of time witness the demise of dozens of small and medium-sized producers, who will simply be squeezed out of business,” she said.

“This will affect not only Ireland’s food-producing capabilities but will also have a significant impact on jobs.”

Presenting the awards, chef and food writer Darina Allen said Ireland was in a unique position to benefit from the growing global demand for food, as long as it resisted moves towards genetically-modified food production.

Top tastes: who won what

Janet Drewfor Janet's Country Fayre Beetroot Blush (Wicklow)

Brian and Lindy O'Hara for Coopershill House Irish Venison (Sligo)

Pat O'Neill for O'Neill FoodsDry-Cured Rashers (Wexford)

Special Environmental Award: John Flahavan of Flahavan’s (Waterford)

Lifetime Achievement Award:Derek O'Brien, head of the Baking Academy of Ireland